Arthur Street School Infant Department (Former)

26 Arthur Street, DUNEDIN

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Arthur Street School has its origins in Dunedin’s Beach School, established by the first Scottish settlers in 1848. In the 1860s the school was located from its harbour side site at the foot of Bell Hill, to a new building on Dowling Street, and renamed Middle District School. Road works on Dowling Street made the building unsafe, and in 1876 the decision was made to move the school to Arthur Street, the current site of the school. Middle District School opened in October 1877, just in time for the 1877 Education Act that saw a steep rise in pupil numbers, and corresponding over-crowding. The Infant Department was built in 1887 to remedy the cramped and unhealthy conditions at the Arthur Street School (as the school became known). The ‘substantial and commodious’ building alleviated the worst overcrowding at a time when there was increasing concern about the welfare of young children. The history of the building reflects changing concerns in health and education – the 1930s saw the addition of an open-air classroom, though this was soon enclosed in response to Dunedin’s chilly weather. Arthur Street School Infant Department (Former) sits to the rear of the school grounds, immediately adjoining the Town Belt, and close to the boundary with Otago Boy’s High School. The timber-framed building is rusticated weather board, T-shaped in plan, with lean-to additions to the north and east elevations. It has a slate roof, with ventilators along the ridge line. The windows on the side elevations are multi-paned double-hung sash windows, with a hinged top light. On the front elevation there is a large arched window with sidelights flanked by double-hung sash windows. The Infant Department is built to a standard Otago Education Board plan from the 1880s. School plans were adapted to the requirements of their communities – small, single room, larger two-room, T-shaped plan etc. These buildings are becoming less common as schools are abandoned or replaced by modern buildings. In 1989 a mezzanine floor was added and the interior modernised. In 1999 the building was converted for use as the school library. As the oldest surviving school building on site, the building became the symbol of the school’s history during 1998 sesquicentennial celebrations. In 2017, the former Infant Department is home to the school’s library.

Arthur Street School Infant Department (Former), Dunedin | Matthew Schmidt | 25/11/2016 | Heritage New Zealand
Arthur Street School Infant Department (Former), Dunedin | Heather Bauchop | 28/08/2017 | Heritage New Zealand

Location

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List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Place Category 2

Access

Private/No Public Access

List Number

9717

Date Entered

5th May 2019

Date of Effect

6th June 2019

City/District Council

Dunedin City

Region

Otago Region

Extent of List Entry

Extent includes part of the land described as Pt Section 86 Blk XIX Town of Dunedin (The Dunedin School Reserve Act, 1877), Otago Land District and the building known as Arthur Street School Infant Department (Former) thereon. (Refer to map in Appendix 1 of the List entry report for further information).

Legal description

Pt Section 86 Blk XIX Town of Dunedin (The Dunedin School Reserve Act, 1877), Otago Land District

Location Description

Additional Location Information Located at the rear of the section, adjoining the Town Belt.

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