A beloved and well-missed figure has been formally welcomed back to Moanataiari School after years of deterioration.
May 7 saw the children of Moanataiari School come together for a ceremony celebrating their beloved Thomas the Tank Engine’s restoration and return to the playground.
Work began in November, 2023, to repair the former TR-24 shunter engine, which had sunk into the ground and rusted away until it was too unsafe to play on.
At the ceremony, Thames Rotary president Ella Lawrence detailed the hours of work put into the restoration by businesses and volunteers.
“We didn’t know how rusty Thomas was. We have spent so much time getting rid of the rust, and we have some new panels on the back here that weren’t there before,” she said.
“Rotary couldn’t do this by ourselves – we needed a lot of help from the community.”
That help came from all over. Kōpū Engineering donated sheets of steel to repair the cab; Metal Recoveries donated the rails the unit now sits on; school parent Luke Dunlop sourced, welded and bent the steel with the aid of machinery from A&G Price. The train was moved by Thames Valley Hiabs, and STM Roofing and Scaffolding donated security fencing.
The restoration itself was mostly carried out by Rotarian and former engineer Peter Vale.
“Peter did most of the metal work that you see on Thomas. He has spent days and days and days here, cutting out rusty metal and putting fresh metal back,” Ella said.
The donations meant the restoration, which took nearly two years, only cost around $5500. Most of the funds were raised by the school PTA.
Principal David Brock said he was thrilled with Thomas’ new look.
“It looked like we didn’t have any choice but to get rid of Thomas. And we didn’t want to do that because Thomas has been such a special feature of our school. In fact, we’ve had children enrol at our school because of Thomas,” he said.
“We’re really grateful to Rotary for the work they’ve done… [Thomas] is something quite special and unique. And it’s much better served in a playground than in a museum.”
Also present at the ceremony was Ann Ridley, the school’s neighbour and former school committee secretary.
Having initiated Thomas’ installation as a playground fixture back in the 1970s, Ann said she was delighted to see the train looking like new once more.
“When I first set eyes on that, it was on a turntable at A&G Price, and I thought, what a rusty mess, but I know where it would be nice,” she said.
“And then it was here [at the school] for quite a long, long time… it rusted away to just about nothing. And I thought, my goodness, it’s a hazard now. Maybe New Zealand Rail should come and take it away. But these good people got stuck in.”
As for Peter Vale, the best part about the whole project has been seeing the kids’ excitement.
“It’s the inspiration the kids gave us, you know, they brought it back to life, really.”
