W. E. Kemp's School Buildings, 1880-1896 "Seed-Germ of the Australian architecture of the future"?

The editor of the Australasian Builder and Contractor's News suggested in 1893 that William Edmund Kemp's work as the Architect for the Department of Public Instruction (1880-1896) might be considered "the seed-germ of the Australian architecture of the future". The admirable qualities of Kemp's school buildings include their break with the Gothic tradition to introduce new architectural styles, the incorporation of natural lighting and ventilation systems, and the use of affordable, local materials. This paper examines these innovations, which were noticed individually by his contemporaries but have yet to be investigated collectively with regard to their effectiveness and functionality in the context of late-19th and early-20th century standards for school buildings and the British-Australian system of pupil-teacher primary education. Their contribution to the formation of an Australian style is also considered.