Upper Castlereagh Public School

Item details


Name of item:	Upper Castlereagh Public School
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Education
Category:	School - State (public)
Location:	Lat: -33.7207057140 Long: 150.6656798040
Primary address:	Castlereagh Road, Castlereagh, NSW 2749
Parish:	Castlereagh
County:	Cumberland
Local govt. area:	Penrith
Local Aboriginal Land Council:	Deerubbin

Property description

Lot/Volume Code	Lot/Volume Number	Section Number	Plan/Folio Code	Plan/Folio Number
PART LOT	1		DP	735602

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Castlereagh Road	Castlereagh	Penrith	Castlereagh	Cumberland	Primary Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
Minister for Community Services	State Government	25 Mar 99

Statement of significance:


	This group of items has strong associations at a state level with the beginnings of the Wesleyan movement in Australia, and the construction of the first Methodist Church in Australia. The development of the education system at the local level is represented by the education facilities. The establishment of the first Wesleyan chapel in Australia is a significant contribution to the historical development of the area, in association with the constribution of two early schools to cater to the valley population. The retention of part of the original layout of the Upper Castlereagh township, particularly as it related, and continues to relate, to Castlereagh Road at a local level adds to the significance of the place. This is a highly significant cultural landscape of state heritage significance (as a whole). (ERM, 2001) First school in the area conducted in Chapel opposite from 1840. Then transferred to public school 1878 under control of Dept of Education. School and cottage designed by G.A. Mansfield, one of the prominent architects of the 19th century. School is part of a heritage precinct located opposite. (Castlereagh Cultural Landscape Study, 1999) Of local significance for its role in the education of many early residents (Fox & Associates 1987, p. UC-2). Local significance due to the association with the early development of this scattered rural community (Fox & Associates 1987, p. UC-1).
	Date significance updated: 25 Jan 13
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Designer/Maker:	GA Mansfield
Builder/Maker:	James Evans
Construction years:	1878-1879
Physical description:	School/Chapel: A simple rectangular hall with attached side entry porch typical of rural public schools of the period. Gothic revival in form and detailing the building features steeply pitched gables with timber barge boards, braces and finials, together with simply stepped buttresses to the porch walls and Tudor arched entrance. Major finishes include face brickwork to walls, stone basecourse, sills and buttress dressings and contrasting rubbed brick heads to windows and entrance porch. The roof is corrugated iron sheeting. Windows are boarded over, the main entry door is timber, framed and sheeted. Out buildings associated with the main school building included the original brick privy (Udy, 1999).
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	The physical condition of the school and residence is poor with problems such as rusting or roof iron, gutters and downpipes and deterioration of exposed timber elements and painted finishes. (Udy, 1999)
	Date condition updated:23 Jul 02
Modifications and dates:	Boarded timber lean to added to school (south elevation) plus additional slated timber lean to at rear of house. Unsympathetic additions and original details in evidence.
Further information:	The significance of the sites as representative of important early personages and social patterns in the Castlereagh area should be retained. This historical/social, cultural significance is, in large measure, associated with the site through verbal transfer of information and the evidence of documentary sources. Physical elements that represents aspects of this significance include site boundary demarcation elements (early fences and tree planting). Opposite the site are elements erected for a special social purpose of importance to the area as a whole (eg the original weatherboard school and its later replacement, the church, Castlereagh Road etc). The continuing use of a site for functions is a means of preserving its historical significance. (Udy, 1999)


Current use:	School - damaged and locked up; House - Learning Centre for Disadvantaged (1999)
Former use:	School - opened 1879, closed during the 1970s

History

Historical notes:

The land on which the school building is sited was originally part of Portion 54, granted to Edward Field in 1803 (100 acres). This block was donated by the family for the purpose of building the school (Penrith Lakes Scheme - Regional Environmental Study - History of European Settlement 1983 (pp 43-44)).

The school symbolises the basic decision of the State to provide public education for all children as distinct from Church connected education. School in the church hall opposite ceased forthwith and for just under 100 years this single room school was the centre of basic education for children at Upper Castlereagh (Udy, 1999).

James Rutledge arrived in Castlereagh in 1840, employed as a school teacher, but he was also a lay preacher. As these two activities needed to be provided in one building his first ambition was to build a church. The church on Old Castlereagh Road, which opened in 1847, remains the oldest Wesleyan church in Australia. For James and his wife Lucy (granddaughter of two convicts: they married in 1842) this church represented everything they held dear. James declared that to him, it 'was hallowed ground'. The Rutledge family was not Irish but had been in Ireland for 200 years. Before that they lived on the English-Scottish border giving allegiance to neither monarchy, but to their family name only. The Rutledges were devout Protestants. The descendents of three Rutledge brothers who moved to Ireland with Oliver Cromwell, driving Catholics from their farms (having had Cromwell sack Rutledge Castle in England), were deeply-religious Wesleyans. Ministers of the church were present in every generation. It was James Rutledge's intention to be an ordained Minister but this opportunity was lost when he left Ireland to come to New South Wales (Wilcox, 2016, 3).

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Land tenure-Activities and processes for identifying forms of ownership and occupancy of land and water, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal	Changing land uses - from rural to suburban-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Creating landmark structures and places in regional settings-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	living in the country-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	19th Century Infrastructure-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Developing the social life of a rural community-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Beautifying towns and villages-
6. Educating-Educating	Education-Activities associated with teaching and learning by children and adults, formally and informally.	Public (primary) schooling-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Religion-Activities associated with particular systems of faith and worship	Providing schools and education-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Religion-Activities associated with particular systems of faith and worship	Practising Methodism-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Religion-Activities associated with particular systems of faith and worship	Cathedral-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The school is a visible reminder of the decision to establish public schools in the nineteenth century. It is a sample of Mansfield's work at the same time he was planning Prince Alfred Hospital. Together with the Chapel, Hall and Cemetery, the School forms an historic heritage precinct. (Udy, 1999)
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	Constructed of brick with a steep corrugated iron gabled roof, the school room and brick residence are features of the development of this rural community. They form a part of the early Church/School precinct at Upper Castlereagh. The sites are aesthetically pleasing and harmonious in their immediate physical settings and for the aesthetic character of individual grouped elements viewed from within the sites. (Udy, 1999)
SHR Criteria d) [Social significance]	In conjunction with the 19th century Chapel, Hall and Cemetery opposite, this is now classed as a "heritage precinct". As a contemporary community by using residential Academy opposite for educational purposes: spiritual purposes and social purposes there will be a continuous flow of people. (Udy, 1999)
SHR Criteria e) [Research potential]	Taking stages of growth in Australian history could be the subject of on site residential classes of school children examining the story or European settlement and Aborigines: new settler phase (1806 - 1867), small holdings and subdivision (1867 - 1950), present phase (1950 - 2000) travel and recreation. (Udy, 1999)
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	(a) Historical - Church and State division symbolised by two separate buildings. (b) Cultural - Symbol of interrelationship of school, Chapel and Cemetery 125 years ago. (Udy, 1999)
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	(a) Life in the "interior" of a convict colony (b) Grants to ticket of leave - for convict settlers along River (c) Opposite site connects first gift to Australian Methodists by ex Rum Corps Soldier 18 (d) 50% Convicts and Ticket-of-Leave persons associated with present Chapel (1847) (Udy, 1999)
Integrity/Intactness:	(a) Restored school to be used for community seminars - by school children and adults (b) Residence to be used by caretaker/guide for the heritage precinct on both sides of Castlereagh Road (Udy, 1999)
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Procedures /Exemptions

Section of act	Description	Title	Comments	Action date
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Standard Exemptions	HERITAGE ACT 1977 ORDER UNDER SECTION 57(2) TO GRANT STANDARD EXEMPTIONS FROM APPROVAL I, Penny Sharpe, the Minister for Heritage, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales and under section 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977: revoke the order made on 2 June 2022 and published in the Government Gazette Number 262 of 17 June 2022; and grant an exemption from section 57(1) of the Act in respect of the engaging in or carrying out the class of activities described in clause 2 Schedule A in such circumstances specified by the relevant standards in clause 2 Schedule A and General Conditions in clause 3 Schedule A. This Order takes effect on the date it is published in the NSW Government Gazette. Dated this 29th day of October 2025 The Hon Penny Sharpe MLC Minister for Heritage For more information on standard exemptions click on the link below.	Nov 7 2025

Standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Heritage Act - State Heritage Register		00339	02 Apr 99	27	1546
Heritage Act - Permanent Conservation Order - former		00339	18 Jan 85	19
Heritage Act - s.170 NSW State agency heritage register
State Environmental Planning Policy			21 Oct 97
State Environmental Planning Policy	REP 11 Penrith Lakes Scheme		25 Nov 94
Heritage study	Uniting Church Group Upper Castlereagh	UC 3	04 Jan 87
National Trust of Australia register		8597, 8598

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
Colonial Landscapes of the Cumberland Plain and Camden, NSW	2000		Morris, C., & Britton, G./NSW National Trust (for the Heritage Council of NSW)		Yes
Heritage Study of the Municipality of Penrith	1987		Fox & Associates		No

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Tourism		2007	Penrith Valley Heritage Drive	View detail
Tourism	Attraction Homepage	2007	Penrith Valley Heritage Drive	View detail
Written	Environmental Resources Management (ERM)	2001	Penrith Lakes Scheme Cultural Heritage Management Study
Written	Morris, C. & Britton, G.	1999	Castlereagh Cultural Landscape Study: assessment and recommendations / July 1999
Written	Wilcox, Graham	2016	'From Convicts to Constitution' - Part 3 (in a series on the Rutledge family)

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

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Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Heritage NSW
Database number:	5000920
File number:	S90/04859; EF09/04102

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