Time capsule ready for station burial

Waitahuna pupils George Tweed (7) and Jack Murphy (8) alongside present and former pupils of the...
Waitahuna pupils George Tweed (7) and Jack Murphy (8) alongside present and former pupils of the school hold on to future history preserved in a time capsule at the Waitahuna Railway Station on Thursday. PHOTOS: CHRISTINE O’CONNOR
A blast from the present is to be buried underneath a piece of local history.

The idea of the burial of a time capsule was pitched by Waitahuna Railway Station owner Ailsa Rose to the children of Waitahuna School last year.

On Thursday, the capsule was completed.

It is set to be buried underneath flooring during the renovation of the historic station’s goods shed, which is to become a cafe once completed.

The station buildings, although on privately-owned land, were historically community buildings, Ms Rose said.

Her wish was to share the completed projects with the community.

The thrust behind the idea was to keep local history preserved, and she hoped it would give the pupils the opportunity to "put their mark [on] the area".

"The reason we wanted to involve the Waitahuna School pupils in a time capsule was that we want them to feel part of the Waitahuna Railway Station restoration project, and to know they are welcome and feel a sense of belonging to this place," she said.

The time capsule at Waitahuna Railway Station contains pupils’ drawings, an "about me" section...
The time capsule at Waitahuna Railway Station contains pupils’ drawings, an "about me" section and their wishlists, along with Thursday’s Otago Daily Times and Clutha Leader.
The wooden capsule contained various different aspects of the children’s lives — including personal wishlists, bucket lists, life aspirations, goals, photos of themselves and family and more, including Thursday’s Otago Daily Times and Clutha Leader newspapers.

Eleven-year-old Mason McLaren said he was "very excited" to have the chance to put his own items in it.

"It’ll be cool when it comes out in like 50 years or so, and when they dig it up again I’ll basically be famous. I don’t know if I’ll even remember what I put in there."

Some of the pupils had long family connections with Waitahuna, and future generations would benefit from seeing the history of children living in the town at the time, Ms Rose said.

"We felt it might be interesting to future generations to get a glimpse into the lives of children living in Waitahuna in 2022, so we asked their teacher, Mr Redington, to put together a time capsule.

"Some of the children have written letters to their future selves which may be very interesting for them to read when they are older."

No decision had been made regarding a date for digging up the capsule.

evelyn.thorn@odt.co.nz