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Henry Bastow : 01- March-2013
Henry Bastow : 01- March-2013

Photographs supplied by Kent Watson

The sculpture commemorates Australian architect, Henry Bastow (1839 - 1920). 

In 1872, Victoria’s Education Act  legislated that the Government, on behalf of the community, took responsibility for educating all children and young people. The largest education building program ever seen in Australia began in 1872 when education was proclaimed free, secular and compulsory.

The challenging job of designing and constructing hundreds of new schools throughout the state was made significantly easier for the Department of Education by the employment of Henry Robert Bastow as Chief Architect and Surveyor. Through his vision, leadership, energy and commonsense, 615 schools were built in just five years.

Confident and ambitious, Henry Bastow completed more than 600 schools in the first half a dozen years, and plenty more in the ensuing decade. He achieved this by creating templates for various sized buildings and adapting each to meet the specific environmental needs of the individual schools.

Bastow listened to communities and teachers. He amended designs, matching school buildings to learning and teaching practice. He learned on the job. His designs were flexible and visually commanding. He wanted the buildings to work, and he wanted them to make a statement: education matters.  His designs for hundreds of schools, and his influence over other great public works (as head of the Public Works Department in the 1880s), placed him in the upper echelon of influential Melbourne architects.

 

Location

Address:603-615 Queensberry Street North , Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership, North Melbourne, 3051
State:VIC
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -37.802921
Long: 144.947035
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Sculpture
Monument Theme:People
Sub-Theme:Architecture
Artist:Peter Corlett (Melbourne, VIC)

Dedication

Approx. Monument Dedication Date:November-2011
Front Inscription

Henry Robert Bastow  
1839 - 1920

Appointed Victorian Architect and Surveyor for the State Schools division from 1873 to 1894.  

Bastow`s leadership and vision resulted in the design and construction of 615 schools across Victoria in five years.  

School No. 307 Queensberry Street North Melbourne bears witness to Henry Bastow`s legacy.

Inspiring future generations of Victorian educators.
November 2011

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au