GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 199, 23 August 1935, Page 14

GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

FAREWELL TO HEAD.

MR. MAHON'S RETIREMENT.

APPRECIATION OF SERVICES,

Pages of school history were turned back, much of a reminiscent nature was said, and some deserved tributes were paid when farewells were tendered to Air H. J. D. Mahon, the retiring headmaster of the Auckland Grammar School, The first function was at the school hall, where 900 boys and the members of the staff rose the moment that the head of the school came in, accompanied by the senior prefect, K. H. Macdonald. The senior prefect said he wished to assure Mr. Mahon of the good will that existed towards him throughout the school. The boys had a real and sincere pride in their head, and it carried with it a personal note of esteem and affection. The Auckland Grammar School had been very fortunate in its headmasters, and Mr. Mahon had been regarded as highly as his predecessors. During his term as headmaster there had been great developments in connection with the school. He assured Mr. Mahon of the best wishes of the school. |

Not a H-ppy Day. | Mr. Mahon received an ovation on rising to replv. He said that it was not, a happy day for him, as he was leaving a great school with which he had been associated 44 years. He had a deep affection for the school, and he was very proud of it and its achievements. It was a school with a great history and great traditions. He had always im-1 pressed the fact that the school was a; community where they learned the les-: sons of citizenship, the duty that they had to their fellow men, and the need of helping everything that was for the common good. Team spirit had always been characteristic of the school, and he could say with truth and conviction that the school had never failed him. He had always been proud to be its headmaster. The general public .shared his pride in a great democratic institution. It was character and energy that determined a boy's place in the ■ community, and that was one of the greatest lessons that could be taught.! He was proud of them all, and grateful' for the loyal support that he had always received during his term as headmaster. ; He urged the boys to go forth in life, 1 taking with them the lessons in good i citizenship that the school had taught. He urged them always to strive for what was good and most beautiful in life. Obligation to Staff. Mr. Mahon said that he was under a deep obligation to the staff of the school, because it would have been impossible to carry on the work of a great school without the assistance of men who had ; a high sense of duty. His work had been made easier by the great help and , loyalty he had received. j Mr. Mahon thanked the prefects for willing and generous help and then, speaking with deep emotion, he wished the boys a pleasant holiday, success in t their studies and the blessings of God in . their future lives. I The boys gave three cheers for Mr. | Mahon and sang "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow." I

At a subsequent function held at the I Mount Eden Kiosk the members of the Auckland Grammar School staff fare- j welled their chief. I

Mr. K. J. Dellow said that on looking back over the past seven years he could say that in no period of the school's history had the staff been more united, or had the relations been more pleasant. Mr. Mahon had always taken a prominent part in the social and educational j 'life of Auckland and he had placed the j school in an honourable and dignified i position. They had to., thank him for j his work of twenty years ago for better conditions and salaries for assistant j teachers. He had filled a most exacting : position and had shown the utmost. devotion to duty in the interests of the j school.

Confidence Fulfilled. | Mr. Mahon said that he would not' have taken the position unless assured of the co-operation of the staff, and the confidence that he had in them had been completely fulfilled. It had been a position with many responsibilities, and he believed that they would give him credit that the decisions he made were in the interests of the school. He had sometimes been criticised for recommending old boys for positions on the staff. He had always gone through applications carefully, and if he made a recommen- j dation to the board it was because he considered the applicant the best qualified for the particular position. | The school's gift to Mr. Mahon was a silver tray and set of crystalware. The gift of the staff was a rug. | Mr. Dellow, who is leaving to take up the position of headmaster of the Takapuna Grammar School, was presented by the staff with a hearthrug. | Mr. S. P. Jones, clerk of the school, was also farewelled, the gift of the staff being a cheque. I