The Ashburton High School bell has acquired a new lease of life. Photo Katie ToddA familiar soundbite from times of old has returned to echo through Ashburton College.

More than five decades since the original Ashburton High School bell last tolled, it has been restored and mounted on a wooden stand for use at special events and assemblies.

The restoration project utilised the brains of the student executive, the expert handiwork of hard technology teacher Chris Thompson, and recycled materials from the school’s science block renovations in 2011.

“Everything in it has got a connection with the college,”  Thompson said.

The bell was used at Ashburton High School to signal a change in periods, but ceased to be used when Ashburton High School merged with Hakatere College in 1965.

“It was mounted on a tower, and it used to be the task of a senior student to ring the bell to mark a change of periods,” Thompson said.

“I heard one story in which some students climbed up the tower, wrapped cloth around it so the sound was muffled and no one would hear it … they actually had to get the fire brigade to go up the tower and remove the cloth.”

College management administrator Sheena Tyrell said since its redundancy, the bell had floated around the administration block, and had even been used as a doorstop to the principal’s office.

Student executive members then came up with the idea of restoring the bell for use at special events, and Renato Poienar drafted a design.

“They came and saw me and explained they’d designed a stand but didn’t have time to complete it,” Thompson said.

“I decided to create it using timber from the old science block … then they told me it had to be done by November 6.”

He said the hardest part was laminating and sorting the usable from non-reusable materials.

“That took quite some time.”

Thirty-five hours of hard grafting later the bell was ready for unveiling, at this week’s Ashburton College Senior Prizegiving ceremonies.

“I’m sure it will go on for another 50 years,” Thompson said.

By Katie Todd © The Ashburton Guardian - 10 November 2017