Bloom Hill PS Honour Board returns to community
Anthony PurdonWW1 Honour Board Returns To O'Connell Community.
On Thursday November 8, 2018 a treasured artefact was handed back to the community of O'Connell at a special assembly held at O'Connell Public School.
The original honour board from the Bloom Hill Public School that opened in 1869 and closed in 1938, commemorates the service of thirty three of the thirty six young men and women of the district in World War 1.
This was a significant event for the school on the occasion of the centenary of the Armistice to end the Great War and the preservation of honour boards like this is important to both the RSL and Australian War Memorial. O'Connell PS also celebrated it's sesquicentenary in 2019.
The honour board has been in the custody of the Purdon family since the school closed. The Purdons, with six names on the board, were prominent in the area for around a century.
Representing the family, Tony Purdon from Shellharbour accompanied his father and Bathurst living legend Barry Purdon, and other descendants at the service. Mr Purdon said he was very proud to be returning the board to it's rightful place in the O'Connell community. He also thanked local resident and former teacher at the school, Ian Browne, for facilitating the handover.
The Principal of the school, Patricia Forsyth, said that she was thrilled that the school would become the caretakers of a great piece of the history of the valley. The board holds a great deal of significance for our current students who are proud to be the new custodians.
