Council received a confidential report at the March 2025 meeting regarding the history of the Fairbridge School Bell and its significance to the Old Fairbridgian Association as a display at the Fairbridge Memorial Children’s Park.
The bell was originally dislodged from its mountings by the 2022 flood event. Council has taken as much care as possible to secure the bell back, but the Fairbridge Park remains at risk of any future flood events. Additionally, due to its remote and relatively unsupervised location, like many of council’s parks and recreational areas, the bell also remains at a degree of risk of vandalism and/or theft.
It has been expressed by senior members of the association that it is very important for the bell to remain on site at the park. There is a replica of the bell currently possessed by the Molong Historical Society, it is feasible that this replica could be placed at the park with the actual bell secured at the museum.
Council is currently undertaking a formal process of consulting with key stakeholders including the Old Fairbridgian Association and the Molong Museum (noting the item’s heritage significance) and consider other interested parties by seeking public submissions as to the appropriate location of the bell.
Feedback from interested parties is invited until Wednesday 31 July 2025. Written submissions should be addressed to the General Manager, PO Box 17, Molong NSW 2866 or emailed to council@cabonne.nsw.gov.au