Bowen State School
| Bowen State School | |
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Bowen State School, 2004
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| Location | 29 Kennedy Street, Bowen, Whitsunday Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 20°00′35″S 148°14′37″E / 20.0098°S 148.2435°ECoordinates: 20°00′35″S 148°14′37″E / 20.0098°S 148.2435°E |
| Design period | 1919 - 1930s (interwar period) |
| Architect | Robert Ferguson, Department of Public Works (Queensland) |
| Official name: Bowen State School | |
| Type | state heritage |
| Designated | 21 March 2013 |
| Reference no. | 602817 |
| Significant components | school/school room |
 Location of Bowen State School in Queensland
Location of Bowen State School in Queensland
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Bowen State School is a heritage-listed school at 29 Kennedy Street, Bowen, Whitsunday Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Robert Ferguson and the Department of Public Works (Queensland). It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 March 2013.
Bowen State School was established in 1865 on a large, central site within the town of Bowen. It comprises a variety of education buildings and landscape elements constructed and altered over a long period. It has been an important place of education for the Bowen community since its establishment.
Port settlements were established along the Queensland coast to serve inland pastoral districts to their west. In 1859 a site for the (then) most northern settlement of Queensland was found on the excellent natural harbour, Port Denison, to service the growing Kennedy pastoral district. It was declared a Port of Entry and Clearance in March 1861 and settlers began arriving immediately. The town of Bowen was officially proclaimed in April 1861, but by the time the town was surveyed in 1862 settlers were already pushing further north and looking for new sites for settlements.
Bowen grew quickly into a thriving commercial port. Initially, optimism for Bowen's future was high and it was thought the town would be the "capital of the north". Its population grew from an estimated 120 in May 1862 to 1192 in October 1865. Rudimentary or temporary buildings were built quickly and important institutions were established, often for the first time in North Queensland. A temporary courthouse was built in late-1860, a Church of England and a Roman Catholic church in 1863 and 1864 respectively, a permanent jetty was begun in mid-1864, a Freemasons' Lodge was established in 1865, and stores and hotels were built to serve the populace. Bowen was the first North Queensland town to have a mayor and an alderman (1863).
By August 1862, one hectare of land was granted by the Department of Lands for the construction of Bowen National School. Several small private schools were already operating in the town. While the people of Bowen raised the £750 construction cost and built the school, a temporary school operated within a local store from 3 April 1865. The school relocated to the new school building by the end of 1865. This was a brick building facing Poole Street and containing one large classroom.
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