Tullimbar Public School principal John Clune is still kicking himself.
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The original school bell should be in his possession but instead he is in a race against time to find it in time to ring in the festivities for the school’s 10th anniversary at its current site.
‘’A couple of people came by the school a few years ago and mentioned they knew where the bell was,’’ Mr Clune said.
‘’But for the life of me I can’t remember and to make matters worse, I didn’t take down their name or number.
‘’I’m kicking myself about that everyday.’’
Mark Thurston feels the principal’s pain.
The old Tullimbar School residence and schoolhouse owner himself has been on a 12-year crusade to find the original bell.
Mr Thurston and Mr Clune have agreed that whoever finds the bell first will follow the creed, ‘’Finders’ keepers, losers’ weepers’’.
For Mr Thurston the bell would help him in his quest to return the schoolhouse to its original state, while Mr Clune believes the bell would provide a physical link to the school’s history.
Both are hoping the power of modern social media can unlock the mystery of the missing bell.
Tullimbar Public School opened and shut four times before its latest reincarnation in 2008.
Tullimbar Public School opened on October 31, 1881 with 53 children. It closed in 1898 but reopened as the Provisional Public School around July 1922.
After it was briefly shut during World War II, the school closed permanently in December 1965 and was burned down in a fire in 1975.
Mr Thurston has agreed to donate a piece of stone from the old school should the mystery of the missing bell continue.
The school is also investigating the purchase of a bell to place near the donated stone to help establish an historic link between the old and new school in time for the 10th anniversary.
The anniversary will be celebrated on November 3 with an Open Day and special assembly. A Spring Carnival will be held on Saturday, November 4 from 10am-2pm before an anniversary dinner at the Woolshed from 6:30pm.
Call the school on 4257 7261 for details.