Wardie Primary School

Wardie Primary opened in 1931 in an area where 800 new houses had been recently built and was designed by architect Joseph Marr Johnston. The school was planned on the open-air principle around an inside garden and described as Continental in design at the time. Five years later, under the ‘Schools Beautiful’ scheme Robert Heriot Westwater (1905-62) painted the large, nine-panel mural of Alice in Wonderland in its hall. The ‘transcendent’ Wonderland mural was to act in several ways – to enliven the school environment, as a pedagogic tool and as part of a modern, twentieth century campaign to revive mural art for public service. It still leaves an impression. It is a testament to the vision and ideals of early twentieth century social reformers.