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Kelso High School Fire

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Subjects -  Schools; Students; Teachers; Fires; Accidents; Fire Brigades; Orange City Council; Bathurst City Council
Speakers - Martin Mr Gerard
Business - Matter of Public Importance


    KELSO HIGH SCHOOL FIRE
Page: 17759


    Matter of Public Importance

    Mr GERARD MARTIN (Bathurst) [5.07 p.m.]: I bring to the attention of the House a matter of public importance: the recent destruction of Kelso High School by fire. The fire started at about 8.20 p.m. last Friday 19 August. Fanned by strong westerly winds, the fire quickly raced through the school and, despite the presence of the local brigades within six minutes of the initial telephone report and the presence of a hundred firefighters, the building was burnt to the ground. The cause of the fire is not known. Originally, it was declared a crime scene, but no trace of accelerants has been found and at this stage the probable cause is an electrical fault.

    I visited the fire scene early on the following Saturday morning and met with the principal of the high school, Paul Stirling, the western regional director of education, Carol McDiarmid, senior police and fire officers. In the meantime I had spoken to the Minister for Education and Training and also the Premier's Office, which offered full support to the school community. It was very depressing to stand there and look at the ruins and ashes of Kelso High School, which was built in 1978 to a quite bold design. Hundreds of community people were visiting the site. Many of them were openly crying. I talked to Helen Burgess, one of the administration staff. She was visibly upset, but the night before at least she had taken home the back-up disks for all the school records. It will stand the school in good stead that it did not lose a lot of those vital records.

    From the start, the local media were very helpful. On the Saturday morning, while the school building was still smouldering, Radio 2BS started a telephone appeal, which raised $55,000. The Western Advocate, the local Bathurst newspaper, gave the school community great support over the following week or so, as did 2CR Regional Radio. So everyone was kept up to date with what was happening. Some of the people from radio 2BS who were influential in getting the appeal going were Latika Burke, Phil Cole, the station manager, and Janeen Hosemans, as well as Councillor Bobby Bourke. They sparked a wonderful outpouring of public support.

    Local councils have pitched in to help the school community. Orange City Council donated $10,000, Bathurst Council donated $5,000 plus a lot of help in kind and Lithgow City Council is negotiating to buy equipment for the school when it is given a list of the school's needs. In the last couple of days Paul Stirling, the school principal, told me that in the last day or so a cheque for $15,000 arrived in the mail from Fairfield RSL, which is quite remarkable. Over the weekend Paul Stirling and his staff pulled out all stops to rehouse the students with minimal disruption to their school life, particularly those in year 12. Meetings were held over the weekend with teachers, students and parents to explain things and reassure them of the processes.

    Other schools in the area, including Bathurst High School—whose principal, Jan Gerard, is very supportive—Kelso Public School, West Bathurst Public School, and private schools such as All Saints College and McKillop College, as well as the community from Charles Sturt University [CSU] and the management of Bathurst TAFE, offered their support. By early the next week arrangements had been made to house year 12 students at Bathurst TAFE; years 8, 10 and 11 students at the CSU campus; year 9 students at Kelso Public School; year 7 students at West Bathurst Public School; and the administration staff at Bathurst High School. It was a remarkable effort by Paul Stirling, Carol McDiarmid, the regional director, and Tina Slattery, Bathurst Schools District Director. Working with the asset management team they did a magnificent job to pull this together. The bureaucracy, which we often criticise, must be congratulated on the seamless way in which they responded under great pressure. Paul Stirling, school principal, was a real rock throughout the whole process.

    Jones Bros Bus Company, a local bus company that serves both Bathurst and Lithgow, quickly rearranged its timetable to bus Kelso High School students to the appropriate location. This arrangement will continue until the first week of term four, when it is anticipated that demountable classrooms will be set up on the oval and ready to house students. This temporary school will have everything the students need to continue their education. On 29 August the Deputy Premier came to Bathurst, met with the school community, inspected the site and made a formal commitment on behalf of the Government to rebuild Kelso High School, a commitment that was warmly welcomed by the community. It is as though the school community lost part of its soul when the school burned to the ground. Kelso is a fairly close-knit community in a specific suburban area of Bathurst. It was amazing to see the parents and citizens, the school and its staff rally to the cause.

    The staff particularly went above and beyond the call of duty, giving up their time to attend meetings with students and parent bodies to put things in place as quickly as possible to ensure minimal disruption to the students' schooling, particularly those in year 12, who are only one month away from starting their Higher School Certificate examinations. Initially it seemed that the fire had destroyed the costumes and props of the Kelso High School rock eisteddfod group, which has been prominent in the statewide competition in recent years, three weeks away from the finals that were held in Sydney last week. Fortunately their elaborate costumes, which had been handmade by parents, were saved but their props were lost. Immediately the local community pitched in. Tableland Builders, which is run by the Barlow family, provided a factory and carpenters, and together with the teachers and other community members they completely rebuilt the props for the rock eisteddfod.

    Those who took part in the rock eisteddfod were under great emotional pressure, but they lined up for the finals last Thursday at the Sydney Entertainment Centre to take out second place. It was a magnificent effort. I saw their performance at the regional finals and I can only say that the school that beat it, St Peters Catholic College Tuggerah, from the Central Coast, must have been pretty good. Those kids were determined to keep up the good name of Kelso High School and to make their mark in the rock eisteddfod. Not only did they come second in their category but they also won the community award, which was a great tribute to the students, the parents and everyone who helped with the preparation. The rock eisteddfod is a real community event which focuses on the kids, gives them self-esteem and develops their creative talents. St Peters Catholic College Tuggerah, the school that beat Kelso in the rock eisteddfod, donated its prize money to the school.

    The teachers at Kelso High School lost all their teaching resources in the fire. One of the teachers has been at the school since it opened in 1978. Obviously they have been offered support from the department, but some of their resources cannot be replaced. The teachers have suffered a tremendous loss. Through the leadership of Paul Stirling, the school principal, and Carol McDiarmid, the regional director, the community has adopted the attitude of not feeling sorry for themselves. While the school was smouldering on the Saturday the community was hard at work planning how to raise it from the ashes and make in functional. For the first 10 or 12 days after the fire I would be surprised if Paul Stirling averaged more than three or four hours of sleep a night.

    The whole community got behind the school. From time to time Orange and Bathurst councils have punch-ups—it is a bit like Sydney and Melbourne—but there is no questioning their commitment or the commitment of the councils at Oberon and Lithgow, and other local schools. People like Jan Gerard, the principal of Bathurst High School, and John Gerard made a contribution. Many of the schools held small fundraisers that raised a couple of hundred dollars, and Bathurst High School raised $2,000. Those funds will go a long way to helping the school pick up the extras. The Government has accepted the responsibility of the $18 million to $25 million to rebuild the school, which is proceeding post haste. It is a remarkable example of human spirit. I congratulate all those associated with Kelso High School on getting on with job.

    Pursuant to sessional orders business interrupted.




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