Defunct Queensland schools brought back to life in historical photograph collection
Three hundred never-before-seen photos taken inside Queensland schools in the 1980s have been made public for the first time.
Education
Don't miss out on the headlines from Education. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A time capsule of Queensland education has been opened and displayed by the State Archives, featuring children from more than 20 schools performing in Queen Street Mall, taking in the atmosphere of Expo 88, or performing in a circus.
The State Archives has published 300 images captured from 1985-1990 and includes photos of several schools that are now defunct or were later merged.
These particular photos come from a group of 2200 images from the Premier’s Department within the Office of State Affairs. They illustrate arts, music, drama and computer usage.
The schools featured are Acacia Ridge State School, Fig Tree Pocket SS, Gleneagle SS, Jindalee SS, Samford SS, Strathpine SS, Stafford SS, West End Primary SS, Yeronga SS, and TAFE Queensland South Bank.
The photos also illustrate Kingston High School (now Kingston State College), Atherton State High School, Kedron State High School, Kingston Primary SS, Craigslea Primary SS, Seven Hills Primary School (now Seven Hills Public School), Rochedale State High School, and The Gap State High School.
The Royal Children’s Hospital Education Programme (now Queensland Children’s Hospital School), Nudgee Beach SS (now Nudgee Beach Environmental Education Centre), and the High School Correspondence School in West End (now the Brisbane School of Distance Education) are pictured.
Two defunct schools are also included – the School of the Blind, which was closed in 1988, and Newmarket State High School, which shut its doors in 1996.
A Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy spokesperson said it took about 15 hours to digitise the 300 old photographs.
“The process from start to finish can take a number of weeks,” the spokesperson said.
“This involves researching the collection, sorting through boxes to identify the records, having them digitised and then post production which usually involves image retouching, adding metadata and image descriptions, and uploading to Flickr.”
The full Schools of Queensland gallery containing more than 1000 images can be seen here, but The Courier-Mail has pulled out a selection of the best images.
Queensland State archives holds more than 260,000 images in the form of albums, glass plate negatives, slides, prints and transparencies.
Speaking of Expo 88, the State Archives plan to digitise and release never-before-seen images to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Expo 88 in April 2023.
20 years behind: Qld students in danger over bus seatbelt lapse
Queensland’s motoring body has slammed the state’s lack of action over a safety feature on school buses, saying it is almost 20 years behind other states, as terrified parents voice their concern.
‘We got inundated’: Dozens come forward in school sexual abuse claim
The law firm investigating historical child sexual abuse at a prominent Christian College in Queensland said it was blown away by the number of people who came forward after it made a public appeal for information.