MEMORIES OF THE PAST

Hawera Star, Volume LIII, 28 September 1933, Page 7

MEMORIES OF THE PAST

TEACHERS’ RECOLLECTIONS

GREAT DISTRICT PROGRESS. INCREASES IN ATTENDANCE. After an absence of fifteen- years from South Taranaki, I was much, struck on my return with the wonderful progress the district 'had made, writes Mr T. Innes, who a't one time was head teacher of the school. Afost of the farms' had' been cleared of logs and stumps and the post and wire and: slab fences had given way to- the boxtliom hedges. The road®, too, had been •much improved and wore almost all m'e (ailed.

During the time I was head teacher at the school the attendance - almost doubled, reaching at one time 21S. The old school consisted of two rooms, which were much too small for the number of pupils attending. The committee had been urging the Education Board to build another room, but it wag net until after eleven' vears of effort that the present up-to-date building was erected l . At first there were oyly three rooms, but the increased attendance two years 1 later necessitated the addition of a fourth room. Two other important works carried out during my time were the beautifying of the front portion of the school grounds and the building of the Teachers’ Hostel. The former work was begun In the year 1914. In tine following years the scheme was developed;, a large part of the cost being met out of prize money won by the school at various show®. Most of thw work was done by the pupils and teachers. although the committee willingly assisted when required'. The building of the teachers’ hostel was forced on the committee owing to the teachers being unable to obtain board and lodging. If I remembe r rightly, the school had to be closed for a day, some of the teachers hawing to go homo. A meeting of the settlers was hurriedly called and* tihie scheme was readily agreed! td, the necessary financial arrangements being made at the meeting. This was, and, I believe, still is, the only hostel in the Dominion attached to a primary school. It ha® more than justified its erection. The year 1924 was a very successful' one in the history of the school, which excelled itself both in indoor and outdoor activities. The record number of 23 pupils passed the Std. 6 examination. The school won the Dixon- Banner, the McLeod Shield, and a seven-a-side cup in l football, three shields in agricultural work, and a cup presented by* St. : Alary’s Show Society for the best disI play Of flowers shown at their show and ‘ grown in a- school garden. I While I was teacher, the school j specialised in agriculture . and nature | study, with very creditable results, j winning prizes year after year at. the various shows for displays of agricultural and nature study work. Mr successor, Air Evetts, is very ably and successfully carrying on this work. Such work should influence the pupils towards a desire to make farming their future calling.

THIRTY-TWO YEARS AGO; Mr T. A. HARRIS/ 1890-1901. “When I was appointed teacher of tine Okaiawa School I was twenty years of age and perhaps looked more callow than I really was.” writes Mr T. A. Harris, who was headmaster from 1890 to 1901. “About a week after taking up the appointment I passed two men talking on the road 1 . One said to the other, Who is that?’ The other replied, ‘Oh. that is the new teacher,’ ‘ Well(’ responded the former, ‘I wonder ■what they are thinking about to appoint a mere boy ais a (teacher of our school.’ However, thie appointment was not a very serious one after all. The .roll number of pupil® was, I think, about twenity-four; the school consisted o>f one room, but it had i closed up lean-to at the back, formerly used a.s teacher’s living rooms. The detached teacher’s, residence had not Long been finished them. “I was not long established at the school when I was told of the wonderfcl muster of householders at the annual ■ meeting a few months before;. Every householder, save one, in the school district had been pres'enit. I remember thanking what a wonderful interest the Okaiawa people must take in edueaional matt ter® and that I must try to live up to the standard’. At the next annual meeting of householders barely enough turned up to form a comunJhte'e. I said to the chairman, ‘What can I have done to’ have so damped the educational ardour of the people?’ ‘Well,’ replied the chairman, ‘ the surest sign that things are going satisfactorily in a oouirtry ns ( t'o\ ©puffis© meeting of householders.’ Durasng thie resit of mv teaching experience I found that the 'dictum of the chairman was correct. At any rate there were no more bumper meetings of householders in Okaiawa in my (time. I llatelr found out that during the . year previous to my appointment there was a great deal of dissension and trouble in educational matters in the district. , • “Throughout mv term a® teacher there was Slow but continuous progress in. /the school. A® hunilbers iftijereased additional accommodation became necessarv. First the team-to at the back of the school was opened up and turned into a class room, but previously a pupil teacher had been Later, increasing numbers necessitated at least two different alteration® a'nd addi'i-tons to the buildings priate enlargement of the teaching “Thie routine life of a country school varies little from day to day, and Jcan recall verv little worth mentioning. We had a little excitement when news readied us that our school had won nts first scholarship, Robert Graham being the hero of the Occasion. Againwo got out of our daily groove when Dxck i Roberts (later to become a very, wettlI known figure throughout the country) I broke his leg during play, Ito take him home in a cart. A football I 'suipposfe, but I go uiot re i member. Our school football attained f a rther high standard and wo were verv successful in matches with negfi bom-tug schools, although in- tag there were no regular school conipeti tion®. I like to think that in coaching the successive school teams I did something towards laying the foundation® of the success .in later years achieved by Okaiarwa Teams in Taranaki Rugby.