Old school gets facelift
2005-08-18
David Joshua
FOR many Paarlites, the old Bethany school building in Klein Drakenstein Road holds fond memories - and finally the building is getting a facelift.
This building, which has been deteriorating steadily since the school closed down, has been bought by the Catholic Church for renovation.
The double-storey building at the corner of Rosaki Street in Paarl East dates from 1926 and consists of four classrooms and a hall.
It is the alma mater of many people who grew up in the vicinity of Hermitage Street, Huguenot, and the whole of the “Agter Stasie” area.
By the end of 1987, the school, which was run under the auspices of the Bethel Congregational Church, closed down.
The school’s last principal, John Kulsen noted, “It was a sad day indeed, for the school had a long and proud history.”
Assimilated with Elizabeth de Waal Primary School, it reopened as Charleston Hill Primary School in 1988.
The Bethany building has stood abandoned since, except for a period when it was utilised as an art studio for upcoming artists from disadvantaged communities.
Vagrants started to make the old building their home, and it seemed that Bethany had lost all of its former glory.
At this stage the nearby Catholic Church, situated in Barbarossa Street, was locked in negotiations to buy the adjacent plot, but negotiations were abandoned in mid-2002.
In late 2002, like a providential answer to the problem of the dilapidated Bethany and the Catholic Church’s need for a larger building, the opportunity came to obtain the land and buildings from
the Bethal Congregational Church.
Although the Archdiocese of Cape Town and the Pontifical Mission Society in Rome gave financial assistance towards the cost of the purchase, the bulk of the purchase price, and the funding for the renovation, was raised from within the parish itself.
Unexpected delays in the rezoning process, and other impediments, meant that the Catholic Church could only secure transfer of the property in April 2004.
Says parish priest, Father Wim Lindeque, “The Catholic parish of Paarl is deeply grateful to the Congregational Church, especially to its pastor, Reverend Abe Maart, for its unfailing support during the difficult period between the start of negotiations and the completion of the transfer.
“The Catholic parish intends to maintain a connection with the name Bethany - both for its biblical relevance, and in recognition of the many years of Christian witness that the Congregational School provided in Paarl East since 1926”.
After the renovation, the four classrooms will be used as parish meeting rooms and offices with one room reserved as a chapel.
The intention is to develop the remainder of the premises, parish funds permitting, as a new church building to accommodate upwards of 400 worshippers, with full consultation of local residents.
At present, building works are being carried out by Dudley Neveling, parishioner and resident of Wellington, and his team of local workmen.
The eventual use of the entire site by the parish will be for religious worship, religious, civic and general instruction of adults and young people, social and or recreational gatherings, fundraising events, meetings for parish, educational, civic and or social purposes, lectures, presentations, exhibitions and other similar events for parish and community, as well as the Church’s social ministry to the sick, poor, unemployed and disadvantaged.
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