Our heritage
Gympie State High School (GSHS) opened in January of 1912 as the first state high school in Queensland and has educated generations of Gympie children. The school motto – Ecollegio Metallisque Aurum – Gold from the school as well as the mines – as well as the school colours of maroon and gold have been with GSHS since the beginning.
The school was originally located near the town centre where Gympie Central Primary School is now located. The first Cootharaba Road building was constructed in 1917 and became one of the town’s iconic buildings.
On 18 May 1955 the original school building was destroyed by fire as the result of a science experiment.
Blocks B, C and D were built later that year on the same site. Blocks E, J and M were constructed in the 1960's, and A and H blocks and Hamilton Hall in the 1970's. Blocks N, O and the pool were added during the 1980's. Throughout the 1990's, A block was refurbished, K block was reconstructed from a 1930's building and the present administration building was added. The last major works occurred in 2014 when the school prepared for Year 7 to be added to secondary schooling in Gympie.
Our school celebrated its one hundredth birthday in March 2012 and the Centenary Book recounts the history of this great school.