Tauranga Girls' College wants to track down the owner of a rare silver fraternity ring found at Blake Park in Mount Maunganui. The class ring is from 1975 and is inscribed on the inside with "T.G.C 75" and on the outside "Pergo et Perago", which is the school's motto, Latin forstrive and achieve. The mystery ring was found by a Tauranga woman in the grass at Blake Park in December last year. She has only just passed it on to the school, after shifting house and finding it in a drawer. Tauranga Girls' College principal Pauline Cowens is delighted by the find, which correlates with part of the school's rich history. In 1975, it was common for Year 13 Tauranga Girls' College students to create silver rings, silver spoons and/or bracelets to remember their time at school. "They would make different things every year," Mrs Cowens explained. There were only 25 Year 13 students at Tauranga Girls' College in 1975, compared with the 234 they have today. Modern leaving gifts - "mementos of the school" - now include engraved glasses and key rings. "Obviously for it to be found, someone has been wearing it, which is rather cool," Mrs Cowens said of the ring. "How nice to think someone still values their class ring. It's rather lovely." Mrs Cowens is keen to return the ring to its owner and to ensure the likely female is part of their re-established alumni, which was reinstated at the college's 50th reunion in 2008. More than 1600 former pupils are members. If you believe the ring belongs to you, phone the school on 578 8114. Your name will be checked against school records before it's handed back.
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