THE OLD BELL ST SITE
The former site of the school in Bell St. was owned by Ryman Healthcare, a New Zealand company, who were planning to build a retirement village, with apartments and many levels of care and facilities.
We were working with them to recognize the history of the site .
The cost of this installation and the consultancy was to be borne by the developer.
In June 2021 we were informed that Ryman have abandoned this project and plan to sell the site.
Your Historical Group is determined to keep the memory of the old school alive and will ensure that the new owners honour the Council requirement that any development of the site must include significant visible reminders of
who and what was once there.
Watch this website for updates as the project develops
February 2019
Ground Zero
Waiting for Council Approval
Our submission for historical material had been well received by all parties.
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BY JOHN SACHINIDIS. A STUDENT AT CHS IN THE 1970'S AND RESIDENT OF RODDA ST. NEXT DOOR TO THE OLD SCHOOL SITE.
The Demolition…Ode to CHS july 2009
They were already a month behind schedule, the demolition was more difficult than was envisaged. The school was putting up a resistance, a last act of defiance against the senseless destruction of almost a century of education. The old building of red bricks and crumbling mortar did not take long to clear away as the giant bulldozers smashed down the walls with fists of steel. It had already been irreparably damaged by a fire on that fatal night when the heavy tile roof collapsed and brought down the inner walls. My heart sank as I watched, from across the road, the billowing smoke and flames lighting up the night sky.
But the newer building was a sturdier structure. I remember when construction was started back in 1972, the final year of my schooling. Giant holes were drilled into our playground for the footings of the new building that would accommodate the increasing student numbers, and we had to play in the adjoining public park. And now, barely 40 years later it was being demolished to make way for private dwellings.
For weeks now they had been chipping away at the concrete encasing the solid steel girders that formed the frame of the 3-storey structure. The in-fill walls and floors had all been removed and only the hard exoskeleton remained. But this proved to be painstaking work, for they could not push it down and had to chip away the concrete in-situ with jackhammers to get at the steel interior with oxy-torches. Finally they were down to the last upright column, standing defiant against the monstrous machines, like a forest giant against the chainsaws. It was late afternoon on a cold dull day in July, a fine misty rain was floating in the fading light as I watched three enormous bulldozers ominously surround the column for the final assault. They stood side by side and pushed against it with all their might, their steel tracks sinking into the softening ground, but to no avail. After a few more futile attempts to topple the column, they changed tactics. Standing back, they each in turn bit into the base of the column with jaws of steel, slowly dislodging the protective concrete casing, like wolves attacking the legs of a buffalo. Finally after one last effort before the light faded, the column began to yield and eventually bent its head towards the ground, its base was still intact but its spirit was broken. They would come back the next day and cut away the base and drag it away, the last reminder of the school that once stood so proudly and nurtured so many young minds.
The Demolition…Ode to CHS july 2009
They were already a month behind schedule, the demolition was more difficult than was envisaged. The school was putting up a resistance, a last act of defiance against the senseless destruction of almost a century of education. The old building of red bricks and crumbling mortar did not take long to clear away as the giant bulldozers smashed down the walls with fists of steel. It had already been irreparably damaged by a fire on that fatal night when the heavy tile roof collapsed and brought down the inner walls. My heart sank as I watched, from across the road, the billowing smoke and flames lighting up the night sky.
But the newer building was a sturdier structure. I remember when construction was started back in 1972, the final year of my schooling. Giant holes were drilled into our playground for the footings of the new building that would accommodate the increasing student numbers, and we had to play in the adjoining public park. And now, barely 40 years later it was being demolished to make way for private dwellings.
For weeks now they had been chipping away at the concrete encasing the solid steel girders that formed the frame of the 3-storey structure. The in-fill walls and floors had all been removed and only the hard exoskeleton remained. But this proved to be painstaking work, for they could not push it down and had to chip away the concrete in-situ with jackhammers to get at the steel interior with oxy-torches. Finally they were down to the last upright column, standing defiant against the monstrous machines, like a forest giant against the chainsaws. It was late afternoon on a cold dull day in July, a fine misty rain was floating in the fading light as I watched three enormous bulldozers ominously surround the column for the final assault. They stood side by side and pushed against it with all their might, their steel tracks sinking into the softening ground, but to no avail. After a few more futile attempts to topple the column, they changed tactics. Standing back, they each in turn bit into the base of the column with jaws of steel, slowly dislodging the protective concrete casing, like wolves attacking the legs of a buffalo. Finally after one last effort before the light faded, the column began to yield and eventually bent its head towards the ground, its base was still intact but its spirit was broken. They would come back the next day and cut away the base and drag it away, the last reminder of the school that once stood so proudly and nurtured so many young minds.