page_title: The Range Convent and High School
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: The Range Convent and High School / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Range Convent School at Rockhampton, ca. 1907.
context_page_description: The Range Convent and High School is a heritage-listed private school at 263 Agnes Street, The Range, Rockhampton, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from c.1880s to 1930s. It is also known as Our Lady of Good Counsel Convent and School and The Catholic College Residential. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
context_section_description: The first Roman Catholic school in Rockhampton was established in about 1864 by Dean Murlay. When the Sisters of Mercy arrived in Rockhampton in 1873, they took over the running of the primary school and established a high school on the grounds. The school and convent were moved to their current premises on the Athelstane Range, west of the city in 1895.
  The Sisters of Mercy in Queensland established the sixth foundation of their order in Rockhampton in 1873, twelve years after their arrival in the state. This was the northernmost foundation and acted as the base for expansion into Central and North Queensland. The seven Sisters under the supervision of their Superior, Sr M Vincent Whitty, were welcomed by Dean Murlay, the parish priest, who provided them with their first convent in Kent Street. Large areas of prominent land had been acquired for the church and a catholic primary school established since Dean Murlay's arrival in Rockhampton in 1863.
  The Sisters immediately assumed responsibility for running the Catholic primary school, St Joseph's, and soon established a Catholic secondary school the first in Rockhampton. By October 1895 space at the school was inadequate and the sisters moved to the Athelstane Range slightly west of the centre of Rockhampton to Stoneleigh, the former residence of the Bishop of Rockhampton, Rev John Cani. The building was described as having verandahs on three sides, with four or five internal rooms opening from a central hall. A school room was added to the north wall in early 1896 and the school became known as the School of Our Lady of Good Counsel though due to its situation on Athelstane Range became commonly referred to as The Range Convent and High School. When Bishop Cani died in 1898 he left the heavily mortgaged building and grounds to the Sisters of Mercy.
  Improvements were made to the school by the Sisters by 1900 when an upper storey with verandahs was added to the convent and a timber chapel was built. Two Rockhampton architectural firms were employed by the school in this year, Eaton and Bates and EG Walters.
  Further work was planned when James Duhig was consecrated as the third bishop of Rockhampton on 10 December 1905. He maintained a strong relationship with the Range convent through his years in Rockhampton and subsequently as Archbishop of Brisbane until his death in 1965. After his consecration Duhig, who espoused a philosophy of education for girls immediately began planning a new school house for the sisters. Local architect and builder, C. Slater, was engaged in 1906 to design the building, Middle Hall, and supervise construction. Bishop Duhig was also actively involved in the design of the building. Shortage of funds meant considerable delays in the construction and it was not completed until early 1908, though its official opening was at the end of year school concert on 7 December 1907.
  Middle Hall consisted of two storeys and a tower; ten music rooms, a library, and rooms for photography, art, cooking instruction and a kitchen were on the ground floor and on the first floor was a large hall used for classrooms. Above these rooms, climbing from the rear of the stage of the hall was a timber tower, this consisted of two levels under an open balcony. The open space was to be used as an observatory and cast iron frieze panels designed by Sidney Williams & Co of Rockhampton depicting stars and moons complemented this use.
  A feature of Middle Hall was its attention to the health and safety of the occupants. Bishop Duhig consulted a local resident, Dr O'Brien, about these matters and consequently detailed attention was given to the design of the ventilation, drainage and hygiene resulting in 18-foot (5.5 m) wide verandahs surrounding three sides of the building, and the extensive use of Wunderlich pressed metal roof sheeting internally and on the verandah soffits. At its opening Middle Hall, built at a cost of in excess of £2000, was described by Duhig as one of the finest in the state.
  Soon after the construction of Middle Hall in 1908 extensive landscaping was comp
caption: Range Convent School, circa 1907
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