MEMORIAL TO MASTER

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 134, 2 March 1936, Page 5

MEMORIAL TO MASTER

Ceremony Bongotai College

TABLET AND BELL UNVEILED A memorial to the late Mr. R. w. Edwards was unveiled nt Rongotai College on Saturday evening. The ceremony was of !l simple but impressive l nature, and there was a large attend- . anee. The principal, Mr. F. MartynBenner, paid no eloquent tribute to his late colleague, emphasising his high sense of duty and his equally high ideals of service. Very few masters ' said .Mr. Renner, had shown themselves so adaptable both to boys and to men and very few masters had been so beloved. It might truly be said of Mr. Edwards that he was all things to all mem "The real memorial," continued Mr. Renner, "we keep in our own hearts and in our own conception of him.” ’‘Nevertheless, for tlie successive generations l of masters and boys that would yet occupy the classrooms and tread the corridors of Rongotai. College some tangibie memorial was necessary to perpetuate the work that Mr. Edwards had performed to shape the destiny and help to lay the foundations of the traditions of tlie school he had loved so well. Miss E. Edwards’ unveiled the memorial, which consists of two parts —a beautiful commemoration tablet and a massive memorial bell. In a short service Canon Percival James consecrated the memorial and dedicated it to the service of the school. Later Mr. Renner explained to those present that the tablet, with its pure silver lettering on a background of phosphor bronze, was the gift and loving work of Mr. E. C. Isaac, an old friend of* Mr. Edwards's family. The inscription, “Exedit Monumentum Aere Perenniu.s”—“He lias erected a monument more lasting than bronze"—was a quotation from the Latin poet Horace, and was peculiarly appropriate in commemorating the work of the late Mr. Edwards. The bell, a replica of tlie Codford Bell, number 25 in the Wellington Carillon, was embossed with the school crest, and had a beautiful, sweet tone. After the bell had been sounded by Miss Edwards, the ceremony concluded with 'tlie Benediction, pronounced by Canon Percival James. ■ Attending the ceremony were representatives of the old boys of the school, executives of the parents’ association and of the ladies’ auxiliary, the school prefects, and members of the staff with their wives. Mrs. J. Storey, a pastpresident of the ladles' auxiliary, flew across from Blenheim to attend tlie service, and Mr. L. Moss came from New Plymouth to be present. Others present were:—Mrs. F. Martyn Renner, Mr. C. M. Martyn Renner, Mr. E. C. Isaac, Captain and Mrs. P. J. Ballard, Dr. A. C. Keys, Mr. and Mrs. E. Collie (Levin), Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Enting, Mr. N. Wilkin. Mr. N. Ziman, Dr. M. Dow, Mr. E. Dow, and Mr. and Mrs. Storey.