As only one of a handful of colonial-era buildings still in regular use, the heritage-listed School of Arts, on Anzac Avenue, Petrie, has served the public since 1890. For Queensland’s early settlers, having access to a local School of Arts symbolised community progress, providing opportunities for adult education and self-improvement, at a time when secondary schooling was non-existent.
Residents of North Pine (today’s Petrie) first began agitating for the establishment of a School of Arts in September 1889. To this end, prominent locals donated money to the cause, supplemented by a series of fundraising concerts conducted at the state school. Thereafter, a suitable block of land with frontage to Gympie Road (now Anzac Avenue) was purchased from Tom Petrie’s estate.
A sense of the collaborative spirit and enthusiasm within the North Pine community is evident from those involved in the school’s design and construction. Charles James Grierson, architect and engineer, designed the hall and library/reading room in the late-Victorian style, incorporating decorative features, louvres, and high-set vertical windows to enhance natural light and ventilation. Assisted by community volunteers, John Bond managed the build, Fred Schwartz installed plumbing and the distinctive semi-circular roof, and John McTaggart fitted the building’s interior linings.
Government ministers, dignitaries, and visitors, many of whom had arrived on a special railway service from Brisbane to North Pine Station, attended the gala ceremony on 28 January 1890, marking the official opening. The Moreton Mail newspaper stated: “North Pine was blessed with a really handsome and useful public building.”
A Living Legacy: Growth, Landmarks, and the 2021 Restoration
By 1910, the library’s collection totalled 905 books, and the School of Arts was the focal point for dances, debating, community club meetings and movie nights. The library was extended in 1926, and a verandah added.
The School of Arts hosted the 1925 opening of Anzac Memorial Avenue from Petrie to Redcliffe. On that occasion, Tom Petrie’s widow, Elizabeth, planted two Cocos palm trees, sourced from the gardens of Murrumba Homestead. Unfortunately, the trees no longer survive.
While the residents’ fundraising efforts had accounted for two-thirds of the total £1000 cost for land, hall, and a semi-grand piano, The Courier Mail (October 1938), reported that the remaining debt was not paid in full for another forty-eight years.
The property was transferred to the Pine Rivers Shire Council in 1987, and restoration works were undertaken in 2021.
Featured image: North Pine School of Arts 1997 courtesy of City of Moreton Bay, reference number PRLPC-P1794
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