Oldest school lives with modern reno
FOR more than 155 years the land between Neil, Ruthven and Herries streets was a learning institution.
The government established one of our city’s first state schools there before replacing it in 1941 with Toowoomba's South State School.
That building, the land and the community’s shared memory faced destruction in 2014 when the Queensland Government decided to sell it.
Luckily it was saved by the tenacious work of Toowoomba South parents and teachers.
They organised a last-ditch effort to list the building on the Queensland Heritage Register, before it was sold to the Toowoomba Catholic Diocese.
Over the following four years the building was restored and merged with a modern extension, which houses the Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office.
This epic struggle and the building’s storied history was on show at the weekend when the National Trust held walking tours through the complex.
The event marked one year since the diocese moved in.
“Buildings bring back memories,” tour guide, National Trust member and Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic Schools
Office education leader Paul Herbert said.
“You take away the building and those memories are gone.”
Mr Herbert was thrilled to see the old building revived.
“We have in this building over 100 staff, we service 31 schools and we do the payroll for over 1700 staff,” he said.
“You do not need a purpose built building for that.
“You can adjust and maximise the benefits not only of our past but also but by incorporating modern elements into a grand design we have ended up with what I think is an outstanding example of the old marrying the new.”