Schools and churches arrived on the bayside in much the same way — built by people who wanted them, largely paid for by fetes, and frequently housed in whatever building could be found or moved.
State schools
Before Lytton State School opened in 1882 and Wynnum Central in 1896, children from the Manly district walked to Hemmant, which opened in 1864, or Tingalpa, which opened in 1873.
Manly State School opened in 1910 with 107 pupils and made those journeys unnecessary. Getting it built was a community effort: the Education Department required local residents to raise two hundred pounds towards construction, which came in through a run of fetes.
By the late 1940s enrolment had passed 700. Lota State School opened in 1952 to relieve it, followed by Manly West in 1958 and Wondall Heights in 1968.
Darling Point Special School
The Darling Point Opportunity School opened in 1958 with thirty-three pupils, a principal, Miss Ruth Felsman, and a classroom teacher, Miss Patricia Munro. It served students from Victoria Point to Hawthorne and was the first school of its kind designed specifically by the Government Architect, with domestic science and manual training rooms.
It has made good use of its position on the corner of the upper and lower Manly Esplanades. Boat building and sailing became part of the program, and the school has its own sailing squadron. It went on to establish Australia’s first education marine centre and, on 4 June 1980, launched a floating classroom named Heritage.
Churches
St Paul’s Anglican
The first services were held in 1890 in the Board Hall in King Street. Rev. H.T. Moles moved them to St Peter’s in Charlotte Street in 1899. As the population grew, Rev. H.P. Hale began services in 1912 in the converted milking sheds of the Wyvernleigh homestead. A block of land was bought and a hall built in 1914, paid for by parishioners through a series of fetes and donations. St Paul’s remained part of the parish of St Peter’s until 1929, when it became independent under Rev. Henry Lilley.
Manly Congregational
Rev. W.A. Gann found several Congregational families already in Manly when he settled there. Services began in the home of Mr and Mrs G.A. Savage, and as numbers grew a church building was needed — so one was found at New Farm and moved to Manly. The congregation later became part of the Bayside Uniting Church.
Manly Methodist
In the late 1800s Mrs A. Rix started a Sunday school in the bush house behind Mr Curtis’s store in Stratton Terrace, later moving it to Paton’s Hall. It moved again into the church in Kingsley Terrace when that was finished in 1901. The earliest minister was Rev. Cook.
Manly Lota Presbyterian
The first Presbyterian services were held in the house of Sir David Hardie. A church opened in Chestnut Street in 1895 and served for thirty-six years. In 1931 two parishioners, Mrs Rix and Mrs Farmer, gave land and money towards a building fund, and the Manly Lota Presbyterian Church was built in Oceana Terrace.
Bethel
Bethel grew out of a gospel mission run by Rev. G.D. Smith from a tent at Darling Point. Mrs Farrell offered her home in Fisher Street for services, and as numbers grew a small property and shed at Preston Road were obtained and made ready for worship by 2 November 1924. A new church building, again built by volunteers, was finished in 1930. The name means “house of God”.
Roman Catholic
Archbishop Duhig bought Wyvernleigh at Manly early in the twentieth century, intending it for worship, but neglect and vandalism had left it in poor condition. Residents cleaned it up and three connecting ground-floor rooms were built for Mass. These also proved unsuitable. The Archbishop then acquired Mr Hart’s house in Oceana Terrace and the Mass centre moved to its basement. Father Butler, transferred from Cleveland, was the first parish priest. A church was completed and blessed by Archbishop Duhig in 1936.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Missionaries held the first meetings in 1894, in private homes for many years afterwards. By the 1950s the congregation had grown enough to meet in the old band hall, then the Girl Guides hall. The Manly branch was formed in 1965 under President Mervyn P. Joynt, and a meeting house was built almost entirely by members, funded by their own fundraising.
Sources
- Armstrong, H.W. (1971) The History and Development of the Wynnum District, Brisbane
- Beitz, M.N. (1982) Mangroves to Moorings: The Past 100 Years of Manly, Queensland, Manly Centenary Committee, Brisbane