BELOVED MASTER

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 130, 5 June 1933, Page 11

BELOVED MASTER

LATE MR. ALEXANDER

IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL

The deep regret felt at the death of Mr. William Alexander, M.A., LL.B., c-ne of Wellington College's best-known and .ablest masters, and the great respect in which ho was held, was emphasised fittingly at his funeral today. There was a most impressive gathering of old boys, present pupils, masters, and friends.' At 9.15 a.in. a memorial service was held in the Memorial Hall at the college, and afterwards the cortege, which left Mr. Alexander's late residence, 75 Hataitai Road, at 10.30 a.m., passed through the school grounds. Pupils of the school lined the driveways, and when the cortege was in front of the West School, where Mr. Alexander did most of his teaching, it paused for a short time. Among those present were Mr. H. B. Tomlinson, headmaster of the Wairarapa High School and a life-long friend; representatives of the Hutt Valley High School; the principal (Mr. F. M. Renner) and members of the staff of Rongotai College, who were associated with Mr. Alexander at Wellington College; Mr. G. Mitchell (chairman oi the College. Board of 6ovornors), Mr. R. St. J. Beere (president of the Wellington College Old Boys' Association), Councillor Lcn McKenzie, 'Mr. ,W. W.,Cook, Mr. W. H. Denton, and other prominent old boys. All the prefects and all the members of the sixth form attended at the Karori' Cemetery, and there were also present boys representing the various . forms Mr. Alexander taught. Rongotai College was closed from 10 a.m. till noon as a mark of respect. MEMORIAL SERVICE. At the service in the Memorial Hall the headmaster (Mr. W. A. Armour) read i the lesson from the> 90th Psalm. In Ms address, Mr. Armour said that the late Mr. Alexander had made a courageous and patient struggle against failing health. After Easter he made a heroic effort to resume duties, but his-health had broken down again. Mr. Alexander had earned the respect and esteem of'pupils of the school and of old boys over a period of twenty-four years. Mr. Armour referred to the late master's great scholastic attainments and his qualities of thoroughness, exactness, fairness, sound judgment, modesty, kindliness, and unaffected earnestness. Mr. Alexander had not been conspicuous in public life, because ho was not of robust health, but by his earnest work among ; the future citizens who passed through his hands he was a true servant of the State. His life measured •, by true standards ■ was an outstanding success. Consciously or unconsciously, he followed the exhortation of tho great Psalm that, had been read, for the lesson, "So teach us to number, our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." In conclusion, Mr. Armour said that they remembered at this time, in their thoughts and their sympathies, Mrs. Alexander and her, children, lan and Patricia. MR. ALEXANDER'S INFLUENCE. Mr. Armour was followed by Mr. T. R. Cresswell, former headmaster of Wellington College. There was an old saying, said Mr. Croswell, "De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum"—of the dead nothing but what is kindly. Such an exhortation was not necessary on this occasion because he could not, even if he would, say anything unkind about the late .Mr.. Alexander. It was of Mr. Alex.ander as a colleague.,that he desired particularly to speak. said Mr. Cresswell, he first visited' Wellington College as inspector of secondary schools in 1914, he, immediately sensed a rare atmosphere on entering the common room. The staff wore then, and had been since, he. believed, a very happy family. They were, indeed, a band 'of brothers. A fine spirit of comradeship pervaded the teachers' room. For this, he believed, William Alexander was • largely responsible. One could not help being impressed by his cheerfulness, his readiness to help and his spirit of loyalty towards tho school and all that belonged to it. His colleagues were aware for a long time that he was fighting a losing flght against the weakness of his own body, but they never heard a whimper, never a complaint. His presence was an. inspiration in the common room. "NON OMNIS MORIAR." On the outer wall of the Memorial Hall, said Mr. Cresswell, was inscribed a motto taken from Mr. Alexander^ favourite poet Horace: "Non Omnis Moriar"—l shall not "utterly die. The motto referred primarily to tho boys from the school who laid down their lives for their country, but in another sense it. might equally well refer to such as William Alexander, who they believed had joined "the choir invisible of those immortal dead who live again in winds made better by their presence." That was' tho real, the true immortality of the teacher. Professor H. H. Cornish spoke of the time when Mr. Alexander and he were at school and the university together. Mr.! Alexander was always the outstanding member of his class, because he was honest in his work and honest with himself. He was not satisfied with anything that was second best; anything he did was always the best. Mr. Alexander had qualified himself to become a barrister and by his sound judgment and qualities he would have been a very able member of the legal profession, but ho had chosen to devote himself to teaching and in that work ho was eminently successful. The singing of the hymn "Abide With Me" concluded the service. The servico at Karori Cemetery was conducted by the Rev. N. F. E. Robertshawo, of St. Mark's Church.