Additional items to form a one-day display at North Inch Community Library

On Saturday 21 March 2026, North Inch Community Library will host a display commemorating the Northern District School and will feature the recently discovered time capsule.

The school, which was renamed Balhousie Primary in 2000, was destroyed by a fire in June 2025, and a group of former pupils looked to explore ways to commemorate this much-loved Perth landmark, through which so many young lives had passed.

A working group of former pupils, archive colleagues from Perth & Kinross Council, and museum collection colleagues from Culture Perth & Kinross was established to explore a range of ideas to celebrate the history of the school.

From 10am to 3pm on Saturday 21 March, the public will be invited to view a range of material from the Perth & Kinross museum and archive collections. These will include old photographs, the original school building plans, the first school logbook, a First World War Roll of Honour, and the ceremonial trowel used to lay the foundation stone. The time capsule and its contents, which were ceremoniously placed within the school walls when the foundation stone was laid in 1908 and later recovered from the ruins during the salvage process, will also be on display. Visitors to the display are encouraged to bring old photographs and memorabilia they wish to share with others or be considered for acquisition by the archives or museum. It is hoped that the display will reunite former pupils and be the first of several events and displays to celebrate the Northern District School.

Image – Northern District School, Perth, about 1930