On Saturday Towamba Public School will celebrate 150 years as a school.
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This is a remarkable achievement for a small rural school.
For the many communities of the Towamba Valley, it is a special day and many past pupils and staff are looking forward to coming back to Towamba.
They will revisit old school memories, note the many changes, and most importantly to catch up with old friends and acquaintances.
The roads into Towamba will be busier than normal that day, said one of the staff with a smile.
The organising committee, involving staff, parents, past parents and community members has planned a day that celebrates the heritage of Towamba as well as the new.
The day will include a comprehensive photo and history display, student performances, live music, bird calls and games.
The day officially starts at 11am with a welcome to country and other speeches, but visitors are to arrive from 10am when a variety of stalls, other activities and the tea room will be operating.
Demonstrations of shearing, blacksmithing and sleeper/wood cutting with hand tools are all part of the day and are strongly connected to Towamba’s heritage.
One of the products created on the day will be the commemorative post and rail fence panel, below which the time capsule will be buried later in the day.
Visitors will be able to enjoy browsing through the photo display while listening to recordings of past students recount their tales of the schoolyard back to the early 1920s.
There will be an opportunity also for others to add their written school memories on the day or leave a handprint with a message.
On sale on the day will be unique 150th Towamba Public School medallions, a commemorative 17 month calendar with historical and scenic Towamba views, oral history audio CDs and local history books including Kate Clery’s Towamba Valley Schools and Mark McKenna’s Looking for Blackfella’s Point.
A specially made cake will be cut after the official part of the day by the oldest past pupil and youngest present pupil on the day.
The school principal Kathryn Davis, school staff, and the 29 students of Towamba School are looking forward to welcoming many past students and staff back to Towamba.
Some of the students have parents, grandparents and even great grandparents that attended the school which is really special.
Also attending on the day are the great great granddaughters of CP Browne who was teacher in charge (principal) in the 1930s.
A special Facebook page set up for the day has generated a lot of interest, as well as the ongoing audio project by community member Maureen Volentras.
More information is also available on the Towamba school website.
All are welcome to enjoy the beautiful Towamba Valley and come and spend a day visiting the past, present and future at Towamba Public School.