The Rockhampton National School was a school in
Rockhampton, Queensland
Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...
.
On February 15, 1859, there was a meeting of those appointed as the Rockhampton School and Church committee, over which the Sub-Collector of Customs,
Henry Lumsden, presided, when it was resolved to erect a school building, 40 ft (12.3m) long and 20 ft (6.15m) wide in which
Divine service could also be held on Sundays.
The building having been completed, it was opened for business on August 16, 1859, F K Milne, afterwards the first town clerk, being appointed schoolmaster, each scholar to pay 1/6 (1
shilling
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...
and 6
pence
A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...
) (or 18 pence) per week. Thus a day a school was started, the population being only a few hundreds, principally men.
By May 1860, it was found that the school building was not large enough, and it was resolved to petition the new Queensland Government for a site for a public school. This request was granted and the allotments at the corner of William and Denison Streets was granted-where the
Rockhampton Special School now stands.
References
* Bird, J. T. S.; ''Early History of Rockhampton'' 1920
History of Central Boys School Rockhampton
Educational institutions established in 1859
Schools in Rockhampton
Defunct schools in Queensland
1859 establishments in Australia
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