Revealed: 10 oldest schools in Darling Downs and South West QLD
From an almost 200-year-old school to one of Queensland’s first private institutes, the Darling Downs and South West is home to some of the state’s oldest educational facilities. Check out our list of the region’s 10 oldest schools.
The Darling Downs and South West Queensland is home to some of the state’s oldest schools which have been educating the next generation for more than a century.
From Queensland’s oldest school in Warwick to a prestigious private school in Toowoomba these are the region’s oldest educational institutes.
Warwick East State School, 1850
Queensland’s oldest school, Warwick East State School was established by the Board of National Education on October 25 1850.
Built by local pioneer George Leslie, the school was established to educate his own children and those of other families in the district.
He started making inquiries to the Board of National Education in September 1848 but it was not until September 1850 that the school was established for its 30 students.
Drayton State School, 1851
Located in the outer regions of Toowoomba, Drayton State School is one of the oldest in Queensland.
In 1851, a group of local residents requested land to build a school to provide education for children in the local area.
Starting with just two classrooms and basic accommodation for the school master and his family the school had just 24 students when it first opened in 1851.
In 1860, following the declaration of statehood for Queensland, the school became Drayton State School.
Dalby State School, 1861
Dalby State School first opened on June 1 1861 and in 1869, the school split into Dalby Boys State School and Dalby Girls State School. In 1893, the two schools were recombined as Dalby State School.
In 2017, the school suffered extensive damage from a suspected arson fire that destroyed its administration, staff, and music rooms. Through a community-driven effort over $144,000 was raised to fund a new learning and music block, which was opened two years after the fire.
Condamine State School, 1863
Condamine State School was established in 1863 and started as a single slab hut. In its early days children travelled to school, by foot, horse and boat.
Currently the school has 26 students enrolled from prep through to year 6 from the Condamine township and surrounding properties.
St Saviour’s Primary School, 1864
St Saviour’s Primary School is the oldest Catholic school in Toowoomba and the Toowoomba Diocese. Built in 1863 and opened 1864 it was originally named St Patrick’s Church School.
Starting as a combined church and school on the corner of James and Neil streets, the school was originally staffed by lay teachers until Bishop Quinn of Brisbane made a decision to send Sisters of Mercy to teach in the school in 1873.
The church school was extended in 1880 and destroyed by fire soon after the renovations were completed. The church school was rebuilt on the site.
In 1938 Bishop Roper renamed the school The Cathedral School and in 1959 the school was again renamed St Saviour’s School, taking the name of the convent where the Sisters of Mercy lived.
Toowoomba North State School, 1869
Opened on September 6, 1869 Toowoomba North State School was known as North National School or Mort Estate State School.
The population of Toowoomba at the time was just 3000 and the school, opened with an enrolment of 141 boys and Toowoomba North Girls and Infants School with an enrolment of 113 students were both housed in a brick building facing Mort Street.
In 1938 the present brick building was constructed and both boys and girls schools were amalgamated to form Toowoomba North State School. The school is one of the oldest schools on the Darling Downs and later it was to become one of the largest.
St Saviour’s College, 1873
Established in 1873, St Saviour’s College is one of Toowoomba’s oldest schools. The school community is built on the traditions of the Sisters of Mercy and the work of their founder, Catherine McAuley, whose vision was to teach girls their value and worth.
The Catholic girls’ school, named after the Basilica of the Saviour in Rome, celebrated 150 years in 2023.
Stanthorpe State School, 1874
Stanthorpe State School was established in 1874 to serve the growing community of Stanthorpe, a town that grew from the discovery of tin in the early 1870s.
Initially known as Quart Pot Creek and later named Stannum, it would later become Stanthorpe. The school celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2024.
Toowoomba Grammar School, 1875
Toowoomba Grammar School is one of the oldest and most well-established boys’ boarding schools in Australia, established in 1875.
Toowoomba Grammar School is one of the original Grammar Schools of Queensland, established under an Act of the Queensland parliament known as the Grammar Schools’ Act 1860 (Qld).
In 1860, the first parliament of the young Colony of Queensland passed the Grammar Schools Act 1860. The Act allowed for the establishment of a grammar school in any town where the residents could raise £1000, which the Queensland government would match. The land on which the school was built remains Crown land today.
Gatton State School, 1876
The original school in Gatton was a private school run by the Very Reverend Henry Brun.
During the period of 1870 to 1874, the community of Gatton, with the assistance of the Very Reverend Henry Brun, wanted to change the school status from ‘private’ to ‘non-vested’. A ‘non-vested’ school would receive government aid in the form of school equipment and payment of a teachers’ salary and the church would supply the school buildings.
The Gatton State School was opened on the January 31. 1876 by John Morrison, the first teacher at the school. Later, a high school for the Lockyer District was opened on January 16, 1913.
Originally published as Revealed: 10 oldest schools in Darling Downs and South West QLD
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