Bulimba State School was first established in 1866 and contains several generations of buildings and structures that have been erected by the Department of Public Works to meet the growing needs of the community and are representative of some of the developments in education policy in Queensland since that time.

Prior to the establishment of the Bulimba State School, classes were held initially at Bulimba House (the home of David McConnel) and then at the Baptist Church.
In April 1866, a public meeting was held in the Bulimba Ferry Hotel with a view to raising funds for the construction of a National School.
As the first settled agricultural district in the colony, the need for such a school had been felt for some time, but had been prevented by limited funds.
Subscriptions of £61 were made at the meeting and through submissions from the meeting and the subsequent actions of a building committee, an agreement was reached by the Government to establish the school.

Michael Robinson's tender of £230 for a 18 by 14 feet (5.5 m × 4.3 m) school building and a residence was accepted in June 1866 and due for completion by the following October.
In the interim, the school opened on 16 July 1866 in the Wesleyan Chapel.

The first school building and residence were aligned and located at the top of the site in the south east corner facing south-west.
As the district prospered and enrolments grew, extra classrooms were required and two additional timber wings were added to the school, which was raised at the turn of the century to allow for eight teaching rooms at ground level.

Further additions were required within a decade and, in 1915, a separate infants building was erected facing Oxford Street.
It was a highset timber framed building erected on timber stumps to provide toilets and a play space underneath the building.
It was clad in weatherboards with an asbestos cement slate roof and was lined internally with tongue and groove v-jointed boards to the walls and coved ceiling.
The hat rooms at each end of the verandah were unlined internally and the remainder of the verandah had vertical balustrading.
Two flights of uncovered external timber stairs provided access to the verandah between which the teachers' room was attached.
The building comprised three classrooms with southern lighting and ventilation provided by a large bank of windows comprising casements, centre pivoting sashes and hoppers at the top to provide a variety of ventilation options.
This arrangement was repeated, at the eastern and western ends of the building, both of which were protected by sunshades.

There were many representations made by the staff, the Parents and Citizen's Association, school committees, and local politicians during the late twenties and thirties to accommodate the ever-growing school population.
In the early thirties, enrolments exceeded 520, of which over 150 were infants and it was resolved that the group of older timber classrooms should be replaced with a new building to accommodate 400, allowing the infants annexe, which was in good condition, to remain.

The effects of the economic depression on building work in Queensland in the 1930s was dramatic and building work came to a standstill.
The Queensland Government committed to providing impetus to the economy by embarking on capital works and relief works building programs from the early thirties until the late forties.

The relief works program favoured works involving local manual labour.
It was through this scheme that the Bulimba State School's site was levelled off and tennis and basketball courts were built in 1935, followed by the erection of retaining walls to two frontages and to the tennis court, which were completed in 1937 to drawings prepared by Gilbert Robert Beveridge.
Beveridge prepared the plans for the new school building which was one of many substantial two and three storey schools built during this time, providing tangible proof of the Government's commitment to remedy the unemployment situation.

The brick Bulimba State School building was completed in 1938 and cost
Bulimba State School was first established in 1866 and contains several generations of buildings and structures that have been erected by the Department of Public Works to meet the growing needs of the community and are representative of some of the developments in education policy in Queensland since that time.
Prior to the establishment of the Bulimba State School, classes were held initially at Bulimba House (the home of David McConnel) and then at the Baptist Church. In April 1866, a public meeting was held in the Bulimba Ferry Hotel with a view to raising funds for the construction of a National School. As the first settled agricultural district in the colony, the need for such a school had been felt for some time, but had been prevented by limited funds. Subscriptions of £61 were made at the meeting and through submissions from the meeting and the subsequent actions of a building committee, an agreement was reached by the Government to establish the school.
Michael Robinson's tender of £230 for a 18 by 14 feet (5.5 m × 4.3 m) school building and a residence was accepted in June 1866 and due for completion by the following October. In the interim, the school opened on 16 July 1866 in the Wesleyan Chapel.
The first school building and residence were aligned and located at the top of the site in the south east corner facing south-west. As the district prospered and enrolments grew, extra classrooms were required and two additional timber wings were added to the school, which was raised at the turn of the century to allow for eight teaching rooms at ground level.
Further additions were required within a decade and, in 1915, a separate infants building was erected facing Oxford Street. It was a highset timber framed building erected on timber stumps to provide toilets and a play space underneath the building. It was clad in weatherboards with an asbestos cement slate roof and was lined internally with tongue and groove v-jointed boards to the walls and coved ceiling. The hat rooms at each end of the verandah were unlined internally and the remainder of the verandah had vertical balustrading. Two flights of uncovered external timber stairs provided access to the verandah between which the teachers' room was attached. The building comprised three classrooms with southern lighting and ventilation provided by a large bank of windows comprising casements, centre pivoting sashes and hoppers at the top to provide a variety of ventilation options. This arrangement was repeated, at the eastern and western ends of the building, both of which were protected by sunshades.
There were many representations made by the staff, the Parents and Citizen's Association, school committees, and local politicians during the late twenties and thirties to accommodate the ever-growing school population. In the early thirties, enrolments exceeded 520, of which over 150 were infants and it was resolved that the group of older timber classrooms should be replaced with a new building to accommodate 400, allowing the infants annexe, which was in good condition, to remain.
The effects of the economic depression on building work in Queensland in the 1930s was dramatic and building work came to a standstill. The Queensland Government committed to providing impetus to the economy by embarking on capital works and relief works building programs from the early thirties until the late forties.
The relief works program favoured works involving local manual labour. It was through this scheme that the Bulimba State School's site was levelled off and tennis and basketball courts were built in 1935, followed by the erection of retaining walls to two frontages and to the tennis court, which were completed in 1937 to drawings prepared by Gilbert Robert Beveridge. Beveridge prepared the plans for the new school building which was one of many substantial two and three storey schools built during this time, providing tangible proof of the Government's commitment to remedy the unemployment situation.
The brick Bulimba State School building was completed in 1938 and cost
Bulimba State School