The first Mechanic's Institutes or Schools of Arts were established in Britain in the early 1800s and were intended to assist self improvement and to promote moral, social and intellectual growth, by providing lectures, discussions and lending libraries to a rising middle class.

The first School of Arts committee in Queensland was established in Brisbane in 1849 with the aim of "the advancement of the community in literary, philosophic and scientific subjects".

As towns and districts became established, local committees were formed to set up schools of arts, which became one of the principal sources of adult education.

Townsville had been established only two years previously as a port and commercial centre for the pastoral industry north of the Burdekin.

It soon moved to larger premises, but did not acquire a permanent home until 1877 when a substantial building was constructed on a reserve granted for the purpose on Melton Hill.

Gradually the business heart of the city moved westward so that by 1889 it was believed that the School of Arts on Melton Hill was too far from the centre of town.

[1] The Melton Hill property was sold to the Queensland Government for conversion to a court building and a new site was purchased on the corner of Stanley and Walker Streets.

He trained in England and arriving in Brisbane in 1880, worked in the office of his cousin, FDG Stanley, from 1881 until he was appointed City Engineer of Townsville in 1885.

This was a large rectangular space rising to 2 storey height with a stage flanked by extensions housing dressing rooms.

By this time it had become obvious that the theatre was too small and in 1913 the size of the auditorium was increased by an extension at the Walker Street end.

The Townsville School of Arts remained in use until the 1930s, although the verandahs were enclosed and a single storey office building was attached on the Walker Street side between 1929 and 1934.

[1] The single storey extension at the corner of Stanley and Walker Streets is also brick and is similar in style and finish to the main building.

On the southern side an extension runs the length of the building and houses the studios and offices of the 4TTT radio station.

The scale, material and form of the building amply demonstrate the wealth and importance of Townsville as a regional centre at this period.

It is a good example of a School of Arts building in a major regional centre, originally comprising a library, meeting rooms and a theatre designed to provide the facilities for a wide range of community cultural events and needs.

The Townsville School of Arts building is a major work of the North Queensland architectural firm of Eyre and Munro.