The mid 1880s saw a major boom in speculation on mining shares following the display of Charters Towers gold at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London and the finding of the Brilliant Reef in 1889.

[1] Possibly because of the richness of the ore at Charters Towers, some of the mines were run without much regard for the most efficient and modern methods.

As geologist J. Malcolm McLaren noted in his Queensland Mining and Milling Practice in 1901, many had been established before metallurgy became an exact science.

Meetings were held monthly at the old Town Hall where papers on subjects connected with mining were presented and discussed.

A foundation stone was laid by Edward David Miles on Friday 3 March 1899[2] and was used as one of the stumps supporting the timber building.

The school opened in the same year, teaching mathematics, surveying, assaying, chemistry and mineralogy and was governed by the Council of the Institute.

Although the experiment had failed, the need for technical instruction remained and the Institute approached the government who agreed to take over the school.

He made sketch plans used by the Queensland Government Architect to design additions and alterations which cost £700 and were carried out by local builder, B.Toll.

[1] Response to the new school was good and in 1903 the building was extended eastwards to include a reading room and office.

The school continued to produce a small, but highly regarded, stream of graduates who were to distinguish themselves in many branches of the mining industry, both in Queensland and further afield.

After strong reaction by the residents of Charters Towers, the department leased the building to the National Trust of Queensland which undertook works to permit occupancy.

It is a single story building, timber framed and clad on concrete stumps with a corrugated iron roof.

The former school is now used by Towers Arts, the city's largest artists' community, for making and displaying paintings, pastels, photos, quilling, ceramics, jewellery, clothing, quilts, dolls and other artworks.

The School of Mines at Charters Towers was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria.

Its success in the early years of the twentieth century is shown by the series of extensions to the building and its facilities.

[1] The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history.