Wynnum State High School is a co-educational state high school located in the Bayside District of the city of Brisbane. It was opened in 1942. Wynnum High has had a very long and proud and tradition of quality programs, quality teachers and student successes. It exists to provide quality teaching and learning experiences for each student in the school community. The motto on our school badge is Semper Fidelis. This means Always Faithful. Wynnum State High aims to always show students’ how to aim higher to be the best that they can be.
The following is an interesting and brief history of Wynnum State High School. The Bayside District in the 1920s and 1930s was mainly a farming community although the commercial centres of Wynnum and Manly were developing. Although there were numerous primary schools in the area, there was no secondary school facility and students who had the inclination to continue on to secondary school had the inconvenience of travelling to Central Brisbane to attend one of the four high schools located there.
It is a fact however, that from 1918 to 1921, a secondary department operated at Wynnum Central school. The local MLA, Alderman Dart, was a keen advocate for a high school in the Wynnum/Manly area and the decision to build a high school in the area was made in 1935 or 1936. In a letter dated 21st July, 1936, to the Department of Public Instruction, a Mr Carr-Boyd offered for sale thirteen acres or 5.26 hectares of land he considered suitable for a high school. The land was situated on Tingal Road and Upland Terrace. The dwelling on the site, the letter suggested, could be remodelled into classrooms. The offer was declined.
In 1937, the Department of Public Instruction had completed negotiations with the Brisbane City Council to exchange Primrose Park for a portion of Russell Park, now known as Memorial Park, where the new school was to be built. By the end of 1939 plans for the school had been drawn and accepted, building specifications with architectural amendments approved, an estimated cost of 25,600 pounds calculated and the monies allocated.
The corner stone was laid on the main building on 21 August 1941. Wynnum State High School was officially opened on 2 March 1942.
As part of the State Schools of Tomorrow school refurbishment, a number of historical landmarks associated with Wynnum’s history were incorporated into building names. The hall has been renamed the Imperial Playhouse after Wynnum’s historical Imperial Theatre. The new theatre complex has been named the Star Theatre. Our pool has been renamed the Pandanus Pool. It takes its name from Pandanus Beach which is a white sandy beach created and opened in 1987 next to the Wynnum Jetty.