HISTORIC Bellata Public School next week celebrates its 125th anniversary, and communities from across the north-west are invited to reconnect and reflect on the remarkable milestone.
Parent Zara Lowien said the school will open its doors to the public from midday on Friday, September 27 to celebrate 125 years of educational excellence.
“We are thrilled to invite past students, teachers, and parents to reconnect with our vibrant school community in the heart of the north-west and reflect on the remarkable journey we’ve shared over the years,” Mrs Lowien said.
The school will showcase open classrooms as well as displays and performances.
“Our classrooms will be filled with excitement and creativity, and feature a special student-prepared school history display highlighting our journey.
“We’ll have captivating performances from our local eisteddfod-winning whole school choir, as they showcase their repertoire. Plus, our talented senior class – Years 3-6 – has something special in store for all our guests,” she smiled.
A barbecue lunch will be followed by a commemorative cake-cutting ceremony to mark the significant event.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with old friends, reminisce about cherished memories, and celebrate the bright future of Bellata Public School,” Mrs Lowien said.
Bellata Public School will next week celebrate 125 years of educational excellence.
The school was established in 1899 and has seen significant changes through the decades.
In 1909, Narrabri builder Alf Hulbert was awarded the contract to erect a teachers’ residence at the school.
In 1938, the NSW Education Department announced a new school would be built after an inspection the previous year by Narrabri Shire Council health inspector Gostwyck Hingston found the building unsuitable for educational purposes.
“It is erected low on the ground, the flooring on the northern and western end being below ground level,” Mr Hingston said.
“During rain, surface water flows under the building on the western and south-western end, thereby causing a pool.”
Mr Hingston told councillors the structure was generally in a state of disrepair.
“A number of the blocks have sunk, with the result that the flooring is uneven, and many of the boards broken and defective,” he said.
“In view of the circumstances, I would suggest the Council approach the Department of Education with a view to having a new school erected at Bellata,” he concluded.
The new building, costing approximately £2000, was of the “ultra-modern variety”, according to the Warialda Standard and Northern Districts’ Advertiser, and was constructed on piers 12-feet high.
“This is a great consideration in the hot summer months, bringing down the temperature and also allowing the children to seek shelter during wet periods.”
Today, the school captures students from the Bellata, Gurley and Edgeroi districts, with Bellata families having multiple generations attend over the years.
Zara Lowien’s husband, Grant, is a former student. He said having a school close to home was critical to the family.
“We are not sure if my grandmother attended the school or not, as the school records don’t go back that far but we know she moved to the district as a primary school-aged girl from Melbourne in the 1930s,” Mr Lowien said.
“It’s incredible to think our school has had a number of local families, like ours, have multiple generations attend and to consider the role it has played in shaping our community.
“When I look around town, most of the business people, farmers and volunteers that run our little town, are former Bellata School students.
“It was a special moment to walk our children through the same gates and offer them a unique and hands-on school experience, close to home, in our family’s footsteps,” Mr Lowien said.
Bellata Public School 125th birthday celebrations
When: Friday, September 27, 2024
Time: Midday until 3pm
Where: Bellata Public School (Gurley Street)
Words: Bill Poulos
Image: Supplied
My father and his many brothers and sisters attended Bellata school from when they lived at Boggy Creek and then at Tremayne, My sister brother and I all attended the school in the 1930’s and 40’s
I am hoping to be able to attend the school on the 27th
My sisters an brother grew up in bellata an went to the belllata school .
My elder brother Doug and I went to Bellata School for a short time in the late 1940s (1949 for me). Our parents had a farm, ‘Plainacres’, about 10 km south of Bellata, part of the old Edgeroi Station. However, it had no house on it so, until one was built, we rented a house in Yarren St, Bellata. The school I think had 2 classrooms, one for the younger kids and another for the older ones. There was only one teacher in our room, and there was a row of desks for each year (probably 1-4 in the room I was in – at the front of the school). I was only 4 when I started school. There was no kindergarten, so I went straight into Year 1. The next year a school bus started from Bellata to Narrabri so we went to the school there. It wasn’t like a normal bus and was just a truck with a red wooden structure on the back. There was a set of steps near the front and the seats were obviously old ones from a cinema or similar. The other students at Narrabri called it ‘The Monkey Bus’ and teased us about it. One thing I remember from the Bellata school was a snake getting into the girls toilets (outside toilets out the back somewhere) and the teacher and some of the older boys had to go and deal with it. Glad to see the Bellata School is surviving and thriving.
I am sorry I missed the 125 yrs In 1954 aged 10 until 1956 ended What a great school as we lived in the late Nandewar Inn I went to Boarding School in Sydney and remained there until 1972 to Port Macquarie I just retired as a Solicitor after 54 yrs