29 July 2025

What a show off for a school ! This rather amazing tower was added to Malvern State School in 1890, when the Public Works Department was being more experimental – it’s a bit medieval Italian, but also influenced by the ‘brutes’ strand of the Victorian Gothic Revival.

It was part of an addition to the first 1875 two classroom block to the south (on the right); it probably matched more originally but the windows of the earlier part have been enlarged. Another matching addition was made to the north in 1908, which still has its Gothic windows. All the parts have nice polychrome brick, the tuckpointing of the whole thing must have been renewed in recent years – it looks great ! The old photo is 1890, from the heritage study.

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