The old Tuapeka Mouth School and memorial gates, which may
get a category II historic place listing. Photo by Rachel
Taylor.
The trust formed to look after the former Tuapeka Mouth
School has applied to the New Zealand Historic Places Trust to
have the school building and associated memorial gates given a
category II heritage listing.
Tuapeka Mouth School preservation trustee Gaye Cowie said the
school was built in 1879 and was still in its original
condition.
The building is typical of the No 1 School Plan building
built by the Otago Education Board in 1870s and found
throughout Otago.
"The builders were from England, and when they built the
school, they put the windows on the south side of the
building, because that was what you did back then," Ms Cowie
said.
"The children froze, and they had to move the windows to the
other side of the building. You can still see where the
windows were originally."
The memorial gates were put up in 1930 to celebrate the
school's jubilee and commemorate the men who fought in World
War 1, a reminder of the sacrifices made by small
communities.
The school closed on January 31, 1949, and pupils transferred
to Clutha Valley Primary School, in Clydevale.
Ms Cowie said members of the Tuapeka Mouth community
recognised the historic significance of the building, and the
school preservation trust was formed in 2007.
Public submissions on the proposal close this Friday.
- rachel.taylor@odt.co.nz
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