104th BIRTHDAY KINDERGARTEN AT RISINGHOLME

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25638, 29 October 1948, Page 2

104th BIRTHDAY

KINDERGARTEN AT RISINGHOLME

MRS ELIZA HOLE Still in reasonably good health and able to take a lively interest in what is going on around her. Mrs Eliza Hole, of 119 Hoon Hay road, Halswell, celebrated her 104th birthday yesterday. She received telegrams of congratulations from many parts of New Zealand and about 30 friends and relatives visited her during the afternoon. Mrs Hole does not believe in staying in bed because of her age. She still gets up early every morning and she is taken to town once a week. “She has never missed the Agricub tural and Pastoral Show and I expect she’ll be there this year if the weather is fine,” said one of her relatives yesterday. Mrs Hole has never had a serious illness in her life, but she had an operation for appendicitis at the age Mrs Hole was born in Berwickshire. Scotland, and came to New Zealand with her parents at the age of 11. on the sailing ship Cameo. The journev from London to Lyttelton took five months. Mrs Hole spent her girlhood at “Dalethorpe,” a large pastoral run at Springfield, on which her father was employed. She married Mr W. H. Hole in 1863, at St. Michael’s Church and they lived in Armagh street for about three years. Mr Hole then took up farming in Hoon Hay road and built a sod house on the property In this they lived for 12 years. They then built the present two-storey home in which Mrs Hole and some members of her family have lived ever since. Mr Hole died in 1915. Five sons and three daughters of Mrs Hole’s 15 children are still living and there are 34 grandchildren and 37 great grandchildren. One of the grandchildren is Mr Tahu Hole, formerly a journalist in New Zealand and now an executive officer of the 8.8. C. in London.

COMMITTEE FORMED The really important thing about the kindergarten movement, apart from the pleasant, balanced training, was the social significance of children's living and co-operating in a small community, said Professor I. W. G. Sutherland, addressing a meeting at the Risingholme Community Centre. The meeting was called to consider the establishing of a kindergarten at the centre. It was decided to form a kindergarten at Risingholme and the following committee was elected:—convener, Mrs G. E. Judd; committee. Mesdames P. L. Donnell, E. L. Taylor, M. M. Walker, M. R. Kirk, W. Gray, G. Whitlow, L. A. Rouse, W. Hibbert. A. W. Fergus, N. Meager. Messrs L. Hutchinson, A. E. Alexander, and W. Gray.

Mr F. p. Penfold (president of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association) and Mrs Penfold will leave on Tuesday for Wellington, where Mr Penfold will attend a conference of manufacturers.