1997 School Magazine

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belief in Abraham Lincoln's words of government of the people by the people andfor the people, led him to exhort the working classes to elevate tbe1nselves by education and deplore the 01ganisation of intelligence purchased by wealth (Brisbane Courier 6/4/1891). As early as 1870 he introduced for the first time in an Australian colony the concept of free education and is hailed by many as the real father of our system of free, compulsoiy and secular education. The context in which Lilley operated was one in which countries such as England, Scotland and Germany were begin- ning to provide access to education, particularly at prima1y level, to boys and girls from different social classes. By the end of the nineteenth centu1y these countries had moved to making it compulsory.What was not so readily available not only within these countries but in Australia generally, was general access to facilities for seconda1y and higher education. With the full societal impact of rapid industrialisation, this became a matter for increasing concern with the result that moves were made to address the issue and provide greater equity in education. It coincided with the great social movement which swept away barriers to the achievement of women. (17Jeobald 1994) Lilley's views on education, and in particular, those relating to the higher education of both boys and girls were stimulated by the atmosphere of University College London which he attended during 1847 and 1848. It was non sectarian, relatively low cost and open to all classes without prejudice and was the first university to offer courses to women and later degrees . following his arrival in Australia in 1856, as a schoolmaster on an immigrant ship, Lilley moved to Moreton Bay where he worked as a solicitor by day and as editor of 171e Moreton Bay Courier by night, and took an active interest in politics and the development of the proposed new Colony. On 24 June, 1873, Mr Justice Charles Lilley, Member for Fortitude Valley in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland and a prominent public figure, addressed an open meeting in Brisbane at which there were over a thousand people present. On this occasion he expressed his views on education. He was preparing a new education Bill for the colony which would extend educational provisions in Queensland. Into this vision- a1y Bill, Lilley appears to have incorporated much of the University of London model and also appears to have based his attitude to the education of women on his experiences while there. He stated that in his opinion the question of public education was of the first importance to the new colony, and ,veil above all other contempora1y issues including those of land and immigration. In particular, he espoused his belief that State education should be directed to the intellectual, moral and physical training of students and to the formation of habits of self culture, based on the principle that there should be no eparation on account of class, rank or religion and furthermore that girls, whose education had hitherto been neglected, should have the same educational advantages as boys . (Brisbane Courier 24/6/ 1873) Although his visiona1y Bill was not passed by the Parliament of the day, it led to the establishment in 1874 of a Royal Commission into Education. It was obvious that Charles Lilley should chair the Commission and following his appointment a major review of the provisions for education in the State was

conducted. During the hearings there were witnesses who raised new issues, one of which significantly reflected Lilley's earlier view that there was a need to provide girls with similar opportunities to boys through which they could gain access to higher education. During that same year, Lilley used his vision and energy to influence fellow trustees at Brisbane Grammar School, which had been established in 1869, to open a branch school for the bigber education ofgirls and in which it was intended that the system of education would be similar to that provided in the boys school. On March 15, 1875, the girls school opened as a branch of Brisbane Grammar and as the first public seconda1y school for girls in the colony established a milestone in the development of public education of girls within Australia. It is interesting that there was no suggestion at this time to take this somewhat radical step still further and establish a co-educa- tional institution. There could have been no more unlikely place for such developments to happen than the f\eW colony of Queensland. It was a largely agrarian society where the rapidly changing work patterns and life styles found in more industrialised societies were not really evident. At the same time however, it represented a new frontier , free from the constraints inherent in older more highly developed communities. People came from a variety of backgrounds and, although members of the squattocracy considered themselves an elite, in reality there was no strong social stratification. Rather, there was an obvious need for men and women to work together to develop the new society unconstrained by the stereotypes and mores of their original homelands. Lilley had many supporters in his determination to provide girls with the same educational opportunities as boys . They included Sir Charles Nicholson and Sir Robert Herbert, both of whom had played a major role in the early educational development of the colony and the Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane, Bishop Quinn, also an ardent liberal. One ofHerbert's close friends was Sir John Bramston who was chairman of the Board of Trustees at Brisbane Grammar from 1871 - 1874 and it is not surprising that he gave his support to Lilley in his attempt to open the girls branch. Thus Lilley's vision was supported by men who played such important roles in developing the early structures of the colony.

There is a wonderful series of letters dedicated to Charles Lilley , which were published under the title Our Girls and their Secondaiy Education, and written by Fred Swannick, a teacher from Kangaroo Point School. Swannick seriously considered what it meant to be a girl at school in Queensland in the 1870's and promoted the view that the education of girls as well as boys was quite inadequate and that women three hundred years earlier had been better se1ved. He expressed surprise and delight at the moves by Brisbane Grammar School and in particular Lilley, to establish a seconda1y school for girls, stating let us rejoice that at last good common sense bas decided our girls will have the unspeakable advantage of such subjects as physical training. What concerned Swannick, however, was would parents take advantage of the Trustees moves. He was worried that the girls school might not be the success it dese1ved to be . Despite early problems, one hundred and twenty years ----------------------- 13 --------------- --------