Appeal to fix school bell tower

RESCUE BELL: Masterton Primary School teacher Sara Feringa, pictured with pupil Ilah-Rose Lines, 9, is leading a campaign to revamp the school bell tower.

The bell at Masterton Primary School has been ringing pupils to and from class for more than 130 years and the call is out for help to overhaul the tower from which the bell still tolls today.

Teacher Sara Feringa is heading a campaign to refurbish the original bell tower, which is topped by its mostly original wrought iron weather vane and located on a concrete block base in the centre of the school.

The bell tower had originally sat atop the Masterton District High School building, which opened in 1882 in Russell St - between Queen and Chapel streets - having been relocated from the corner of Lincoln Road and Chapel Street, where the initial Masterton Central School opened in 1865.

In 1937, Wairarapa College was established and Masterton District High School became a primary school, renamed Masterton Central School.

In 1970, the school moved to South Rd and with the school mergers in 2004 was renamed Masterton Primary School.

Students had used a long rope to ring the bell when it sat atop the school building, although students today ring it an arm's length away at ground level and must wear ear muffs to dull the peal.

Mrs Feringa said wooden sections of the bell tower were rotting and the weather vane had ceased working despite being at some time refitted with aluminium letters at each of the compass points - the E for east though had been lost.

"We'd got our kaitiaki group of students, who painted murals around the bell tower base last year, to have a look at it as part of a project. But they realised the tower needed professional repairs and so we're making a call to former students, professionals and our community to help us out," she said.

"We're now getting to the point of wondering whether the thing will collapse when a student is ringing it.

"We really need help to renovate it and replace whatever needs to be replaced.

"It's out of our financial range and professional skill set to do it ourselves and we need anyone out there who can come forward to support us and help make our bell tower safe and whole again."

Anybody who can help with the revamp of the bell tower may call Sara Feringa at Masterton Primary School on 06 377 5297.