There were hundreds of photos and documents - punishment books, school registers and correspondence - among the items that had been collected and kept over generations.

An etching of Newcastle as it appeared in the early 1800s, a letter from William Cowper to Governor Macquarie establishing the school, a list of the first students and the original copy of Professor Eddie Braggart's PhD thesis, which proves Newcastle East to be the nation's oldest running school, were among the primary sources that made up the collection - believed to be now gone forever.

The swift action has prompted condemnation, with renowned Newcastle archivist Gionni Di Gravio calling the situation a "catastrophe".

Mr Di Gravio said the artefacts were "important state records".

He argued that expert conservators should have been enlisted to decontaminate the important historic items, describing the decision to dispose of the artefacts as a case of "knee-jerk and dump".

"I just see it as a disaster for Newcastle, not just Newcastle - Australia," he said.

"These records prove things. This is why it's such a special thing to have them survive."

The NSW Department of Education confirmed the items "could not be cleaned to a safe level and have been destroyed".

"Student and staff wellbeing is the school's highest priority, anything that has potentially come in contact with asbestos needs to be cleaned or removed," a spokesman said.

He said the World War I honour roll had been decontaminated.

But the department did not answer the Newcastle Herald's questions regarding who made the decision to destroy the artefacts or what sort of testing was performed on the items.

It comes after parents were told on Wednesday morning that friable loose-fill asbestos had been found on rafters inside the school's heritage building. Testing revealed that books previously housed in the building tested positive for asbestos and were destroyed.

Other items stored in the building, including teaching materials, computers, smartboards and musical instruments were also disposed of.

The Newcastle Herald understands the priceless artefacts, many of which were gathered to mark the school's bicentenary in 2016, were moved from the administration offices and into the heritage building in term four last year.

Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Newcastle John Ramsland, who wrote a significant portion of the school's history published to mark its 200 year anniversary, said it was "disturbing to see historical material destroyed when a little effort in finding suitable archives to place them in would allow further research and interpretations of the past to be undertaken".

Newcastle East Public School opened in 1816 and has been at its current location, on the corner of Brown and Tyrrell streets, since 1878.

Rosemarie Milsom, who was the only parent representative on the school's bicentenary committee for two and a half years, said there had been an active community of people who were generous in compiling the collection.

"We just feel this was all very rushed," she said.

"It's as though a fire has gone through the building, it's a same sense of loss.

"The impact isn't just on the immediate school community. It's on the Hunter Region and also on Australia.

"It's had a really colourful history, starting with the convict kids right up to famous ex-students like Miranda Otto."

Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp said losing the artefacts was "devastating".

"These items aren't just important to the history of the school, they're important to the history of our nation," he said.

"Their loss is a tragedy for the history of our city."

There have also been reports that some staff members were not told before their personal items - in one case, a guitar - was destroyed.

"Staff have been advised that they can apply for compensation for any personal property used for teaching that has been disposed of," the department spokesman said.

NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said student, staff and community safety at schools was "paramount" and she took the discovery of asbestos at Newcastle East Public School "extremely seriously".

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