Blackheath and Thornburgh College

In 1918, Charters Towers mining magnate Edmund Harris Thornburgh Plant wanted to sell his mansion, Thornburgh House, with its extensive gardens and mature trees which formed an oasis of greenery in the parched environment of Charters Towers.

The school was officially opened by Dr Henry Youngman, President General of the Methodist Church of Australia, on 23 April 1920.

[1] A gift of £1000 from a William Robert Black and generous contributions from the public made it possible for Bacon to establish a girls' school in "Yelvertoft", the former home of J Mitchell.

In 1919 the College Council was able to purchase the abandoned dam and tailings area below the house, which had been part of Plant's Bonnie Dundee Mill, and by 1922 had developed it into a sports field.

In 1920, in order to provide additional dormitories and a new bathroom upstairs and a larger dining room downstairs, some modifications were made.

and the Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association relinquished financial management of Thornburgh College to a Provisional Board of Governors.

The grounds established by Plant continued to be cared for and enhanced by the College and during the 1940s emphasis was placed on developing the garden.

A decision was made to demolish Thornburgh House, but was not implemented as it was found that the cost of new buildings would be greater than that of restoring the old.