Either driven by love or hate, but always with a passion, old residents and their families kept returning to the rapidly deteriorating physical remains of their past to reminisce times gone by and share their memories with anybody prepared to listen.
The emotional attachment touched a nerve with Sylvia and Gary and after a suggestion to ex Burnett's Face residents Billy Andrews and Bob Stephens on the 13th of July 1993 the "Friends of the Hill Soc." was formed.

A base needed to be found and the old High School on Denniston was not yet beyond restoration.
Solid Energy which owns the land and building actively supports the Society and for a peppercorn rental the Friends of the Hill now have a meeting place and their own museum and information centre.
Volunteers completely restored the old school with the help of generous donations of materials and free or heavily discounted professional help.

An annual membership fee of only $10 makes you a "Friend of the Hill".
Through this you assist a small but extremely dedicated group in the preservation and conservation of a unique piece of New Zealand history.