St Marys Primary School & Hall

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

St Mary's Primary School

St. Mary's Roman Catholic School, 162-190 Myers Street, Geelong, has significance as a predominantly intact and locally rare example of an early twentieth century Roman Catholic School building in the City of Greater Geelong. Built in 1919 on land originally reserved for a Roman Catholic Grammar School, St. Mary's School was designed by the local architect, Thomas Slevin. It has served as a Catholic School until the present day (2008). St. Mary's School represents only one of two early 20th century Catholic Schools in Geelong, the other being St. Patrick's School, Geelong West, built in 1911. Overall, St. Mary's School is in good condition, apart from the deteriorated Barrabool sandstone dressings.

St. Mary's Roman Catholic School, 162-190 Myers Street is architecturally significant at a LOCAL level (AHC D.2, E.1). It demonstrates original design qualities for an early 20th century era school building. These qualities include the T form plan articulated by single storey gable roof forms clad in terra cotta tiles, parapeted and stepped gable ends with concrete copings and the central entrance opening on the Myers Street facade constructed of Barrabool stone and comprising an arch supported by round Doric columns. Other intact or appropriate qualities include the face red brick wall construction, terra cotta roof ridge decoration, galvanised steel ventilation stacks, narrow rectangular lancet ventilators with Barrabool stone lintels and sills in the gable ends, Barrabool stone bands in the vestigial brick piers of the stepped gable ends, bluestone entrance steps, paired timber framed multi-paned timber and glazed main entrance doors with a multi-paned fanlight above, concrete window lintels, Barrabool stone window sills which extend across the facades to form stringcourses, timber framed twelve paned double hung windows with three paned highlights (arranged singularly or in banks of four), and the small timber framed three paned highlight windows on the west facade. The adjacent gabled brick outbuilding between the School building and the neighbouring Parish Hall also contributes to the significance of the place.

St. Mary's Roman Catholic School, 162-190 Myers Street, is historically significant at a LOCAL level (AHC A.4, H.1). It is associated with the development and progress of St. Mary of the Angels Roman Catholic Church and particularly Catholic education in Geelong from the early 20th century until the present day (2008). Designed by Thomas Slevin, the School building was opened on 16 November 1919 by the Archbishop of Melbourne, Daniel Mannix, who declared that it was one of the finest schools in the archdiocese.

St. Mary's Roman Catholic School, 162-190 Myers Street, is socially significant at a LOCAL level (AHC G.1). It is recognised and valued by sections of the Geelong community for religious and educational reasons, as a symbol of their faith and their history of local participation in primary school education.

Overall, St. Mary's Roman Catholic School, 162-190 Myers Street, is of LOCAL significance.

St Mary's School

Historically, a long term public building in Geelong.

REFERENCES

St Mary's Hall

MUAI:SOFFY p 52f

A 22.8.91

Ibid

GA 1.3.92/2

A 8/6/18-9

A 11.10.19.7

SOSSY, p 24f

Group

Education

Category

School - State (public)