Rodney Stevens

A Yamba resident and a former Yamba Public School student are on a mission searching for their holy grail – a misplaced time capsule that should have been dug up 22 years ago.

As part of the Yamba Public School 100th anniversary celebrations in 1983, former student Marcus Greig and parent Christine Preston said the students were invited to preserve items in a time capsule.

The celebrations in August 1983, at the former Wooli Street site of Yamba Public School, saw about 300 current and former pupils from the past 70 years attend, many contributing items to the time capsule.

After 108 years on the Wooli Street site, on August 28, 1990, headmaster Geoff Gorman, staff and more than 200 pupils moved to the new Yamba Public School with 10 classrooms, a Communal Hall, Library and an Administration block, on Angourie Road.

Mr Greig and Mrs Preston said when the time capsule was created, it was intended to be dug up and opened in the year 2000 as part of celebrating the new millennium.

They said the time capsule was the victim of ‘a bureaucratic bungle’ or ‘a comedy of errors’.

“The time capsule was indeed buried on the grounds of the old public school, but it was later dug up to make way for the bowling club carpark and ‘held’ to be buried in the grounds of the new and current school on Angourie Road, but this didn’t happen,” Mr Greig said.

Instead, Mr Greig said the time capsule became part of a bicentennial project.

“Our time capsule was buried on Australia Day 1989 in Ager Park, to be opened in 2088,” he said.

“This makes no sense. 

“Our time capsule was stolen and buried along with ‘something’ to do with the Australian Bicentennial Project, which is totally unrelated to our time capsule.” 

To open the time capsule in 2088, Mrs Preston said, would mean anyone involved wouldn’t be able to enjoy and appreciate its contents.

“Nobody involved with the Yamba Public School time capsule will be alive in 2088, it’s absurd, and unfair,” she said.

As part of their mission, Mr Greig and Mrs Preston want local authorities to dig up the time capsule so its contents can be displayed by the Port of Yamba Historical Society.

The pair said they are shovel ready, seeking answers on their quest and hope it encourages other locals to get involved.

“I am representing my late son, my daughter and every other parent and their kids who were involved,” said Mrs Preston.

“The time capsule does not belong to the Bicentennial Committee or the Port of Yamba Historical Society, it belongs to the people,” Mr. Greig said.

“Our time capsule should have been dug up 22 years ago, time is up, we want it now, not in 2088,” Mrs Preston said. 

Anyone interested in getting involved can call Christine Preston on 0408 414 691.