QUIRINDIThe original site for a "Mechanics' Institute" in Quirindi was dedicated in 1883 in Hill Street but this site was taken over in 1888 for the town's new public school. As a result, a different Mechanics' Institute allotment was provided at 140 George Street where the building known as the "Old Municipal Council Building" now stands.
The original School of Arts was built on the George Street site in 1888 by a builder named John Elsley. The designer of the building was the colourful Tamworth builder, Member of Parliament, and self-taught architect, William S. Dowel. The laying of the Foundation Stone attracted Francis Abigail, the Minister for Public Instruction, and James Inglis, the Minister for Mines, as well as W. S. Dowel and a number of other Government supporters. Mr Inglis was provided with an ivory-handled silver trowel to perform the ceremony. Tenants of the building included the Quirindi Municipal Council (after its incorporation in 1890), and the Tamarang Shire Council (after the formation of Shire Councils in 1906). The building was destined to serve the community for only twenty-four years, however, before being destroyed by fire. On the night of Wednesday 13 March 1912, train passengers heading south saw the glare of a fire and a message was sent back to Quirindi. In the meantime, a local alarm had been raised. The billiard room, which had been added to the building in 1902, was the first part of it to be destroyed. As the flames spread, onlookers broke windows and managed to retrieve some of the Municipal Council papers and equipment but all of the School of Arts papers were lost, along with the books of its library. The Quirindi Gazette of 15 March 1912 contained the following graphic account: "At 3.30 a.m., the fire, from a spectacular point of view, was something magnificent to behold. The four standing high walls formed a kind of flue, and there being no wind at the time, the sparks ascended like a gigantic swarm of fire-flies, and scattered high into the blackness of the night or fell like a shower of gold." It was a case of an ill-wind blowing some good for the School of Arts. The site was cleared and a new building, designed by C. Kemmis, was begun in 1913 and completed by March of the following year. Both local government bodies had, in the interim, built their own chambers and had no need to lease rooms in the School of Arts. Its StoryThe initial trustees of the School of Arts were all well known Quirindi citizens: George Nowland, Charles Whittaker, Edward Underwood, Thomas Grehan and John Tebbutt. The building itself never became very popular with the general public, however, because although its outside appearance was quite striking, its rooms were considered to be "unusually small", so much so that when the Oddfellows' Hall was built in 1890, it soon became the preferred venue for the town's social functions. It was a matter of some complaint among civic leaders that the School of Arts library was not appreciated by the public and was not used sufficiently. A surviving photograph of the building, taken in 1889, shows ground floor offices on either side of the front entrance. One was occupied by a solicitor named A. H. Garraway and the other by a branch of the Australian Joint Stock Bank. When the Quirindi Municipal Council was formed in 1890, it took over the building, adopting it as its headquarters and meeting room.
Despite concerns about its adequacy, the School of Arts building proved to be popular for smaller meetings. One such group to make use of it during the 1890s was the Quirindi Literary and Debating Society. It was also a well frequented venue for games, especially after it added a billiard room in 1902. Draughts and whist were amongst its other popular offerings. After the disastrous fire of 1912, the opening of the new building in 1914 coincided with an increase in membership but despite this, the School of Arts "scraped along", barely covering expenses. By the mid 1920s, it had assets of £3,500 and liabilities £1,800, most of which was a mortgage. In 1929, in the face of such a financial circumstances, the Committee decided to offer the trusteeship of the School of Arts building to the Quirindi Municipal Council. Conditions were placed on the transfer, such as the maintenance of existing hours for the reading room and library. Membership fees were to remain unchanged for five years, the Council was to undertake to spend at least £50 a year for new books over the next ten years, and the billiard room and two tables were to be retained. Its Later UseThe Municipal Council made some alterations to the building when it moved into it in 1929. The building was further renovated in 1939 and continued to be used by the Municipal Council until its amalgamation with the Tamarang Shire Council in 1980 to form the Quirindi Shire Council. The new Council moved into the larger and newer Tamarang Shire Chambers which had been built in Station Street in 1965. The Municipal Council continued to provide School of Arts services for a time after taking over the building but changing fashions led, in due course, to a decline in the popularity of billiards. In addition, library facilities came to be provided by the local government bodies and by the regional library. These changes, together with the building of larger halls for meetings and social functions in Quirindi during the 1930s meant that the School of Arts activities taken over by the Council in 1929 had largely faded from the scene by the start of the Second World War.
Its Significance to the CommunityThe Quirindi School of Arts had what could only be described as a chequered career. It survived as an entity for only forty-one years and during this time, suffered the disaster of a fire which destroyed its original building and all its books, papers and equipment. Even without the fire, the School of Arts had found the going tough. Its premises were not entirely suited for the sorts of activities it had to offer and it suffered from a lack of revenue when it was bypassed in favour of other venues for many of the town's social functions. In its better days, however, it did offer useful library and reading facilities and a venue for various games and other entertainments, especially billiards. It had ceased to be a viable operation by 1929 and was glad of the opportunity to hand over its assets to the Quirindi Municipal Council.
|
To Alpha List |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||
