In 2020 James Cook University, Townsville’s senior educational institution, will be celebrating its half-century. But on a weekend in May, the city’s oldest educational establishment, Townsville Central State School, celebrated a life three times that long.
This great little school (with its motto “Be Thorough”) has had several homes since it was officially opened as Townsville’s National School on 11 March 1869 – just four years after the city’s foundation – under the direction of head teacher, John Maynard. Its original location, close to the present site of the Queen’s Hotel building, was considered “too remote” by many parents and within six months a new school had been built on a block bounded by Leichhardt, Eyre, Oxley and Mitchell Streets. There it remained for over 80 years.
As numbers grew the school was divided into two: one for boys and another for girls and infants, and in 1889 both schools adopted what became its permanent name: Townsville Central. It was to be another 60 years before the two were merged and once more became a single school, united under the Central name.
Despite the school’s position in what was considered the city’s best residential area, maintenance was a constant problem. White ant damage was a perennial headache. Water gushing off Stanton Hill in the wet season created gullies and swamps in the grounds, and cyclones Sigma (1896) and Leonta (1903) left damaged buildings that took months to repair.
Nature also presented a few unsavoury problems. According to a 1918 report the stench of excrement left by wandering goats was offending the noses of the bishop and clergymen who came to conduct religious education classes. And it wasn’t just goats that roamed the school premises at night. In 1921 principal Ernest Moorhouse found plenty of evidence that the grounds and verandahs were being used for “improper purposes” after dark – which doubtless would have caused the bishop even greater offence. Thirty years later rats had replaced goats as the major nuisance but principal, Leonard Allen, still found it necessary to remove evidence of “courting couples” each morning.
In 1942 Central was one of the many schools which, unless they had adequate bomb shelters, were closed along the Queensland coast, giving students a prolonged holiday – that is, until parents began to protest. Central’s pupil Marion Houldsworth remembers that, by the time some schools were allowed to re-open, Central had become an air-raid wardens’ post so students had to look elsewhere. Well-used to roaming Castle Hill from her Alexandra Street home, Marion looked forward to walking through the bush to the Belgian Gardens school until the principal decreed it to be too risky. Eventually she enrolled at West End State School.
The year 1955 brought Central’s final move to its current location on Warburton Street. Having begun life in 1878 as the city’s gaol these premises had been occupied by the police after the inmates were transferred to Stuart Creek. Transforming what had been a place of punishment and law enforcement into one of education and recreation for local children was no mean feat. A contemporary newspaper account reported on the unusually strong cement found to have been used in the original walls and foundations, described by the works foreman as the toughest he had known. Doubtless designed to prevent prison escapes, such fortifications greatly frustrated the demolition and rebuilding process.
Many generations of Townsville families gained their early education at this school. Some like Charles Hopkins, grandson of city pioneer Thomas Hollis Hopkins, and Colin Bingham, senior Australian journalist and war correspondent, have recorded their memories. Golfer Greg Norman, arguably the school’s most famous pupil, was the inspiration behind the shark motif that adorned school uniforms for a period. But the connection between Townsville Central and James Cook University is cemented by the fact that another former Central student, and international diplomat, Bill Tweddell, is JCU’s current Chancellor.
All in all there was much to remember and celebrate at Townsville Central over their special anniversary weekend in May. Now one of Townsville’s smaller schools, Central still often punches above its weight in sporting, academic, musical and other achievements and is rightly proud of its long history. As the students gather for assembly on Monday mornings, overlooked by the rocky face of Castle Hill and backed by the shady oasis of Queen’s Gardens, it is hard to escape a sense of this history as they sing the first lines of their school song:
‘Neath the mighty Cootharinga / Here our hearts and hopes will linger / Friendship through good times and tears / Lasting through the years.
Story by Miniata
References
'New school rising on old prison site', Townsville Bulletin, 11/5/1953 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/62480897
Bingham, Colin The beckoning horizon. 820A BIN 3 BIN
Central centenary: Townsville Central State School 1869-1969. 372.99436 CEN T2
Furnell, M and Parker, N. Townsville Central State School 1869-1999: celebrating 130 years of excellence in education. 1999. In process.
Hopkins, Charles How you take it. 920.71 HOP/HOP
Houldsworth, Marion The morning side of the hill: a Townsville childhood 1939-45. 994.36 HOU
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| The National (later Central) School's boys' and girls' schools, on Eyre Street, 1881. Photo: Willmett & Wyeth Album, North Queensland Photographic Collection, James Cook University Library. |
This great little school (with its motto “Be Thorough”) has had several homes since it was officially opened as Townsville’s National School on 11 March 1869 – just four years after the city’s foundation – under the direction of head teacher, John Maynard. Its original location, close to the present site of the Queen’s Hotel building, was considered “too remote” by many parents and within six months a new school had been built on a block bounded by Leichhardt, Eyre, Oxley and Mitchell Streets. There it remained for over 80 years.
As numbers grew the school was divided into two: one for boys and another for girls and infants, and in 1889 both schools adopted what became its permanent name: Townsville Central. It was to be another 60 years before the two were merged and once more became a single school, united under the Central name.
Despite the school’s position in what was considered the city’s best residential area, maintenance was a constant problem. White ant damage was a perennial headache. Water gushing off Stanton Hill in the wet season created gullies and swamps in the grounds, and cyclones Sigma (1896) and Leonta (1903) left damaged buildings that took months to repair.
 |
| A display at the Townsville Central State School 150th Anniversary celebrations, May 2019. Photo: Liz Downes. |
Nature also presented a few unsavoury problems. According to a 1918 report the stench of excrement left by wandering goats was offending the noses of the bishop and clergymen who came to conduct religious education classes. And it wasn’t just goats that roamed the school premises at night. In 1921 principal Ernest Moorhouse found plenty of evidence that the grounds and verandahs were being used for “improper purposes” after dark – which doubtless would have caused the bishop even greater offence. Thirty years later rats had replaced goats as the major nuisance but principal, Leonard Allen, still found it necessary to remove evidence of “courting couples” each morning.
In 1942 Central was one of the many schools which, unless they had adequate bomb shelters, were closed along the Queensland coast, giving students a prolonged holiday – that is, until parents began to protest. Central’s pupil Marion Houldsworth remembers that, by the time some schools were allowed to re-open, Central had become an air-raid wardens’ post so students had to look elsewhere. Well-used to roaming Castle Hill from her Alexandra Street home, Marion looked forward to walking through the bush to the Belgian Gardens school until the principal decreed it to be too risky. Eventually she enrolled at West End State School.
 |
| Townsville Central State School in its new location, Warburton Street, 1960s. Photo: North Queensland Photographic Collection, James Cook University Library. |
The year 1955 brought Central’s final move to its current location on Warburton Street. Having begun life in 1878 as the city’s gaol these premises had been occupied by the police after the inmates were transferred to Stuart Creek. Transforming what had been a place of punishment and law enforcement into one of education and recreation for local children was no mean feat. A contemporary newspaper account reported on the unusually strong cement found to have been used in the original walls and foundations, described by the works foreman as the toughest he had known. Doubtless designed to prevent prison escapes, such fortifications greatly frustrated the demolition and rebuilding process.
Many generations of Townsville families gained their early education at this school. Some like Charles Hopkins, grandson of city pioneer Thomas Hollis Hopkins, and Colin Bingham, senior Australian journalist and war correspondent, have recorded their memories. Golfer Greg Norman, arguably the school’s most famous pupil, was the inspiration behind the shark motif that adorned school uniforms for a period. But the connection between Townsville Central and James Cook University is cemented by the fact that another former Central student, and international diplomat, Bill Tweddell, is JCU’s current Chancellor.
 |
| A display at the Townsville Central State School 150th Anniversary celebrations, May 2019. Photo: Liz Downes. |
‘Neath the mighty Cootharinga / Here our hearts and hopes will linger / Friendship through good times and tears / Lasting through the years.
Story by Miniata
References
'New school rising on old prison site', Townsville Bulletin, 11/5/1953 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/62480897
Bingham, Colin The beckoning horizon. 820A BIN 3 BIN
Central centenary: Townsville Central State School 1869-1969. 372.99436 CEN T2
Furnell, M and Parker, N. Townsville Central State School 1869-1999: celebrating 130 years of excellence in education. 1999. In process.
Hopkins, Charles How you take it. 920.71 HOP/HOP
Houldsworth, Marion The morning side of the hill: a Townsville childhood 1939-45. 994.36 HOU
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