Safely stowed away in a display case at the school is an Olympic torch from the 1956 Melbourne Games. Affixed to a wooden plinth, the torch functioned for years as the prize of an annual sporting carnival between Dapto High and Arthur Phillip High School in Parramatta. Engraved plaques show the contest was first held in 1959 and   last  won by Dapto in 1980.  It has stayed with the victors since then.

Mr Fitzsimons wants to know the torch’s origins.

‘‘I came to Dapto High 11 years ago, and it was just sitting in a cupboard. It is a beautifully sculpted thing,’’ he said.

The Dapto-Arthur Phillip contest may have long since ended, but the torch is till part of Dapto’s school culture:  When new student representative council leaders are sworn in each year, the trophy is passed from the departing members to the new.

‘‘We have a ceremony where it gets passed to the school captain. I talk about the Olympic spirit, about taking a global perspective and co-operating,’’ Mr Fitzsimons said.

Hearing a recent news story about a Newcastle man buying the Olympic rings that decorated the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the 2000 Games reinvigorated his desire to know more about the artefact, and  he is asking  for public help.

‘‘There must be people in the Illawarra who competed for the trophy, or maybe someone who ran with the torch,’’ he said.

Do you know more? Email joshua.butler@illawarramercury.com.au