In a historical moment, Springs Boys High School donated its military gear to the Springs Mining and Military Museum on Friday.
The school, which housed three large displays including the Marmon-Herrington Armoured Car, has decided to give the artefacts to the museum to contribute to the historical importance and to help tell the story of Springs.
“I had approached the school with the request for the donation because I wanted the public to have access to the artefacts and their stories,” said ProSafe CEO and founder of the museum, Tony da Cruz.
The artifacts are remnants of WWII and their original homes weren’t at the schools.
“They were donated to Springs and the military institutions of the town as well as organisations such as the Boy Scouts.
“In the late 80s, a lot of these institutions started closing down and some consolidated.
“There was a question surrounding the future of the gear when they closed and that is when they approached local schools and asked them to take over in housing them.
“Boys High was one of the schools who agreed and they took three large displays and placed them on the school grounds – they have been here for about 40 years.”
Tony goes on to explain that schools are already in dire financial constraints and maintaining the gear has put an unnecessary strain on them.
“Having the artefacts under the care of the museum will also give us the opportunity to better care for them because restoring and maintaining them is expensive,” he said.
The process to acquire these artifacts started in June and took many meetings and approval needed to be sought before they could be donated.
Boys’ High principal Diane Freeman says the handing over of these artefacts is two-fold.
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“We are a traditional school and we are heartsore to part with these artefacts but they are in better hands now and will be accessible to the whole community,” she said.
She said the previous principal looked well after the gear during his tenure.
“Mr French took in and looked after the artefacts when the Moth Shell-hole closed but it’s time for them to go home,” said Freeman.
One of the guns will be put on display at the MacKays Fountain and War Memorial and the other two artefacts will be at the museum.
