Collection SummaryFairfield Public School is listed in the Fairfield City Council's Local Environmental PlanDescriptionSTATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE:
Fairfield Public School is of significance for the residents of the Fairfield local area for historical, aesthetic, social and reasons of rarity and representativeness. Fairfield Public School was opened in 1889 by Sir Henry Parkes and Mr Thomas W Henry was the first principal. The site and building were continuously associated with provision of public education from 1889 and have a wide appreciation in, and associations with, the local community through a number of local families whose members were educated on the site. The buildings and their modifications are indicative of the standard design of educational facilities in NSW, including the late Victorian and Federation period and later eras. The school site is a local landmark that strongly contributes to the townscape and the area character, and its fabric has the potential to interpret the history of the locality. The integrity of the fabric, including of the first ("original") school building on the site, presents as very high when viewed externally.
The Original school building was one of the earliest public buildings in Fairfield. The establishment of the first school at Fairfield marked its development as a major community focus, separate from Smithfield, in the late nineteenth century. The original building is a good example of a Late Victorian period school building with a number of twentieth century additions, mostly sympathetic. The additions, and the other early twentieth century buildings on the site, document the changes in school design over the period, as well as the growth of education in Fairfield.