Newmarket State High School

Newmarket State High School was a secondary school in the suburb of Newmarket in Brisbane,. It was located 5 km from the city in the north-west of Brisbane, part of South East Queensland. The school's entrance was off Banks Street, with the school located on land between Banks Street and Brent Street in what is now Laurence Street, Daniel Place, Nelson Place, and associated developments. The school site was in the City of Brisbane local government area for the entirety of its operation.

Etymology

The school was named after the suburb it was located in, and the suburb of Newmarket itself was named for the historical cattle saleyards that operated from 1877 to 1931 at the north-east corner of Enoggera and Newmarket Roads, which, due to urban development of Newmarket, were moved to Cannon Hill in 1931.

History

Opening

The school was originally opened on 29 January 1963.

Closure

In 1995, after a decision was made to close the school, the school stopped taking new enrolments. A closing ceremony was held on 7 December 1996. The school closed on 13 December 1996. The closure of the school was described by John-Paul Langbroek as an example in the metropolitan region of a school closure in an area of "limited population growth or enrolment expectations in the catchment area with an alternative school within close proximity".

Site Redevelopment

A feasibility study was conducted by the Queensland Department of Emergency Services and Office of Sport and Recreation on the conversion of Newmarket State High School into a suitable headquarters for the Queensland Academy of Sport. However, the site was eventually completely redeveloped for housing and a small local park. The school land was marketed through an expressions-of-interest campaign by PRD Realty. During its operation, the school was initially accessible through a driveway off Banks Street, an address which no longer exists, being redeveloped into a road leading onto Laurence Street, Daniel Place, and Nelson Place, with the old school entrance now functioning as the Nelson Place entrance to the land located between Banks Street and Brent Street, via these newly created streets.

Infrastructure

Buildings

The school had some permanent buildings and two temporary prefabricated classrooms.

Seating

Outside seating facilities were provided. In 1989, upgrades were needed because the 150-seat capacity was insufficient for the 500-student attendance, necessitating students sitting on wet grass or wet bricks during wintertime breaks.

Library

In the 1987 state government education budget, funds were allocated for a new library at the school. The library was opened on 27 April 1988 by then Minister for Education, Brian George Littleproud.

Administration

Principals

The first principal of the school was K. P. O'Connor, and the final principal was Karyn A. Hart. The principals of the school included:
O'Connor became the principal of Everton Park State High School in 1965, then became the principal of Wavell State High School in 1968.
An English teacher of note at the school was Janette Turner Hospital, who went on to become an award-winning Australian-born novelist and short story writer.

Students

While the school originally had an enrolment of around 1,000, this enrolment decreased significantly to about 600–700 students, a decrease attributed by critics, such as William Armstrong Moore, to both a change of principal and a change in the school's ideology. In 1978, the number of students decreased to about 450–470. In 1989, seven years before the school's closure, the school was reported to have 500 students in attendance.
A student representative council, composed of 28–30 students, existed from 1979.

Curriculum

Joint educational ventures were conducted with TAFE teachers who were available at the school, with more than 100 volunteers helping with reading and writing training.

Yearbook

The yearbook was called Jakaway, a combination of the first two letters of each of the school's sports houses.

Sports

Houses

There were four school houses named after Aboriginal tribes thought to be living in the local areas of Newmarket and Alderley in the 19th century:

House Name	Aboriginal tribes	Colour	Student Surname	Ref
Jagara	Jagera	Green	A-E
Kabi	Kabi Kabi	Red	F-L
Waka	Wakka Wakka	Gold	M-R
Yungi	Yungi	Blue	S-Z

The school was located on Turrbal and Jagera traditional land.