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The concept of Rural Schools
 

In the last twenty years of the nineteenth century, the education of Queensland's children at State and Provisional schools was handled by the State Government's Department of Public Instruction. This bureaucracy was not known for its progressive views. Its Head Office General Inspector was David Ewart, and his entry in the Dictionary of Biography, Volume 4 states:  

“Ewart’s limited views on primary education, his lack of appreciation of developments in secondary and technical education and his unfavourable reports after visits to southern colonies retarded educational advance in Queensland. His autocratic manner in dealing with teachers and their problems was criticised in 1888 by the Royal Commission on the civil service who reported that he had so exercised his powers ‘as to bring the staff into a frame of mind very little short of rebellion’.

“By 1901 there was mounting criticism of Queensland’s outdated primary syllabus, method of inspection, over-centralised administration and lack of modern teacher-training facilities. Not until Ewart retired in 1909 and was replaced by R. H. Roe and J. D. Story did Queensland’s education system advance towards those operating elsewhere in Australia.” 

This picture of Ewart is somewhat harsh. While he was unpopular in some quarters, he nevertheless commanded great respect among his contemporaries in education and in the press, for his role in laying the basis for primary education in Queensland. With the turn of the new century, and perhaps being influenced by younger, more forward-looking men and a progressive Minister, he appears to have mellowed with age, becoming less conservative and dictatorial, and even kindly at times.

John Douglas Story (right) emigrated to Queensland from Scotland as an eight-year-old with his parents in 1877. He was educated at the Brisbane Boys’ Normal School and then at the State-endowed Brisbane Grammar School under Headmaster Reginald H. Roe. At the age of 16 years, John joined the Department of Public Instruction as a Junior Clerk, and rose rapidly through the ranks to the position of Chief Clerk. In performing these duties, he handled and initialled all incoming correspondence to the Department, and developed a very detailed knowledge of the education system and how it operated. His only disadvantage was that he had never been a teacher, a Head Teacher or an Inspector – he had never actually worked in a school. 

When the Under Secretary of the Department of Public Instruction, J. G. Anderson retired in 1904, his job was split into two separate positions. The reformist Minister for Education Andrew Barlow divided Anderson’s work into a professional stream, to be headed by David Ewart as Director of Education, and an administrative stream headed by John D. Story as Acting Under Secretary. Ewart was sixty-six years old, Story only thirty-five. 

Ewart’s background as an Inspector, combined with an annual salary of 650 pounds, meant that he had the more influential position, Story receiving only 450 pounds per year. However, during Story’s time as Chief Clerk, he had impressed many people including teachers, politicians and journalists with his acumen, integrity and courteous efficiency. He was therefore a highly-regarded and popular Under Secretary. His innovative ideas and knowledge of educational developments and current practices elsewhere gained him wide acceptance. Even the crusty Ewart began to support and encourage Story, and Minister Barlow came to recognise him as a leader in educational reform. 

In 1906 John Story was confirmed in the position of Permanent Under Secretary, a position he held until 1920, but he still needed to defer to Ewart on pedagogical matters. When David Ewart retired in 1909, Story assumed some of his duties, and the position of Director of Education lapsed. It was replaced by a new position specifically created to handle matters pertaining to teaching and school management, the Inspector-General. 

The first man to hold this appointment was Reginald H. Roe, John Story’s old Headmaster from grammar school days, and by now a close friend. Roe held this position from 1909 to 1917, and his duties included the annual inspection of the ten grammar schools, and supervision of the technical colleges, the technical high schools, and the planned high schools and primary high-tops that appeared in 1912 and after. 

Roe and Story, supported strongly by Minister Andrew Barlow, formed an ideal team to bring Queensland education into the modern world. Major developments which they introduced included: 

·         the encouragement and support of kindergartens;

·         the conversion of hundreds of Provisional schools into State schools;

·         the network of Rural Schools of which Nambour was the first, beginning in 1917;

·         the formation of Project Clubs in hundreds of primary schools;

·         the revision of the 1905 primary syllabus;

·         the introduction of compulsory medical and dental inspections of pupils;

·         the offering of free secondary education to every pupil who passed the Scholarship examination;

·         the raising of the school leaving age from twelve to fourteen years;

·         the founding of the first six State High Schools at Mackay, Bundaberg, Mount Morgan, Gympie, Charters Towers and Warwick;

·         the opening of the first Teachers’ Training College at the Domain in George Street, Brisbane;

·         the creation of the University of Queensland which began accepting students in 1911; and

·         the Technical Instruction Amendment Act that brought technical colleges under the control of the Department of Public Instruction.  

J. D. Story was the Public Service Commissioner from 1920 to 1939, and then retired, aged 70 years. Retirement was illusory though, for he was immediately appointed honorary full-time Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queensland and presided over a period of great growth and development until 1960. He was the driving force in having a new campus established at St Lucia. An important building there is named the J. D. Story Administration Building in his honour. 

In public service and university circles he was known as ‘J.D.’ or ‘the old eagle’. His portrait by William Dargie hangs in the University of Queensland’s Darnell Art Gallery. The Story Bridge over the Brisbane River is so named in recognition of his pivotal role in having it built, and he was the driving force behind the construction of the Somerset Dam to guarantee Brisbane’s water supply and reduce flooding. 

J. D. Story died in 1966 aged 96 years, and has been called ‘the “Atlas” of Queensland education’. He had a special relationship with schools in our area, particularly the Nambour and Mapleton State Schools.

In the early years of the 20th century, John D. Story often used to visit his brother D. F. Story, who lived at Mapleton. One morning, while sitting on the nearby Ocean View Hotel veranda (built 1909, now Mapleton Tavern), watching the local children passing on their way to the Mapleton State School, he began to reflect on how the educational opportunities available for country children could be improved, and what was being done in other countries to achieve this. 

As the years passed and he achieved the most powerful position in the Department of Public Instruction, these thoughts coalesced to produce the concept known as Rural Schools, and the first of these was the Nambour Rural School. It began operations on 30th January 1917, as a development of the Nambour State School which had been established in Mitchell Street 25 years before. Story made numerous trips to Nambour to work personally with the Head Teacher Mr T. G. Fisher in developing the idea. In this new type of vocational school, boys were taught manual skills, elementary agriculture and farm management, while girls were taught home economics and needlework skills. Rural Schools remained an important part of the Queensland education system until the 1960s.

For other primary State schools, not only those in country areas, Story initiated the idea of Project Clubs for the purpose of fostering agricultural skills and knowledge. Many schools embraced this concept enthusiastically, growing pineapples and other crops, raising pigs or poultry, and planting stands of pine trees.. 

Mr Francis Emslie Watt was the Head Teacher at the Mapleton State School from 1912 to 1926. He was an avid horticulturalist as well as teacher, and had taken a keen interest in local agricultural work from the time of his arrival. He joined the Mapleton Progress Association as soon as he had settled in, and was immediately appointed Treasurer, a position he held for fourteen years until  transferred away. Mr Watt instilled in his scholars an interest in crop growing, particularly fruit and vegetables, and the children were taught so well that they won prizes in 1915 for their produce.

In 1916 Francis Watt heard about the new Rural School concept proposed for Nambour, and thought about how he could adapt some of their ideas and methods to assist the pupils at his own school. His new school residence was nearing completion, and he expected to be remaining at Mapleton for some time. Accordingly, he contacted the Nambour School and became friendly with Mr Fisher. 

The nascent Nambour Rural School was facing severe limitations in space at that time, as it was located in a small reserve in Mitchell Street, close to the sugar mill. With only two acres of land, there was insufficient room for it to carry out its agricultural programs. More acreage was needed to enable the students to plant experimental crops. Attempts were made to purchase additional land, but the Department of Public Instruction rejected these on the grounds that the costs were prohibitive. 

Between them, Mr Watt and Mr Fisher thought that perhaps the Mapleton State School could serve as an out-lying field station, as it had abundant spare ground for the production of agricultural produce, particularly citrus fruit and bananas. Students from the Nambour School could then make regular visits to Mapleton for observation and practical study, using the new steam tramway between the two towns (opened in December 1915) for transport. 

In a letter to the Department of Public Instruction dated 8th June 1916, the secretary of the Mapleton School Committee William J. Smith requested: 

It is proposed to extend the agricultural work of this School and for this purpose we would request that a grant of 25 pounds be made to the School for the purpose of clearing an additional piece of the School land which is at present heavily timbered. Our intention is to use this plot for experimental purposes in Citrus Culture.

Again I might even venture to suggest that such a plot at Mapleton would be found of great practical value in connection with the work of the Rural School now being established in Nambour, as Mapleton is in direct communication by tramline with Nambour. Mapleton as the home of the citrus tree is eminently suited to the establishment of such a plot. 

The Department was in agreement and of course J. D. Story gave full support to the cooperative venture. By 1917 the whole of the Mapleton school grounds except for the horse paddock had been cleared. With the assistance and co-operation of his friends at the Rural School, Francis Watt laid out his agricultural plot in 1917 along the northern fence line. Mr Watt asked his School Committee to help with setting up the plot, and so, on 13th June 1917, William Smith wrote again to the Department, asking them to pay for a fence around the plot, and to pay for the digging of 24 orange tree holes (4 ft x 4 ft x 18 ins. deep) and 12 banana tree holes. They agreed to pay 4 pounds for the fence, and contributed towards the cost of the holes. Mr F. Johnson charged the school 1s. 3d. to dig each orange tree hole and 8½d. for each banana tree hole.  

The Chronicle in its issue of 6th April 1917 reported enthusiastically on these developments: 

“A scheme to work the Mapleton State School in conjunction with and as a branch of the Nambour Rural School system is being evolved, and soon another link will be forged in the Rural School chain. A small area of land at the back of the school building has been cleared and stumped, and is almost ready for planting. An experimental plot will be established thereon, where local residents will be able to take courses in orchard work under scientific training. Pupils from other branches of the Rural School will be able to visit the plot to observe the plant life under conditions different to those in their own districts, such as climatic changes, altitude, aspect, proximity to sea, etc. The Mapleton School is eminently adapted for such purposes, as the Tramway has made the place so accessible to the Nambour centre.” 

In this experimental plot the enthusiastic pupils planted orange trees, mandarin trees, Cavendish bananas, potatoes, beans, tomatoes and corn. This mutual assistance venture was so successful that it was soon widened to include the State schools at Yandina, Woombye and Buderim Mountain. Pupils from the schools centred on the Nambour Rural School visited the other schools in their group to observe the agricultural work being carried out, and to plant various crops, especially citrus trees. On 14th September 1918 Francis Watt described such a visit in a letter to his Head Office: 

I have the honour to inform you that on Thursday, September 12th, a party of fifty-five pupils, from the Nambour Rural School and “linked-up” schools, visited Mapleton School, for the purpose of observing the work of the agricultural plot.

The party consisted of 25 pupils of the Rural School, 24 from Woombye and 6 from Yandina. Mr J. Lane (Yandina) was in charge, and with him were Mr J. T. Wilson (Woombye) and Mr Bell (Nambour). The party arrived by tram at 11.30 a.m. and at once proceeded to the school, where, after reviewing the work of the plot since last visit, I gave them a lesson on the insect pests which are destructive to citrus trees, showing them specimens of the various pests at different stages, giving a brief account of the life history of each, and explaining the methods of dealing with the pests.

After the midday recess pupils were allowed sufficient time to make a copy of some prepared blackboard notes, and then Mr W. J. Smith gave them a practical demonstration of mixing and applying the sprays used to eradicate scale pests, explaining each process as it was carried out.

The lads were then conducted to the orchard of Mr J. R. Morris. This orchard was selected as one which affords a good example of the benefits to be derived from regular and systematic cultivation. Mr Morris addressed the boys, explaining to them the various methods of cultivation, and drawing their attention to a striking contrast presented by two adjacent portions of the orchard.

In one of these plots, pineapples had been growing between the citrus trees for the past five years, thus preventing cultivation by ploughing and harrowing, and restricting the work to hand-labour, and in the other plot no crop had been grown between the citrus trees. The difference in growth of the trees in the two plots was noticeable to a marked degree. At the conclusion of the visit to this orchard, the party returned to the tram, and the return journey was commenced about 3.30 p.m. 

A week later, Mr Watt received official recognition for his efforts: 

In acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the 14th instant, reporting on the visit of pupils from the Nambour Rural School and “linked-up” schools to the Mapleton State School on the 12th idem, I have the honour by direction of the Minister to commend you for your efforts to benefit these children.

Please convey to Messrs. Smith and Morris an expression of the Department’s appreciation of the practical interest taken by them in the instruction of the children.

                                                                           I have the honour to be,

                                                                                       Sir,      

                                                                           Your obedient servant,                        

                                                                                       J. D. Story,

                                                                                       Under Secretary.

 The local farmers also organised fruit packing lessons for the Rural School pupils at various orchards and sheds, the children being trained in grading, wrapping and packing fruit, and taught how to calculate the number of oranges in a case. Of course, the children received no payment for their labours.

At the Nambour Rural School, their location next door to the sugar mill caused problems for the students and teachers due to the noise, ash, and the sickly smell of processing by-products such as treacle and molasses. After years of complaint by Head Teachers and parents, the school was relocated to a new site in Carroll Street in 1931. Only the best of the old buildings was moved to the new site. As the school grew, and a State High School for Nambour became necessary, a new primary school for the town was built on land adjoining the Rural School in 1954. This is now the Nambour State School. The Rural School buildings were re-designated the Nambour State High School, and agricultural subjects continued to be taught alongside the usual secondary curricula. These subjects, particularly animal husbandry,  continue to be a feature of the Nambour High School to the present day. The original Rural School building relocated from Mitchell Street may today be found behind the main administration block.

A couple of the remaining Rural School buildings in Mitchell Street, including the Head Teacher’s residence, are still there. They may be found hidden behind a more recent building which currently houses the Nambour and District Historical Museum.