Armadale Primary School children were left devastated on Monday morning when they arrived at school to find their beloved bell missing.
The brass bell, from a C class locomotive, forms a part of the school’s logo and has been used to beckon thousands of former and current Armadale students to class.
Armadale principal Wayne Walpole said on Monday cleaners and gardeners found the bell’s frame at the bottom of the school and the bell itself missing from its pillar.
“There was a load of bottles and broken glass there as well,” he said.
“We don’t know where it’s gone, whether it was some people drinking and having a party up there or whether it was stolen for scrap metal.”
He said the school community was devastated.
“Parents have already put out the message through social media and various sites to have it tracked down,” he said.
“The kids are really upset by the whole affair and can’t understand why it was taken, it is no value to anyone else but it is significant value to them.”
He said the thief or thieves could return the bell anonymously.
“We’re very happy to just have the bell returned, we’re not bothered about prosecuting or anything like that, we just want the item returned because of the historical value of it,” he said.
Former student Ian Blackburn found the bell under one of the old buildings on the original school site in 1978.
It was restored and transferred to the new school site at Carradine Road in 1987.
If anyone has information they could call the school on 9399 2200 or contact police anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
