Pretty Beach Public School

Pretty Beach Public School is set in the tranquility of a bush backdrop and fronts peaceful Brisbane Water. It is 79 years old and is a combination of the original architecture and demountable classrooms. There are currently 7 classes in the school catering for a school population of approximately 170. Pretty Beach Public School prides itself on its caring and inclusive nature, where children's talents and skills are nurtured and developed and where a sense of community is strongly encouraged. The unique school delights in offering children the highest possible quality education.

History

An application for the establishment of a public school at Pretty Beach Extension (or Hardy's Bay), together with a strongly worded letter from the Wagstaff and Pretty Beach ProgresS Association outlining the reasons for the proposal, was made on 7th January 1925... The application was signed by 25 parents on behalf of 52 children aged between three and thirteen years of age... Previous requests for a school dating from 1921 have been declined on two previous occasions.

The Department finally recognized the need for a school and a large site of nearly twelve acres was purchased at Pretty Beach for the sum of six hundred and fourteen pounds in the latter half of 1925.

The school opened in January with the appointment of Mr Charles Allen on 18th January 1927. There is little likelihood that on that day Charles Allen foresaw that he would spend the next twenty-two years at Pretty Beach School, and that even then, that termination would only be caused by his death, on 11th December 1949, at the age of 63... During that time he appears to have been highly efficient, diligent, keenly interested in the affairs and the upkeep of the school, and on excellent terms with the local parents' Association...

During his twenty two years as Teacher-In-Charge, Mr Allen showed himself to be an efficient and capable teacher, keenly interested in the welfare of the pupils passing through his hands. Backed by an ACTIVE P & C Association the school continued to thrive. Charles Allen died on 11th December 1949, still at the helm of Pretty Beach Public School.

Headmasters

Mr Charles Allen - appointed 18/1/27 Mr Arthur Makuschka - relieving 14/9/34 - 3/1/35 Mr Herbert Walsh - relieving 25/7/40 - 18/11/40 Mr Eric Rossiter - relieving 31/1/41 - date unknown Mr Walter K. Ingram - appointed 31/1/50 Mr Arthur Cains - appointed 1/2/55 Mr John James - appointed 30/1/62 Mr William Gibbons - appointed 14/6/66 Mr John A Kerr - appointed 27/1/76 Mr Frank Flanagan - appointed January 1977. Mr R Owens - appointed 1981 Mr C Tarbox - appointed 1982 Mr F Bridgement - appointed 1986 Mr John Shipton - appointed 1989 Mr Robert Pegg - appointed 1991 Mrs Jill Godwin - appointed 1999 Mrs Vicki Redrup - appointed 2005