School land and buildings records

About school land and buildings records

School land and building records have had many names over the years depending on how the information was collected or why.

• Records of school land have been called:
  • site records,
  • estate records, or
  • property records.
• Records of school buildings have been known as:
  • building records,
  • property records,
  • facilities records,
  • capital expenditure works records, or
  • infrastructure records.
• Records of maintenance works have been known as:
  • maintenance records,
  • minor works, or
  • repair records.

These records were mainly created and stored in the administrative offices of the Department of Education. However, schools create and hold maintenance records and some building records, particularly for renovations.

The former Public Works Department also created school building records and others may be held by private architectural and building companies.

Why are these records important?

These records can:

• show where schools were physically located,
• show what schools looked like over time,
• confirm opening and closing dates of schools,
• confirm legal possession,
• provide proof of land use over time,
• be a source of material for historians and other researchers,
• answer some legal queries, and
• help to identify locations of hazardous materials.

Where to find school land and buildings records

The Public Record Office Victoria

The Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) has a very convenient collection of online databases that assists researchers with locating school land and building-related records.

These databases identify information contained in collections of specific land and building records.

Researchers can also query databases that have letters from schools to the department that mention building matters at schools.

Record types include:

• Property Files – Records on selecting and acquiring land for schools.
• Estate files – Policies, administration, and legal issues around school land management.
• Site books – Large, usually, leather bound volumes. They illustrate each site with a site plan, location details, and Government Gazette details. The Site books at the Public Record Office Victoria have been digitised and are available online on the PROV website. (The Department also holds a good collection of school site books covering 1861 to 1999)
• Deeds register – An index of school land purchases, 1873 to 1909.
• Building files – Records of design, construction, maintenance, and extension of school buildings.
• Public Works Department plans – The PROV holds 256,000 building plans for schools and other Government buildings. The PROV site has information on how to search for the plans.
• Photos – The PROV has several collections that include photographs of school buildings. The PROV website has links to each of these collections that includes information on the content and how to order the records.

School building and property files can include information on maintenance. However, records that focus specifically on routine maintenance can be legally destroyed after 2 years unless they document the handling or hazardous materials. So more recent records may not be available.

How to access records at PROV

Once the records are identified, you can arrange to order the records from the Public Record Office Victoria.

The Department of Education

The Department of Education holds some school land and building records including property and building files and site books and site suitability files.

How to access records at the department

If the land and building records you seek are not at the PROV you may contact the Department of Education records team to see if they can assist:

Email: archives.records@education.vic.gov.au(opens in a new window)

Phone: 1800 359 140(opens in a new window)

Schools

Schools also hold records of original buildings or newer building works that they have managed.

How to access records at schools

Open schools should be contacted directly. The records of closed schools might be held at the Public Record Office Victoria or at the Department of Education. Search the Victorian Government Schools Directory for information about open and closed schools.

School magazines or yearbooks can include images of the school and might discuss building works that occurred in that year. An individual school might have a collection of its publications. The State Library Victoria holds an extensive collection of school magazines.

School histories can also include information on changes to the buildings at a school over time. Check the school, libraries and book stores for school histories. Vision and Realisation, A Centenary History of State Education in Victoria (volumes 2 and 3) holds short histories of schools up to about 1972 and can be viewed online at the State Library of Victoria.

Recent school building records

If you are seeking documents relating to recent school building projects you can check the VSBA website, contact the VSBA on 1800 896 950 or vsba@education.vic.gov.au.

You may need to make an FOI request if the documents are not available to you publicly or in another way.

For more on FOI: Making a freedom of information (FOI) request: Department of Education

Building projects and annual reporting

The Department of Education Annual Reports include information about funding for and progress on school building projects for that financial year. Annual reports might include:

• total funding amounts
• applicable policies
• numbers of buildings completed
• types of classrooms completed
• sources of funds
• amount spent at the Public Works Department
• tables and charts.

Departmental annual reports can be located:

• on the department website: Department of Education annual reports,
• at the Public Record Office Victoria, and
• at the State Library Victoria.

Photographs

The Public Record Office Victoria has collections of school photographs. The PROV website has links to each of these collections that includes information on the content and how to order the records.

Schools also usually have collections of photographs that can include images of school buildings.

And the State Library Victoria has collections of photographs that include school buildings.