Universities. 105. The usual examination for exhibitions to Universities, to be awarded Exhibitions to to pupils of Secondary schools, was held in November, when seventeen candidates presented themselves-eight from Brisbane Boys' Grammar School; three each from Ipswich Girls' Grammar School and St. Joseph's College, Nudgee; and one each from Brisbane Girls' Grammar School, Ipswich Boys' Grammar School, and Townsville Grammar School. Candidates. 106. The exhibitions were awarded to the candidates whose examination Successful papers showed the highest merit-namely, to Leonard Leslie Snow, Brisbane Boys' Grammar School; George Meston Duncan, Townsville Grammar School; and Elsie Frances Gasteen, Brisbane Girls' Grammar School. 107. Mr. Snow and Miss Gasteen had been holders of Grammar school scholarships won from Brisbane South (Boys) and Dunellan State schools respectively. 108. All three now attend the Sydney University. scholarship 109. Of the ninety-three exhibitions granted from the year 1878-when success of they were first established-to 1908, seventy have been gained by students who holders. have previously won scholarships from State schools. RHODES SCHOLARSHIP. scholarship. 110. Provision was made in the will of the late Right Hon. Cecil John Value of Rhodes for the establishment of scholarships at Oxford for students from the colonies and the United States of North America. One scholarship in each year was allotted to Queensland; the prize is of the yearly value of £300, and entitles the holder to attend any college in the University of Oxford for three consecutive academical years. 111. The sixth scholarship, that for 1909, was awarded to Leonard Graham Latest award. Brown, who received his secondary education in the Boys' Grammar School, Brisbane. GRAMMAR SCHOOLS. Number of schools. 112. There are ten Grammar schools in Queensland-six for boys and four Grammar for girls. There are separate schools for boys and for girls at Brisbane, Ipswich, Maryborough, and Rockhampton; and schools for boys at Toowoomba and Townsville. The school for boys at Ipswich, which was opened in 1863, was the first Grammar school established. 113. Each Grammar school is governed by a board of seven trustees, appointed by the Government, and of these four are nominated by the Governor in Council, and the others by a majority of the subscribers to the funds. The trustees hold office for three years, and are eligible for re-election. They are empowered to make regulations for the filling of all vacancies that may occur in their number for the unexpired portion of the term of office, for the determination of fees to be paid by the scholars, for the salaries to be paid to the teachers, and generally for the management, good government, and discipline of the school. All such regulations are subject to the approval of the Governor in Council 114. Endowment by the State is paid to each Grammar school at the rate of £750 per annum, and in addition a payment of £250 per annum to each Grammar school on account of district scholarships. In consideration of this extra amount, the Grammar schools provide free education for fifty scholars, who are selected from the list of unsuccessful candidates in the ordinary State scholarships examination according to their order of merit, and having regard also to the districts in which they live. These scholarships are known as district scholarships, and have a currency of three years; five were allotted to each Grammar school from 1st January, 1908. How governed. Endowment eurolment. 115. The aggregate enrolment at the ten State Grammar schools in 1906, Increased 1907, and 1908 was, respectively, 1,002, 1,044, and 1,101 and the average attendance was 877, 899, and 970. It is noteworthy that the fifty district scholarshins referred to above were awarded for the first time as from the 1st of January, 1907, and the increased attendance at the Grammar schools in 1907 and 1908 is To be inspected regularly in future. Accounts audited. Trustees' reports. State orphans, Expenditure. Distribution of children. due largely to the granting of these scholarships. It may be safely asserted tha fully one-quarter of the pupils attending Grammar schools are free scholars, being the holders of either State scholarships or Trustees scholarships. 116. It is provided in "The Grammar Schools Act Amendment Act of 1900 that the Grammar schools may be inspected at such time and in such manner as the Secretary for Public Instruction may direct. The schools were inspected in 1901 by Mr. Donald Cameron, M.A., but they have not been inspected since. The schools will now be regularly inspected by the newly-appointed InspectorGeneral, Mr. R. H. Roe, M.A. 117. The accounts of the various Grammar schools are audited yearly by the State audit inspectors. 118. Reports from trustees of Grammar schools will be found in Appendix D to this report. ORPHANAGES. 119. The report furnished by the Inspector of Orphanges shows that at the end of the year 1908 there were 2,259 children under the control of the State, an increase of 297 for the year. 120. The expenditure for 1908 amounted to £23,807 10s. 10d., an increase of £1,085 0s. ed. on the expenditure for the preceding year. 121. The distribution of children is shown in the following table: Net cost. Branch transferred. 122. The total expenditure is given above; from this should be deducted the maintenance collections, £1,822 17s. 1d., leaving a net cost to the State of £21,984 13s. 9d. 123. The Orphanges Branch has been transferred to the Home Department as from the 1st of January, 1909. GENERAL. ARBOR DAY. When held. Conditions. Committees help To come into force. Principal changes. 124. Arbor Day was celebrated at 160 schools during the year, on various dates from May to December. 125. The weather conditions appear to have been favourable in most places, and much good work was done. 126. The school committees and parents continue to take a great interest in the function, and cheerfully assist the teachers in their efforts to beautify the school grounds, and at the same time instil into the children a love for trees and flowers. REVISED REGULATIONS. 127. The regulations of the Department, general instructions and appendices, were revised, amended, and amplified during 1908, and the new code came into operation on the 1st January, 1909. 128. The four principal features of the new regulations are:-(1) A modification of the method of determining the salaries of head teachers; (2) a clearer definition of the duties and responsibilities of school committees; (3) the making of two additional grades of State schools, by (a) reclassifying the then existing state schools, and (b) by grading as State schools all the Provisional schools which vere vested in the Minister; and (4) the issuing of special regulations for the establishment of continuation classes. 129. Three new appendices were issued:-(1) School Hygiene; (2) Instruc- New appendices. tions to District Inspectors; and (3) Instructions to Itinerant Teachers. 130. The regulations are the most comprehensive which have yet been issued by the Department. CADET CORPS. School Cadets. 131. The establishment of School Cadets allotted to Queensland for 1908 Number of was 4,014. During the year the whole of the allotment was absorbed, partly by increasing the strength of existing corps, and partly by the formation of detachments at the State schools at Emerald, Springsure, Clermont, Barcaldine, Longreach, Winton, Bowen, Ingham, Cairns, Mareeba, and Irvinebank. Application has been made to the Commonwealth authorities for a further increase of 960 cadets in the establishment for 1909. If the application is granted it is proposed to extend the Cadet movement in the coastal and more populous centres, and also in the Northern and Western towns, so that lads in such places as Charleville, Cunnamulla, Hughenden, Croydon, Normanton, and Cooktown may be trained as Cadets. Corps have now been established in all the boys' grammar schools, and the masters are displaying commendable enthusiasm in the training of the lads in discipline, drill, and rifle-shooting. Mounted Cadets. 132. The Senior Cadet corps has been increased by half a battalion, and senior and the Mounted Cadet corps by one squadron. The grand total of all Cadets in Queensland is 5,821--being 739 more than in 1907. in-tructors 133. An addition has been made to the staff of Cadet Instructors so that Additional Cadet corps may be better trained. Two instructors are stationed at Brisbane, appointed. one at Rockhampton for the Central District, and one at Townsville for the Northern District. Two more are to be appointed shortly; one for the Wide Bay and Burnett Districts, with headquarters at Maryborough; and one for the Darling Downs, with headquarters at Toowoomba At places where Cadet Instructors do not visit at present, the services of the Military Instructors are placed at the disposal of the Cadet Staff. During the year the Staff Officer for Cadets visited and instructed every Cadet corps in the State. 134. The total number of teachers now serving as Cadet Officers is 230. Teacher- officers. During the month of July, 1907, a School of Instruction in Military Drill was conducted at Rockhampton for a period of four weeks, and was attended not only by the teachers who are Cadet officers but also by nearly every male teacher in Rockhampton. A Camp of Instruction for Cadet officers was held again at Southport for three weeks during the midsummer vacation, and this was attended by sixty-five teacher-officers. 135. Miniature Rifle Ranges have been erected in the playgrounds of the R ne Ranges. State schools at Junction Park, Eagle Junction, Sandgate, Fortitude Valley, Ithaca Creek, West End, Ipswich Central, Ipswich North, Gatton, Toowoomba East, Warwick West, Gympie One-mile, and Rockhampton Central. It is expected that twelve more will be completed before the end of June, 1909. 136. A new drill-book has been compiled and printed by the Department, New drill-book. which will bring the drill of the schools in line with the latest military drill. More attention is to be paid in future to the Physical Training, not only of Cadets, but of all the pupils in our schools. Arms and year, ammunition. 137. Another 1,000 Westley-Richards rifles were imported during the and these have been issued, making in all 3,000 serviceable Francotte and Westley-Richards rifles in use. Eighty rounds of ball ammunition are issued free to Cadets annually, and if that supply is not sufficient for the enthusiastic officer additional quantities may be obtained at the nominal charge of 24d. per packet of ten cartridges. With the exception of the metropolitan corps, all detachments completed the musketry course. When the Metropolitan Rifle Range at Enoggera, which is nearing completion, is available, there will be sufficient target accommodation to enable the Brisbane companies to obtain instruction in musketry equal to that afforded to other corps. Shooting competitions. Establishment of school corps Importance of naval training 138. With a view to securing, as far as possible, the general observance Empire Day throughout Queensland, of encouraging patriotism, and foster esprit de corps in the elementary schools of the State, your Excellency i expressed a wish that shooting matches amongst the schools possessing Cal corps be organized for each Empire Day, and you have been good enough present a challenge cup for competition by the various teams. Arrangemen have been made accordingly for the first match to be fired in 1909. 139. The six silver cups presented by the Minister for rifle-shooting we won as follows: Senior Cadet corps-South Brisbane Senior Cadets. Nos. 1 and 2 Queensland Battalion Cadets-East Brisbane Cadets 140. The Commonwealth Government has continued the grant of £300 for prizes for an Annual Cadet Rifle Meeting, and the competitions for 1909 are arranged to take place in thirty-two centres during the month of May. 141. The Inspector-General and the Military Commandant, in their reports of inspections, continue to speak highly of the organization, discipline, and drill of the Queensland Cadets. NAVAL CADETS. 142. In my Report for 1906 I stated that I should like to see Naval Cadets established in connection with our schools in coastal towns, and I pointed out that, considering the long coastline and the number of fairly large ports which Queensland possesses, conditions are probably more favourable in this State for the establishment of Naval Cadet corps than in any of the other States. In May, 1908, the head teacher of the State school at Burnett Heads, near Bundaberg, asked, at the request of some of his pupils, that a Naval Cadet corps might be established at that school. I referred the application to the local Naval Commandant, the late Captain Colquhoun. His reply, however, was not encouraging; he said that he had submitted the matter to the Naval Board for consideration, but that he had been unable to recommend that any action should be taken. How the Naval Board finally disposed of the proposal I do not know, as I have never been advised. In March last the head teacher of the Wynnum school informed me that he had about thirty boys who wished to become Junior Naval Cadets. I communicated the particulars to the local Naval Commandant, with an intimation that I am in favour of the establishment of Naval Cadet corps in connection with State schools. I have not yet received a reply. In March, 1909, the Commonwealth issued fresh regulations in regard to Naval Cadet corps. The regulations relating to establishment are: 1. The establishment of Naval Cadets for each State shall be based on the amount of money placed on the Estimates for that purpose. 2. Naval Commandants shall have full authority to recruit to full strength, 3. No division of Senior Naval Cadets shall be authorized in any port 5. Divisions of Naval Cadets shall only be authorized within such dis- to be carried out. 143. The adequate defence of Australia is one of the leading national questions of to-day, and the first steps have been taken for the establishment of Commonwealth Navy. Our system of Military Cadets is regarded as a good ne, and is looked upon as the best source from which a citizen soldiery may be [rawn. In any complete system of national defence a navy is indispensable, and naval training for some of our citizens is of as much importance as a military raining for others. It is highly desirable, therefore, that Naval Cadets should be encouraged as much as possible. SWIMMING CLASSES. formed. 144. In order to encourage swimming amongst school children a number of School clubs metropolitan teachers, who are interested in the subject, formed a "Schools' Swimming Association" in 1908. Clubs have been established under the auspices of the association in many of the Brisbane schools, and much commendable work was done last season. The following particulars will doubtless be of interest :— interested. 145. I think that these numbers are gratifying, and show that a very Teachers and encouraging beginning has been made. The pupils take a keen interest in the pupils atly swimming classes, and, as may naturally be expected, the swimming lessons are very popular. The teachers concerned are to be heartily commended upon the interest which they have shown in this laudable and useful movement, and the efforts which they have made to make the swimming classes successful. They devote much of their own time to the work. |