Source: Radio New Zealand
After 134 years the classrooms and playing fields of a Manawatū school fell quiet.
Linton Country School closed for good in early 2023 after the roll dwindled to zero.
Now, the Ministry of Education has put the old school grounds up for sale.
Tenders are open until 6 May for the property and its classrooms, hall, out-of-tune piano and well-stocked library.
Harcourts agent Tim Cook is managing the sale and he showed RNZ around.
We start our tour in one of the old classrooms.
“This is probably the original classroom from when it was first built in 1889. It’s been extended and reduced over time,” Cook said.
An artwork is still on display in one of the classrooms. RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
“There were three classrooms when it shut, but at the peak of it they were even using the headmaster’s house as a classroom, which has long since been removed. It had a lot of history. It was a very popular school in the day.”
The school’s end came after years of battling a falling roll that never topped 20 in its final years. It used to be the only primary school in the area, but the opening of Linton Camp School, at the military base nearby, changed that.
The brightly coloured rooms and corridor haven’t faded, although spiders and birds have made their home where school bags and children’s art once hung.
“At the end of the corridor we’ve got what would have been the staff room – cups of tea, hide from children, plan for your day,” Cook said.
The 1.9 hectare property, less than 10 minutes’ drive from Palmerston North, is worth about $1.3 million.
In 35 years of real estate, this is the first time Cook has sold an old school property, so he’s not sure what to expect when tenders close.
With potentially three road access points and views to Kāpiti Island, it could make a housing development.
Harcourts real estate agent Tim Cook is marketing the former school. He took RNZ on a tour. RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
“It’s zoned rural and we believe there’s no problem with that. However, we’re advising everyone to talk to the local council just to make sure they can do what they intend to do.”
The old school library comes with a collection of books on the shelves in their correct dewey decimal positions.
“There’s some neat stuff here and the whole property comes with everything that is in it, when the new owners get here, so they may get a library complete with books,” Cook said.
Another classroom still has drawings on the blackboard and a mural of the school on the wall.
The school hall previously doubled as a community centre.
“This is my favourite space. It would be just amazing to do a boutique concert in here. The wooden floor – it’s probably got a spring in it for dancing.
“It was set up with the different lines on the floor for indoor games.”
Old jubilee photos and a Lions Club shield hang on the walls, and just before the school closed new kitchen equipment was installed. It remains unused, covered in its plastic wrapping.
Spiders and birds have made a home in the brightly coloured corridor. RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
The hall also houses a “very out of tune” piano, although Cook managed to play a few bars of Chopsticks.
He said he’s previously sold a community hall, which had been converted into a home. The stage became a kitchen and the buyers built a mezzanine floor.
After the school’s closure vandals broke in and stole the heat pumps, but Cook said the property appeared to be in good nick, although he wasn’t sure about the playground.
“It’s getting a bit tried. It could do with some love.
“There’s a standalone classroom, which is fairly modern, because you can see if has a concrete floor. It also has a fireplace in it and another toilet block.
“I ran out of fingers actually trying to count how many toilets are here.”
Plenty of toilets, and an outdoor swimming pool, hardcourt, field, and disused paddock.
Cook said there was interest from across New Zealand in the property.
“It’s a wait and see. The vendors are committed to the sale. It’s time to move it on and they’ve said they’ll consider all offers, all tenders.”
Ministry of Education chief executive for school property Jerome Sheppard said officials would assess the offered after tenders closed.
“While there’s no fixed legal timeframe, in practice a preferred offer is usually agreed within a day or two.
“After that, the sale is signed off by Land Information New Zealand on behalf of the Crown, which usually takes around a couple of weeks.”
After the school closed, no other public use was identified for the land, nor were there any Treaty of Waitangi claims on it.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand