Heritage Listing for School
It was recently announced that the historic section of Leongatha Secondary College was placed on the Victorian State Heritage Register. The listing refers to the Sloyd Room, built in 1913 as a woodwork room, the 1934 building, which replaced a building constructed in 1912 and destroyed by fire in 1933, the Jubilee Park planted in 1937 to commemorate the school’s 25th anniversary and a famous oak tree planted in 1912.
The Sloyd room is believed to be the last one in a secondary school in the state. These rooms were once common and were used for the teaching of woodwork. At the rear of the Sloyd room is a metalwork room which has a brick floor.
The 1934 building was erected as a replacement for the original 1912 school. This building was similar in design to the original but was larger. There are very few early weatherboard high schools left in the state and none in Gippsland. The original Warragul High School was demolished some time ago and the original Sale High School c 1910 was built of brick.
The oak tree was planted in 1912 when the school was opened and has been a landmark feature of the school ever since. Countless students will remember it fondly.
The Jubilee Park was planted to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the school.
There were some beautiful exotics planted in the park and the majority are still there. Some died and were removed, some others were removed for the building of Mesley Hall and the recent Mesley Hall extension. It was considered a planting of significance because it marked an important event in the community’s history.
The buildings and the trees belong to our community and need to be preserved for the future.