WALTHAM SCHOOL JUBILEE

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26814, 20 August 1952, Page 5

WALTHAM SCHOOL JUBILEE

CELEBRATION THIS MONTH

SIXTY YEARS SINCE OPENING

At the end of this month the Waltham School Will celebrate its diamond jubilee. The celebrations will open on August 29 with a jubilee ball in the St. John Ambulance Hall; on the afternoon of August 30 there will be a conversazione in the school grounds in which several pupils who went to Waltham School on the opening day in 1891 will take part; and on the afternoon of August 31 the celebrations will conclude with a church service conducted by a former pupil of the school, the Rev. T. M. Cameron Hay. The lesson at this service will be read by Mr L. W. Stewart, Rector of St. Andrew’s College, who was once a teacher at Waltham.

A committee representative of committeemen, teachers and pupils, which is arranging for the celebrations, is headed by Mr A. W. Peterson, who has been a member of the school committee since 1932 and chairman since 1938. The Waltham School opened its doors in July, 1891, under the headmastership of Mr T. Hughes. The original school, designed by Mr W. T. Schmidt, the Education Board's architect, and built by Messrs Davidson and Wilson,' consisted of three large rooms and a • small classroom giving accommodation for 280 pupils. The opening roll was 250, but within a year it had swelled to 420, and early in the new century it reached a peak at 750. Accommodation was accordingly a burning question in the early years of the school, and some relief was obtained by using temporary premises such as the old Wesleyan school room which stood opposite the library, and a small room in the library itself. In 1894 an additional room was added to the school making room for a further 100 pupils, and in 1906 three more rooms were built. In 1923 the old school was remodelled, partitions being constructed to convert eight large rooms into 13 smaller classrooms. Except for one or two rooms the old school remains intact, and under a new coat of paint is in a relatively sound state in spite of its years. Better Facilities In the late twenties an energetic committee, backed by parents, was i active in giving the school improved facilities which were then being introduced in many schools. An important development in this direction was the installation of a central heating and ventilation system replacing cokestove heating. The school was the first in the country to be so equipped. In 1939 the school had the satisfaction of seeing the first block of a new school completed, and since the last jubilee celebrations in 1941 a further modern block of four classrooms has come into use. The school also*now has its own dental clinic. A feature of current activities at the school is the sight-saving class—the only one of its kind in the South Island.

Former pupils of Waltham School have a good record in the field bf sport. Mr C. J. Olliver, who frequently represented New Zealand both at cricket and football, and Mr W. A. Hadlee, the former New Zealand cricket captain, * are well-known old pupils. Mr W. Cunningham also represented New Zealand at cricket, and Messrs A. Elvy, G. Innes, W. H. Taylor, and W. Cummings also wore the silver fern on the football field. Old pupils have also excelled in other branches of sport. Mr Clarrie Bright was prominent in cycling, and Messrs W. J. Fitzsimmons ana Max Carr had distinguished records in athletics. The present Mayor of Christchurch, Mr R. M. Macfarlane. M.P., is an old boy of the school. An early headmaster at the school —Mr J. J. Adams, who was at Waltham from 1910 to 1919—is expected to preside at the conversazione auring the jubilee celebrations. The present headmaster is Mr D. G. Wilson, a retired inspector, who is relieving for three months pending the arrival of Mr W. L. Stewart, of Hawarden, who will take up the duties of headmaster at the beginning of the next terin.