Tag: Buderim Mountain State School

Buderim Mountain State School To Celebrate 150 Years Of Learning And Legacy

Photo Credit: bmsspandc/Instagram

Buderim Mountain State School, a heritage-listed cornerstone of Queensland’s education system, is preparing to celebrate 150 years of continuous operation with a day of reflection, reunions and community pride.

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A Growing School With Deep Community Roots

Buderim Mountain State School, one of Queensland’s oldest and most cherished public schools, will celebrate its 150th anniversary with a community-wide celebration honouring generations of students, staff and families who have shaped the school since it opened in 1875.

Photo Credit: bmsspandc/Instagram

The milestone event, titled Back to Buderim Mountain State School, will take place on Saturday, 21 June 2025, drawing past and present students, teachers, and local residents for a full day of festivities at the school’s Main Street campus.

Celebration Day To Reconnect Generations

Now with over 1,100 students and a new $10 million hall, Buderim Mountain State School has grown from a small provisional school into a hub of education and community pride. It’s heritage-listed and forms part of the Buderim War Memorial Community Centre — a “living memorial” that includes the school’s arboretum, sports fields and memorial gates from 1945.

Photo Credit: 4556 Chamber of Commerce/Facebook

The celebration program includes an official ceremony, school tours, historical exhibitions, a commemorative sculpture unveiling, and the long-awaited opening of a time capsule buried during the school’s 125th anniversary in 2000. 

A Documentary To Capture 150 Years Of School Life

The day will feature a roll call of former students by decade, followed by performances from the choir, rock band and dance troupe. A documentary by Reflected Image Productions, backed by the Buderim Foundation, will also premiere, sharing school life across generations through student memories.

Photo Credit: bmsspandc/Instagram

To mark the occasion, the school has released a limited-edition BMSS 150th umbrella. The 120cm golf-style design comes with a sleeve, costs $36, and is available from the Uniform Shop or via Flexischools for classroom delivery.

Open Invitation To The Wider Community

Community members are encouraged to register online to take part in the day. Memorabilia and student-designed artwork will be available for purchase, and refreshments will be served throughout the grounds.

REGISTER HERE

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After 150 years of continuous operation, Buderim Mountain State School remains not just an institution of learning, but a place where stories, friendships, and history are shared and celebrated by the Buderim community.

Published 21-April-2025

Buderim Mountain State School Now on the Queensland Heritage Register

Block B of Buderim Mountain State School (Photo Credit: apps.des.qld.gov.au)

Buderim Mountain State School, the first school in Buderim, has earned its place in history and is now listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.

The school, located at 8-42 Main Street, Buderim was entered as a State Heritage on 3 May 2019. 

According to the Queensland Heritage Register database, the premises added to the register are:

  • school complex comprising of Blocks B and C
  • war memorials comprising of Memorial Gate, Memorial Sports Ground and Memorial Arboretum 
  • Mature trees
  • Views within and to the site

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Block B is a temporary classroom building that serves as a standard type of a Queensland state school. It retains its low-set, timber-framed structure, north-facing open verandah, and a gable roof. It was built in 1951 and was extended in 1954. 

Block C of Buderim Mountain State School (Photo Credit: apps.des.qld.gov.au)

Block C, on the other hand, is a high-set timber school building built eight years after Block B was constructed. Like the latter, it features an open space to the north and south sides, facilitating abundant natural light and ventilation of interior.

An important feature of the school is its mature trees, including its extensive pine forestry plot and arboretum planted as a war memorial in the late 1940s. 

Mature camphor laurel at Buderim Mountain State School (Photo credit: apps.des.qld.gov.au)

The arboretum, sports grounds, and memorial gates are components of a broader ‘War Memorial Community Centre’, established in 1945 by the Buderim community as a ‘living memorial.’

About Buderim Mountain State School 

Photo credit: buderimmountainss.eq.edu.au

When it opened in 1875, Buderim Mountain State School was known as Buderim Mountain Provisional School and only had 18 pupils. The school’s first location was on Panorama Drive but it was closed in 1886.

Provisional schools were established by settler communities whose average student attendance was between 12 and 30 pupils. The local Buderim school committee had to provide a suitable building at their own expense because at that time, the Queensland Board of General Education only built and maintained primary schools with more than 30 pupils. 

Fast-forward to the present day, the school has over 1,000 students and continues to honor its traditional custodians, the Gubbi Gubbi people. They are the Indigenous Australian people native to southeastern Queensland.

A more detailed history of these buildings can be found on the Queensland Heritage Register website. 

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