1997 School Magazine

~iris '19rmnmar ~clJool lJ;lrisbane 1997 ---------11r------------------------ ~

a school which subsequently opened up new experiences, not just for the girls within the school, but also for the boys, experiences hitherto unavailable in Queensland. The value of the Sydney Junior and Senior examinations as benchmarks for academic achievements clearly demonstrated to all that young women were more than capable of accepting academic challenges and that, as the quality of teaching improved within the girls school, girls could achieve equally with and at times, better than, their male counterparts. The result was that in 1882, an independent seconda1y education emerged as a reality for the young women of the colony when the two branches of Brisbane Grammar formally separated. The girls school gained its own foundation and independent Board of Trustees. That this development oc- curred at all in a period when priorities other than education, were uppermost in most people's minds, is a tribute to the persistence of the early leaders and in particular to Charles Lilley, who was prepared against all odds to pursue the goal of education for all. Who better, to comment on the emergence of such a development for girls than one of the first girls to be given such an opportunity. On the occasion of the Jubilee of the Girls Grammar School in 1925, Bertha Burdorff, enrolled in 1875, recalled something of the climate in which the school was established. Picture Brisbane then, a little more than a village without trams, electric light, motor cars, moving pictures; with no tecbnical college and no university... it says mucb for the Gov- ernment and tbe Trustees of tbe Grammar Scbool at that ti111e tbatwben tbeyoung colony ofQueenslandwas but sixteenyears old and bigber education for women still a subject of contro- versy, tbe frtestimable boon of a liberal and non-sectaria 11 education was offered to our girls. Bertha exemplifies the vision behind the entire move towards equality of educational opportunity as it emerged in Queensland. As a saddler's daughter who lived in Queen Street, Bertha became one of many young women who were given educational opportunities previously undreamed of, in an environment which included people from a variety of back- grounds and was free from the constraints of class, religion, ra ce or gender. The beautiful illumination, presented by the girls of th , school to His Honour Justice Lilley and Lady Lilley in March 1884, when they were the first public figures to be welcomed to the new school building on Gregory Terrace, refl ects something of the appreciation felt for what he had achieved in the education of girls. This was a man, truly ahead of his time , who had created his own lasting memorial.

later, Swannick, as well as all those involved in the develop- ments would be ove1whelmed at just how successful the move was. Although Lilley had not acted in isolation, he did use a particular set of circumstances to achieve his vision for educa- tion generally. Through the mechanism of Government Acts and at a time when the concept of the validity of universal prima1y education was just emerging as an issue, the fact that secondary education was raised at all was a tribute to him and to the early community and political leaders of the colony. They had recognised that if the colony did not establish a strong educational base, then its future would be jeopardised by the lack of an educated group within the community and a shortage of properly trained professionals who could guide its future development. Through their initiatives they provided a forum for the entire issue of education to be debated and for the specific issues of liberal versus vocational education to be addressed . Their policies were at times in sharp contrast to policies in other colonies where while general support of Government provi- sions for basic prima1y education was the rule, the established churches and private academies were given the right to provide facilities for most of the higher forms of education. Putting policy into action was not easy and at times became an almost impossible challenge. It could be argued that the issue of the higher education of girls was helped to a degree by many of these apparently unrelated events. For example, Lilley's initiative in 1870 to introduce free prima1y education took some of the financial pressure from parents to support local schools. Likewise, the increased availability of scholarships not only to Grammar Schools but also to universities placed access to a higher education within the grasp of anyone prepared to work hard at their studies. With the passage of Tbe University Act (1870) Lilley even ensured that despite there being no univer- sity in the colony, those who desired such access would not be hindered in seeking it. ' Lilley's vision, so evident in the early years of the Colony, highlights the need for persistence if changes are to be achieved. It could be surmised from the generally small enrolments in the existing girls schools of the period, which stressed an "accomplishments" curriculum, and the initial higher enrolments at the Girls Grammar, that although suitable facilities did exist at the time, many parents were seeking more academic alternatives for their daughters. As with any change, however, the initial years of the Girls Grammar were not easy. The added stresses it placed upon the Boys' School had not featured in the planning processes and there was a general failure to develop clear lines of responsibil- ity and communication between the Headmaster Thomas Harlin and the Lady Principal Janet O'Connor. Indeed it could be considered that with both leaving the school in 1876, it is surprising that the so called experiment ever continued. Once these early problems were addressed, however, the expertise of the new Headmaster Reginald Heber Roe, coupled with the ability of subsequent lady principals, led to the development of

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