Chalking up 100 years
Big weekend for Burleigh State School
TWO world wars, bunyip hunts and tens of thousands of students – Burleigh Heads State School has seen it all since its doors first opened 100 years ago.
The school, nursery for well-known figures such as politician John-Paul Langbroek and rugby league player James Roberts, celebrates its centenary today.
Other past alumni include former Wallaby and Australian water polo representative Tai McIsaac, track cyclist and Olympic gold medallist Scott McGrory, former NRL player Andrew Tangata-Toa and comedian Carl Barron.
An anniversary dinner will be held tonight before former students, teachers and the community return to the campus tomorrow to relive memories.
Principal Peter Tong has taught at the school for nine years and said the festivities marked an important day in its history.
“This school has an incredibly rich history and we still have some of the original buildings when it was built on this site,” he said.
“Things have changed a lot since those early days and the original students did not have uniforms at all and, in some cases, shoes.
“The kids have spent the first part of this year learning about it, interviewing former teachers and ex-pupils and even writing their own history pieces.”
Burleigh State School l opened in early 1917, just five years after the first sanitary facilities were installed in the small town and the growing population required a local campus.
On the first day of classes just 11 students arrived.
This grew to 16 students by the 20th day of classes and 31 by the end of 1917.
In the 1980s the school had 1500 students. Today it has 510. The school’s campus moved many times in its early decades, from its original location on West Burleigh Rd near the modern-day Stocklands shopping centre to nearby churches.
It settled on its current site on Gold Coast Highway in 1935.
In those years of change the students who graduated were forced to travel north to Southport State High to continue their education.
During World War II, trenches were dug and students were forced to practise drills taking cover.
On a lighter note some teachers were known for taking their classes into the nearby swamp to observe wildlife and flowers as well as hunt for the elusive Burleigh Bunyip.
“I think the people from those early days would be amazed by how much the school has grown and changed and the legacy left behind,” Mr Tong said.