Newbridge residents and well-wishers joined former teachers, students and parents at the old Newbridge Public School on Sunday, December 28 to view the first stage of the iconic property’s restoration.
Timed to suit those returning to the village for Christmas with family, the open day was an opportunity to explore the grounds and inspect at close quarters the restored exterior. Excited chatter was heard everywhere as classmates swapped stories. Some of the forty-odd visitors were students from seventy years ago, while others shared recollections with their own school-aged children. After more than a decade out of public access, the old building came alive with sounds of reconnection over a morning tea generously provided by neighbours and friends.
Sold by the NSW Department of Education in 2012, the school had operated since 1878 educating children from kindergarten to year six, and even through senior school until Blayney High School opened in 1968.
While the interior remains a work in progress, visitors browsed “before-and-after” photographs and wrote their memories in the visitor book. In a special ceremony the school bell, recently returned from safe storage and re-installed on its post, was rung by Mrs Fran Fisher and former principal Gary Fisher, who was proudly sporting a Newbridge PS uniform sweatshirt.
The bell is not the only school fixture which has returned. Since its purchase last year, Newbridge residents Andy and Sarah Hunter have been touched by the number of historic items donated back to the school to inform its new era. Once restoration is complete the property is destined – as the renamed Newbridge Schoolhouse – to provide overflow accommodation for visitors coming to the area for family reunion and major regional events. Its next major milestone is the 150th anniversary in January 2028.
Supplied by Sarah Hunter
