TERRACE SCHOOL

Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 145, 17 December 1919, Page 10

TERRACE SCHOOL

MR. G. MACMORRAN HONOURED

ONE GENERATION TO ANOTHER

The Concert Chamber of the Town Hall was crowded yesterday morning with pupils and old pupils of the Terrace School, gathered together to do honour to Mr. George MacMorran on his retirement from the headmastership of the school after many years of service. On the platform were many well-known citizens, including the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke), Dr. Newman, the Rev. Van Staveren, and others. Apologies were made fo? the absence of Sir Francis Bell, Mr. J. G. W. Aitken, and others.

Mr. J. A. Thompson, chairman of the School Committee, paid a high tribute to the work of Mr. MacMorran in raising the standard of the school so high. He was held in the highest affection, by all who had passed through his hands. Four had become Rhodes Scholars. (Applause.) Mr. Thompson suggested that the Legislature might respectfully approach His Majesty with a view that some recognition might be given to such headmasters as Messrs. MacMorran, W T. Grundy, Clement Watson, W. Foster, and J. V. Firth, of the College. (Applause.) The Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) said he had known Mr.'MacMorran ever since he came to Wellington. He had brought to bear a virility, a personality, which j had stamped a mark on the school during his connection with it of thirty-five years. Tho average of the Terrace School stood as high as any in New Zealand. This was due to the capacity of Mr. MacMorran to draw the best out of his.'staff and scholars. (Applause.) The work and usefulness of the teacher in the school stood second to none in moulding the character and fitting the youth for service in the future. (Applause.) Mr. J. Caughley, Assistant-Director of Education, said he had known Mr. MacMorran for twenty years. He had come to recognise that Mr. MacMorran and some of the older teachers embodied in their work a good deal of what was best in modern methods, and added, too, a I solidity that was very valuable in the face of a danger of shallow waters. Throughout New Zealand Mr. MacMorran would meet old pupils and old friends. There was a fine spirit about the Terrace School, a spirit of duty and service and loyalty; which was precious indeed. (Applause.) Ho did not think any honour would be too great for the work Mr. MacMorran had done. He hoped Mr. MacMorran would be spared to enjoy the retirement he had earned so well for many years to come. (Applause.) Mr. T. Forsyth, chairman of the Education Board, said that Wellington could congratulate itself on its great teachers in the past. He was glad to think, too, of the teachers they had in the present. Mr, MacMorr,an had completed fifty-one years of teaching sendee, including thirty-five years as headmaster of the Terrace School.* He was one of those men who would never grow old; he had imbibed among the young the spirit of perpetual youth. (Applause.) Ho wondered how the Terrace School had managed with its lack of playgrounds. The board was endeavouring to secure more playgrounds, and he hoped it would be successful. (Applause.) Mr. W. Bethune, on behalf of the old boys of the school, said that, in addition to raising .'a memorial, to"the memory of those ex-scholars who had served in; the Great War, the old boys had decided to give a testimonial to Mr. MacMorran in token of their respect and appreciation of his personality and services. He himself was an old boy—one of the oldest, harking back to 1883. They were proud of the school and its boys and girls. No fewer than 750 of the old boys had been to the war. (Applause.) It was a tribute to the services and tho work of Mr. MacMorran. On behalf of the old pupils, he presented Mr. MacMorran with a cheque as a testimonial of their appreciation, and wished him long life and happiness in his retirement. (Loud applause.) Mr. D. E. Leslie, present headmaster of the Terrace School, referred to the magnificent' work, done by Mr. MacMorran in the school, a work which left it hard for his successor to live up to. He conveyed from the present pupils of the schools their best wishes and most affectionate regard to him in his retirement. (Applause.) Mr. A. Erskine, of the staff of the Terrace School, expressed the appreciation of the staff for the genial personality which had been one of the secrets of tho success, he had achieved. Mr. Erskine spoke also of Mr. MacMorran's work on the Educational Institute. Mr. MacMorran, who was greeted with the refrain of " For He's a Jolly Good Fellow," followed by loud cheers, thanked them all for the kindness they had shown him. He wished to acknowledge the faithful work done throughout the school by the staff, past and present, from the lowest class to the highest. To that must be attributed the success of the school. Great work, had been done by the committee in a task that was not wholly inspiring. They had much to thank parents for also. In 1884, when he joined the school, tho building was one of some architectural beauty in those days. No vestige remained, and the neat building was destroyed again in the fire of 1901. In those early days there was 'no playground—the boys played all • over the Town Belt. The great war had altered all their lives. No fewer than sixty boys went to Samoa, and the list they had, of between 700 and 800 names for the whole war, was far from complete. He was sure that if he lived for twenty years he would still be adding names. Over a hundred would never return—old boys who in their manhood had died that all present might live in peace. To play together, to learn together, was the best preparation for an honourable life. (Applause.) "I think I have come to the end of a very long story," said Mr. MacMorran, in conclusion. " I have been engaged in the work of education for fifty-one years, and in it I have found very great satisfaction. I do not regret that in my boyhood I took np this occupation. And now the time h.os arrived when I must go elsewhere. It will be a great consolation- to me that I carry with me the best wishes and the goodwill and the friendship of all with whom I have ever been associated at the Terrace School." (Applause.) The proceedings closed with the National Anthem, and cheers for Mr. MacMorran, and finally, at his call, for tho holidays.