100 Years of State EducationPrint Page

The silky oak tree commemorates 100 years of State education in Queensland (1875-1975). 

By the 1870s, Queensland was experiencing a wave of prosperity brought on by gold rushes and the start of the mineral boom. Queensland was invigorated with a sense of democracy and national purpose, leading to the State Education Act of 1875 which provided the following initiatives:

• Primary education for children aged from 6 to 12 was to be compulsory. (This provision was not fully implemented until 1900.)
• Education was to be secular, i.e. under the control of the Queensland Government. (In conformity with this policy, all assistance to non-vested schools was withdrawn in 1880. This provision occasioned considerable ill-feeling among Roman Catholics and some Anglicans.)
• Primary education was to be free.
• A Department of Public Instruction was established to administer the Act.

The architects of the Act were Charles Lilley and Samuel Griffith, two of the most astute leaders in the young colony.

Location

Address:	28 Bage Street, Nundah State School, Nundah, 4012
State:	QLD
Area:	AUS
GPS Coordinates:	Lat: -27.402532 Long: 153.058239 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.

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Details

Monument Type:	Tree
Monument Theme:	Culture
Sub-Theme:	Education
Approx. Event Start Date:	1875
Approx. Event End Date:	1975

Dedication

Source: MA