Beckenham School’s Jubilee Celebrated

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30687, 1 March 1965, Page 14

Beckenham School’s Jubilee Celebrated

A land agent offered him a block of 10 sections which now formed part of the school for £6OO when he came to live in Beckenham, said Mr F. Judkins, the only surviving member of the original Beckenham School Committee, speaking at the Beckenham School jubilee celebrations on Saturday. Mr Judkins said that as he was paid only £3 a week in gold at the time, £6OO was a fortune he did not have, so he had to reject the offer. The Education Board later bought the land for, so It was rumoured, £BOO. “So I bought two other sections for £135 and put £1 down and paid 5s a week. I bought several sections on those terms. They couldn’t give the land away then,” he said.

There was a tough struggle to establish the school, said Mr Judkins. The Somerfield School was not long opened, and when it applied for two additional rooms people in the district decided to ask for one of their own. A petition was signed by 150 families with school-age children, said Mr Judkins. But what he considered really won the day was the argument that it was too dangerous for children to

cross Colombo street in the face of trams, bicycles, and horses to get to the Somerfield or Waltham Schools.

The jubilee celebrations were opened by the Minister of Education (Mr Kinsella), who said that the school had a very high academic standing. Beckenham, he said, had the rather doubtful honour of having the oldest centralheating system in New Zealand. However, it would berenewed soon. Contractors should be on the job within a few weeks.

In company with other older schools, Beckenham was handicapped by lack of teaching room and facilities. The school lacked an administration block and storage space. These were on the draft programme for the coming year, and should be started within the next 18 months. The celebrations were attended by 900 past pupils. These included 39 first-dav pupils out of the first-day roll of 130. The first pupil on the roll, Mr J. Manhire, and the first girl named on the honour roll, Olwyn Owen, now Mrs Parr, were also present. The jubilee cake was cut by Miss Sylvia Foster, who was the first assistant mistress and taught for the first 40 years of the school’s existence, and a first-day pupil, Cissie McAlister, now Mrs Farmer.

Other speakers included the headmaster (Mr P. Mummery), the Mayor (Mr G. Manning), Miss M. B. Howard, M.P., the chairman of the school committee (Mr M. Ross), and Air S. W. Gower, representing the Canterbury Education Board. Mr b. Brown, chairman of the jubilee committee, welcomed visitors and past pupils. Other Events

On Saturday evening about 800 attended a conversazione. Yesterday morning there was a church parade. Today’s functions include a past and present pupils’ sports day, and a ball in the evening. The celebrations will end on Friday with a social evening and dance for teen-agers. The school was officially opened on February 6 by the chairman of the North Canterbury Education Board. Mr G. Rennie, who congratulated the residents on having the first school in the district to be heated with radiators.

When the school opened, its roll was 149. Bv 1922 it had increased to 370. The roll rose to 745 in 1955, but at the end of last year had dropped to about 480. Mr and Mrs S. McAlister selected the school colours of red, yellow, and black as a mark of respect for the warshattered Belgian people. Bv 1918. the school had formed its drum and fife’band.