WILLIAMSTOWN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Williamstown Primary School, including:   

Williamstown Primary School is of historical and architectural significance to the State of Victoria. It satisfies the following criterion for inclusion in the Victorian Heritage Register:  

Criterion A 

Importance to the course, or pattern, of Victoria’s cultural history. 

Criterion D 

Importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural places and objects. 

 

Williamstown Primary School is historically significant as a demonstration of the development of state schooling and educational architecture in Victoria. The 1878 building was reported to be the best example of the type of school being built in the Australian colonies in the 1870s, and a model of the building was sent for inclusion in the Paris Exhibition (1878). The 1906 Infant School is of note as the first infant school built in accordance with decisions made at a 1905 conference on school design and formed the basis of infant school architecture for the next nine years. The prefabricated Bristol classroom reflects the need of Victorian state schools to quickly accommodate a growing school population following World War II and the subsequent boom in migration and birth-rates. It also reflects the shortage of building materials and labour available following World War II, and adaptation of wartime construction to peacetime requirements. [Criterion A] 

 

The 1878 building at Williamstown Primary School is architecturally significant as one of a group of important school buildings designed by Department of Education under architect Henry Bastow. The Gothic Revival style is typical of large school buildings constructed in the late 1870s, and this is a striking basalt example. The central offset tower and the pyramidal end tower are also of note. It is an influential and pivotal example of an 1870s State school building, being celebrated for its design and used as a model for other school buildings. [Criterion D] 

The 1906 Infant School at Williamstown Primary School is architecturally significant as an influential and pivotal example of Federation Queen Anne design applied to educational architecture. Its design reflects a major shift in educational thinking compared with the 19th century, particularly in relation to lighting and ventilation. [Criterion D] 

The Bristol classroom at Williamstown Primary School is architecturally significant as a fine surviving example of a Bristol prefabricated classroom. [Criterion D]