Ron’s Gift to Regentville

Regentville Public School recently celebrated their 150th birthday, with a day of fun for students, teachers, families and friends of the school. To help mark the occasion, local resident Ron Vaughan presented the historic school with a steel sculpture that he handmade, titled ‘From Small Country School to Big City Place’.

The large sculpture, which depicts the Regentville Public School schoolhouse with 150 Years above that, was completed in March this year. It took Ron about 20 hours to make and incorporated the skills of tube bending and welding. It was then powder coated, ensuring that it will last more than 50 years mounted on the wall of the original schoolhouse, when they celebrate the 200th birthday.

What makes Ron’s sculpture even more remarkable is that this is the first one that he has ever made. He has been a vehicle builder for almost 50 years and owns his own business producing mobile platform ladders and specialised trolleys.
“I made the sculpture to remind the students, teachers and parents as they pass it each day, that this school has its roots in this community and will continue to thrive well into the future.

My inspiration was the fact that this school and schoolhouse have sat on the hill watching as Penrith grew” explained Vaughan.

Ron has seen the changes at the local school over the years, which saw three of his children also having attended over the years.

“When my son Tristan started at Regentville Public School in 1988, there was less than 100 students. He would hang out the car window and name all the kids walking down the hill. The school grew slowly as my other two children Matthew and Allyson enrolled.

When the Glenmore Park development came along, the government decided to close Regentville School and sell off the elevated blocks of land. A committee of parents was formed and with the support of the local community, we successfully fought with signs, petitions and bed sheets, to save the school in its original location”.

“It is great to see how the school grows and thrives each year. I hope thousands of students passing the sign will be reminded of the spirit and combined strength of our community” ended Ron.

Ron with his steel sculpture at Regentville Public School | Image Supplied