Kapunda High School’s Eringa building restoration continues after fire
An Australian-first program will see students take a hands on role in restoring the historic building it to its former grandeur.
Education
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Students at a regional high school devastated by fire will help restore the historic building gutted in the blaze as part of an Australian-first heritage trades program.
Kapunda High School principal David Marino says the imminent restoration of the 147-year-old Eringa homestead that went up in flames 12 months ago had sparked discussions about the school offering a heritage trades pathway.
“The silver lining of the fire is it has brought forward some discussions around our curriculum offerings,” Mr Marino said.
“We are such a great location for a heritage trades program because we have so many old heritage buildings in our school and also in our town.
“My vision is to get the kids involved in this opportunity to help restore Eringa.”
A heritage trades program would involve students learning skills such as the stone masonry, roofing, tiling and carpentry involved in restoring heritage buildings. Students will be able to learn on the job while helping tradespeople restore Eringa.
The program will launch for year 10 students the start of Term 3 and expand for years 11 and 12 students in the next couple of years.
Mr Marino said Kapunda would be the first school Australia to offer the program.
The restoration of the Eringa building, a former home of pastoralist Sir Sidney Kidman, has been a delicate task to ensure the remains are salvaged in accordance with Heritage SA requirements.
The debris was metres deep in some places and has been picked up piece by piece and examined to determine if it can be used in the restoration. Items such as tiles, cornices and lattice work have been salvaged to be able to be used again.
At times, contractors had to use cranes to access the site and they used conveyor belts to move debris out of the building.
The next phase will see a temporary floor installed to allow for further scaffolding to
be brought in before contractors work on removing render from the internal walls and
construction of a permanent floor in the building.
Contractors are unlikely to finish the $15m restoration project until mid-2025.
Mr Marino said the Kapunda community had rallied around the school in the past year, was delighted the Education Department had agreed to restore the building and had watched the restoration process with interest.
“Particularly interesting has been the careful dismantling of the chimneys brick-by-
brick so they can be reused for the reconstruction of ‘Eringa’ and the use of 3D
drone imaging to study the building,” he said.
Education Minister Blair Boyer said he had been “incredibly impressed” by the dedication of the Kapunda community to rally together after the fire.
“The significant damage caused to ‘Eringa’ has meant the clean-up work has been a
delicate process, but I’m pleased to see progress is being made,” Mr Boyer said.
“We have committed to restoring it to its former heritage glory, which is why it is such
a detailed process to restore.
“Along with restoring this heritage-listed building, the project team has worked to
identify opportunities to improve accessibility and connectivity for the school’s long-
term future.”
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