Reefton School Of Mines: Year’s Work Reviewed

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 February 1950, Page 10

Reefton School Of Mines: Year’s Work Reviewed

The annual report of the Reefton School of Mines discloses that the school had a busy year in 1949, with a record number of students enrolled. The report is as follows: — “Perhaps the most salient feature of the 1949 School of Mines year was the announcement of the details of the Mines Department’s new bursary-cadet system for training senior officials in the State mines. Since any such scheme must directly or indirectly affect the District Schools of Mines, a special sub-com-mittee was set up to study the regulation schedule in greater detail and in particular to clarify one or two points of special local significance. “After considerable study and discussion, the sub-committee advised the parent council that since the only road to seniority in the service was via the mine managership door and since all bursars had to sit the ordinary colliery manager’s certificate examination - there was little in the broad general structure of the scheme that could be objected to, except that the required, practical time for a bursar appeared to have a decided “office” flavour and should include a much longer period working under an industrial award on selected operations actually in the pit itself. The opportunity was, however, taken to express very great disappointment at the Government’s action in placing these regulations on the statute book without a prior opportunity being provided for suggestion or comment. Since the District Schools of Mines have trained the great majority of the present I mining officials they felt that they were entitled to at least this courtesy. Busy Year Experienced

“In other directions the school has had a very busy year, although as in the case of last year, the accent of our activities has been markedly centred on the academic side, as distinct from our laboratory asaying work. With a record grand total ot. 51 students distributed through an exceptionally wide variety of senior classes, together with the necessity' of coping with shifts and travelling, it soon became evident that an additional lecturer would be required to provide services up to our usual high standard and an application for the necessary finance was submitted to the Minister for Mines in the second half of the year. The department, however, felt that the increase may only be temporary and offered as an alternative suggestion the services of sufficient State Mine managers as part time lecturers to take over some of the junior classes. “This offer was accepted and we have here to record our special thanks to Messrs D. Peattie and J. Cowan (Blackball and Dobson) and Messrs Rarity and Moseley (Reefton) for their valuable services in this connection. Financially w r e have not been so fortunate as difficulties initiated by the loss of our lucrative bullion assaying trade in 1948 pertained throughout the year and although our accounts were balanced with a loss of only £B, this result was achieved only by urgent appeals for assistance to our district local bodies for whose generous response we are extremely grateful. It is evident, however, that a much greater measure of public support will be required in 1950. Academic Achievements “All of the classes held under the auspices of the school during the year were exceptionally well attended and the total roll strength of 51 students appears to be an alltime record. Practically all of the possible classes on the roster were represented by at least one or two s udents and it is interesting to note hat .the deputy’s and general preparatory classes which in the past have always made up so large a proportion of the higher roll strengths on Liiis occasion totalled only 19 men. Other usual features included a marked expansion in the number of students studying mining and general electricity as well as for the first time lor many years four students in steam, the latter being placed under the care of our special lecturer in this subject Mr C. C. Moseley. “With regard to the distribution of the students among the four teaching centres of Reefton, Waiuta, Dobson and Blackball there is little change to report. Reefton again had the largest class with a total of 25 men and Waiuta the smallest with four, fortnightly personal visits having been resumed there to cater for students taking three different courses. The venue of the Grey Valley classes was changed from Taylorville to Dobson, because the bulk of the students came from the latter locality and also to take advantage of the excellent classroom facilities available in the Rescue Brigade station buildings there. Instruction by correspondence was continued with three senior coal mining students — two in Benneydale and one in Huntly, but all of these men had a ■' long prior connection with the School ! before moving to the North Island coalfields for broader experience ahd to take official positions. “An analysis of the classes taken during the year would be as follows: —First Class Colliery Manager’s Certificate 5, Preparatory Year 2; Second Class Colliery Manager’s Certificate 2, Preparatory Year 2; Underviewer’s Certificate 6; Deputy’s Certificate 14; Gas Testing and General Preparatory s;'First Class Metal Mine Manager’s Certificate Prepar-, atory Year 1; Battery Superintend- i ent’s Certificate Preparatory Year 2; Assaying 1; Colliery Electrician’s Certificate 1, Preparatory Year 4; Electric Wireman’s Certificate 2; Steam 4; Geology 1. Total 51. Examination Passes “As a result of all this tuitional work we have much pleasure in recording the following passes:—First class colliery manager’s certificate, partial pass: Mr G. Richards (Reefton). Second class colliery manager’s certificate, full pass: Mr G. W. Lennox (Dobson). Underviewer’s certificate, full-pass: Mr G. W. Lennox (Dobson), Mr G. Blair (Greymouth), Mr R. Neilson (Blackball); partial pass: Mr T. Boyd (Blackball). Deputy's certificate, full pass: Mr S. Ramsden (Roa), Mr A. Cowan (Dobson), Mr V. D. Kirk (Blackball), Mr E. J. Riley (Reefton), Mr E. Roughan (Reefton); partial passes: Mr E. White (Dobson), Mr T. J. Phillips (Blackball), Mr E. Collins (Dobson), Mr R. Maguigan (Blackball). Gas testing certificates, fresh certificates: Messrs V. D. Kirk, T. J. Phillip, I. Maguigan, E. Murdock, S. Ramsden (all Blackball), A. Reid, A. Mayfield, J. Blair, S. Blair, D. Coglan, A. Archer, E. Roughan (a’J Reefton), E. J. White (Dobson), J. R. Sara (Reefton). Colliery electrician’s certificate, full pass: Mr A. McKenzie (Reefton). Second class steam certificates, ' full pass: Mr M. McGrath (Reefton); Mr G. Williams (Reefton). “The council of the school wishes to offer its congratulations to two Reefton boys, Messrs D. Coglan and D. Buist, who have been successful in being awarded two of the first six coal mining bursaries under the new

regulations. Mr Coglan was a student of the School of Mines during the yeai under review and it will be recalled that Mr Buist obtained a partial pass here for the School of Mines scholarship last year, intending to complete in the university itself during 1949 only the scholarship privileges were cancelled and replaced with the oui - saries.

Graduate Appointments ! Congratulations are offered to the following graduate students who received new appointments or Promotions during the year: Mr J. W. Lundon, appointed manager of. Garveys Creek State mine. Mr J. Rarity, transferred on promotion from Garveys Creek mine to Burke’s Creek State mine Mr H, Lockington, appointed mine - electrician at Garvey’s Creek State mine. Mr A. Saunders, appointed assistant manager of Blackwater Mines Ltd. Mr T. Brazil, appointed manager of the Central State mine. Mr E Kerry, appointed manager of the , Campbell Coal Co, Frankton. Mr L. I Jones, appointed Inspector of Mmes, Herberton, Queensland. Mr R. Neilson, appointed in charge of the Rescue’ Brigade, Dobson. The assay trade of the school continues in an exceedingly depressed state since the loss of our profitable bullion assay trade in 1948, due to the channelling of the South Island’s bullion assay work into the Bank of New Zealand in Dunedin. The bulk of the samples actually received came from i the collieries, where two-monthly checks have to be carried out on the explosibility of the dust lying on the 1 exposed surfaces of the mine roadi wavs. The big increase in the price of : gold brought about by the devaluation i of the sterling pound, although it savI ed the Waiuta mine has as yet proI vided very little stimulus for prospecti ing, except in the Maruia district , where a sporadic sampling of the various quartz outcrops is still going !• An analysis of the number of : samples received is as follows:—Coal dust samples 40, quartz samples 22, bullion assays 3, total 65. I In addition a copper plate was ' scaled for a Westport blacksander and • two parcels of impure bullion purified for a local prospector. Four mineral specimens were identified free, oi charge and a small parcel of slags was ground for the extraction of their precious metal content for a local bank.