PR E PA R ATORY S C HO OL
The state-of-the-art $22 million
development was designed with flexibility
in mind. The classrooms are devoid of
fixed furnishings so that the spaces can
be easily rearranged and reinterpreted to
accommodate the needs of the learning at
any given time. This flexibility includes the
ability to collaborate between classes, as
they can be linked or closed off as separate
units. The development incorporates a
new administration building set atop the
new café. The café, and in fact the entire
gathering area of the development, reflects
the strong sense of community that exists
within the School. The classroom precinct
comprises three wings. The Year 1 and
2 wing and the Year 3 and 4 wing both
comprise of six classrooms in each building,
accompanied by a large break-out space.
The Year 5 and 6 wing comprises eight
classrooms, a linking break-out space and a
multi-purpose room to accommodate Science
and Art teaching. The learning spaces will
be complemented by interactive learning
technologies and generous IT provision.
The three new wings have been named
in honour of three Nyoongar leaders, in
consultation with the Whadjuk People, the
traditional owners of the land on which
Guildford Grammar School sits.
The buildings will be named:
• Joobaitch (Kangaroo skin group) from
the Swan, Guildford and Canning
districts who died in 1907 and is buried
in Guildford.
The three Whadjuk elders and lawmen,
Joobaitch, Woolba and Monop are
incredibly significant leaders as they shared
and recorded their traditional stories with
non-Aboriginal people. Today these stories
are recognised as passing on important
aspects of traditional cultural and ecological
knowledge, still of great relevance to the
Nyoongar, in Perth and the Southwest.
• Woolba (Black Swan skin group) from
Gingin, who died in 1913.
• Yued Elder Monop was known for his
musical ability and provided the Kyli or
boomerang music as an accompaniment
to the songs.
• Monop (Dingo skin group) from Victoria
Plains, who died in 1913.
• Boora Elder Woolba was a traditional
member of the Gingin families. He was
one of the happiest Indigenous people
Daisy Bates had ever met and upon
arriving at a camp he would break into
dance. He was strongly cultured in
Indigenous knowledge and knew his
traditions and lore well. He was always
willing to share this information with
non-Indigenous people.
• Ballaruk Elder Joobaitch of the
Kangaroo skin group of Perth, was a
lawman of the Guildford area. He grew
up among the colonists, keeping to his
laws but also becoming familiar with
the European ways. He was a protégé
of Bishop Hale and at one time a native
trooper. They made him a sort of police
official, to track and catch convicts and
as a go-between for the other natives.
His immediate family were the earliest
amongst the dispossessed groups,
whose title to the Swan Banks, and their
Boodja (country) had been theirs for
hundreds of generations.
The three leaders were of great importance
to the region and led the delegation that
performed for the Royal visit to Australia in
1901, when the then Duke and Duchess
of Cornwall and York visited. The group
performed at Bennett Brook at Success Hill.
They danced the spider dance, which the
Guildford Grammar School Boodjar Bidi boys
now perform.
In the planning stages of the development,
Mr Webber, Mr Peters and Mr Krause
travelled interstate to view examples of
celebrated educational spaces and significant
consultation was undertaken with experts in
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