The foundations of Bowen State School’s long history lie in a modest but remarkable structure — the original brick school building, constructed in 1865 at a cost of £750, a sum raised by the local community. Facing Poole Street, this single-room building marked the formal beginning of state education in Bowen.
Before the brick building was ready, the first classes commenced on 3rd April 1865, in a temporary classroom inside Mr Anderson’s store on George Street. By the end of that same year, the school moved into its new brick premises, a significant milestone for the fledgling town.
On 30th January 1884, tragedy struck when a cyclone severely damaged the brick building beyond repair. Just a week later, the Denison Times reported a public auction of the salvaged materials:
“Building Materials – State School Grounds… R.H. Smith & Co. were favoured to sell by public auction all the bricks, loose timber and iron laying thereon… comprising 30,000 bricks in lots of 2,000… No reserve. Terms – cash.”
Following the destruction, classes resumed in temporary facilities once again. At this time, boys, girls, and infants — some as young as four — were all taught in the same space, though seated separately.
With the construction of new teaching buildings, a change was introduced: the school community was divided into two institutions — the Bowen State Boys’ School and the Bowen State Girls’ and Infants’ School, each housed in separate buildings erected either side of the former brick building’s foundation.
Today, the Music Hall stands in the vicinity of that original schoolhouse. If you look closely beneath the building, you can still see traces of brick remnants in the earth — a quiet but powerful reminder of where Bowen’s educational journey began.