On the first day of Term 1 at Stokers Siding Public, each Year 6 student gets to ring the school’s historic bell to signify the start of their final year of primary school.

Then, on the last day of Term 4 before they leave for holidays and high school, they each ring the bell one final time.

It is a treasured tradition in the North Coast village, but decades of use and weathering had taken a toll on the historic school artefact.

Principal Justine Griffin said the bell was installed the same year the school opened in 1917 and has called generations of Stokers Siding children to class.

“The bell was showing its age, which is only to be expected after 106 years out in the elements,” she said.

“We felt it was in dire need of repair and a facelift to see it through another century of Stokers Siding students.”

Murwillumbah business ART Group was tasked with the job of sandblasting and powder coating the bell, as well as the restoration of the decorative bell frame.

Along with a new length of chain, what was old is new again, and the school community is delighted with the result.

“The best part of this is that ART Group have kindly donated their time and products to our small school, in the aid of keeping tradition alive,” Mrs Griffin said. 

“We really can’t thank them enough.”