Townsville Technical College
| Block A, Townsville Technical College | |
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Block A of Townsville Technical College, 2005
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| Location | 212-260 Stanley Street, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 19°15′36″S 146°48′47″E / 19.2599°S 146.8131°ECoordinates: 19°15′36″S 146°48′47″E / 19.2599°S 146.8131°E |
| Design period | 1919 - 1930s (interwar period) |
| Built | 1920 - 1921 |
| Architect | Department of Public Works (Queensland) |
| Architectural style(s) | Classicism |
| Official name: Townsville Technical College (former)(Block A, City Campus, Barrier Reef Institute of TAFE), Townsville State High School | |
| Type | state heritage (landscape, built) |
| Designated | 13 May 2004 |
| Reference no. | 602158 |
| Significant period | 1920s (historical) 1960s (historical) 1920s (fabric) |
| Significant components | college - technical, dome, courtyard |
 Location of Block A, Townsville Technical College in Queensland
Location of Block A, Townsville Technical College in Queensland
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Block A of Townsville Technical College is a heritage-listed technical college building at 212-260 Stanley Street, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Department of Public Works (Queensland) and built from 1920 to 1921. It is also known as Townsville State High School and the City Campus of the Barrier Reef Institute of TAFE. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 13 May 2004.
The building was erected in 1920/21 as the Townsville Technical College. Designed for a prominent corner site by the Architectural Branch of the Queensland Department of Works, it is a substantial two-storeyed masonry edifice. The building also became the Townsville State High School in 1924, reverting to sole use as a technical college in 1964.
In Queensland, local committees were responsible for conducting early courses of technical instruction. Classes in Townsville were initially run by the School of Arts Committee. By 1900 there were five Technical Colleges in Brisbane with classes being taught at eighteen other locations in Queensland. At this time the state government began to take a more active interest, establishing the Board of Technical Education in 1902 with the aim of improving and expanding technical education throughout the State. A Technical Education Branch of the Department of Public Instruction, under the direction of RM Riddell, replaced the Board in 1905 and legislation, introduced in 1908 and 1918, progressively empowered the government to take over existing technical colleges.
At a conference in 1904, Riddell defined the role of technical as opposed to secondary studies. The prime duty of technical colleges, he maintained, was to meet trade requirements. In mining, agricultural and industrial districts, technical education received a boost when employers, such as the Mount Morgan Mining Company and the State railway workshops accepted the idea of technical training for employees and apprentices. Enrolments jumped from 3,000 to 4,000 in 1905. By 1910, Queensland had a comprehensive system of technical education.
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