Rescue the St Bathans School Ruins

Rescue the Ruins

In 2025 the St Bathans School will turn 150 years old and it is our mission to stabilise the ruins, making them safe to visit. The Category 2 listed structures are constantly being battered by the elements so we have to stop the clock and begin urgent preservation work.

Together with a team of archaeologists we have secured an authority and enlisted a heritage stonemason. We seek $40 000 to save the School Ruins for our future generations.

The first wing of this school building was completed in April 1875. It was also used as a church with a resident Catholic priest who established a Catholic school. The building was used for social gatherings, meetings and fundraising balls. By 1895 the single school room was proving too small and a second room – at the east, was completed in the same year. In 1943 a severe earthquake damaged the building. The school was held in the post office after this but closed in 1949. From 1951 the school building was leased to the Rabbit Board and in 1979 was sold to a private owner.

The School Ruins mark the timeline in the Maniototo when St Bathans was a booming gold mining town, and New Zealand families have connections with the school. The School was designed and built by locals using local materials and is a monument to their pioneering spirit, skills and achievements.