People can buy a brick from the Ophir Resource Recovery Centre until Sunday, November 12, with proceeds to go towards the Premi-Babes Association of Orange.

Mayor Reg Kidd was born in the old building and bought three bricks, one for each of his sons who were also born there.

“My wife was a member of the premi-babes [association] when they started off, I think the first purchase was a humidicrib and it was in the days when humidicribs were just coming in and very, very expensive,” he said. 

Cr Kidd said several residents had asked to keep a piece of the building as a memento and the council had been working with demolition contractor Zauner Constructions to organise a safe way to make it happen.

“There’s a specialist way that they demolish using water and so forth to keep the dust out,” he said. 

“There’s no problem with these bricks from the maternity section whatsoever and all loving care has already gone into getting the building down in such a manner that we recover the bricks and recycle them rather than going into landfill.”

Cr Kidd said bricks could be used in the garden, as doorstops or even as features in fireplaces or house walls. 

“We’re only able to run this event for about a month so you’ll need to get in quick,” he said.

Association assistant treasurer James Madden said the fundraising was a little different to the association’s usual knitting projects and barbecues

“It’s very poetic that bricks from the old building are going towards helping babies at the new one,” he said.

“For a dollar, you can come down and own a piece of Orange history.”

He said the association would be in talks with Orange Health Service to identify which equipment was needed.

“They need thermometers, they need special beds, they ned breathing equipment and we just buy the hospital whatever they need,” he said. 

There is a limit of five bricks per household and they cannot be collected from the demolition site in Prince Street. 

The Ophir Resource Recovery Centre is open daily from 8am-5pm.