HASTINGS TECHNICAL SCHOOL.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 265, 28 October 1911, Page 3

HASTINGS TECHNICAL SCHOOL.

: COOK Eli V ( L \>-.. | , In -ond;tie lite v«.t‘> ol thanks fu: I th<- Ills! met less ijfit. Cross) anti h>'r ’ pupil-; lor t h>- <-:it I'lta in men t provided I at tin- fin-titigs Tr-eltnical School yest,:r-| j «l.iy. Air. Daiton. ol the ll;nik«''< Bay i E< bleat ion Board, said cooking was tlw! I' most practical pz it ol tic l instruction given in the schools. It vas often saidj that the instruction was oi no practical: good, hv.t to-day they hail seen for themselves the practical benefits, and' no unbiased person could say that u hat «;u being taught to the girls would | not be of great talus to them in after! | lii\'. He congratulated tin- instruct rrnss ■ and girls on tl-e excellent spread. [ i The motion v. as ral l ied hv a< elarna-i I tion. and cheers were given tor tin? m- ■ I .structrcss ami pupils.

AGRICULTURAL EDI CATION

ISubsequentlv t'le chairman (Mr. Land) and .Mr. .1. A. .Miller, of the Hastings School Committee. Lrotight under the notice of the mi'mbers of tin* ■ boar. 4. Messrs. Morgan. MeLeod. Dai-i ton and Roach, the necessity of acqtnr-1 : ing additional land tor extending agri- ; I cultural ediieatiou. I In introducing the committee’s re-1 prese-itatives. Mr. Roach stated that i the people of Hastings had be.'ll very loyal to their school, hat ing already i •übsm-ihel (.-l(liK) towards imp.o.e ; l ID'llts. I M'-. Land express.’,! pleasure at seesing the members of the board present. I ) and said it was a step in the l ight di-1 i re-tion to see tlu'.n visiting the schools ii mid er tlit'ir coiitroL The oh.iecl ot the | c:itortaimi;<>T,t was to show nhiit was I being <’ifme in t -chtiical education, and | frott, th. 1 remarks that had bee:i passed Ihe tins justified it) sat ing that the (cooking class was doing particularly [wi 11. The woodwork bram-h ttas also 1 making g.ml progress. 'llin riititlt’r | which lit* wished to placi- bi-lore the hoard tta> th-- necessity <>t providing I facilities for extending the agricultural i l>i-n;t<-li. Hastings, the centre ot a great ■ t.grictiltiiral ami farming <ii-tlift. was a ! very suitable place for such a class, but it.ith th)' amount of land that was at i p a'sent available for the use <>) the j class, the teachers v ere helpless to [carry on the in.-1 ruct ion to the same I d -grtliat it should lie. Ihe eonimit- < t:-e had t«<» sections und-T offer, an i aero ami an acre ami :i halt tor £•>())>

: -Tid £l5O respectively. The matter was ; one that sbonlil not I<’ plated with. ' he-.-v, is,, the I .'-lilt would ho a waste .of nio:iey and ot good men s sei -, ices iaad h-- :-..-ked t’l-' board to put them in , the right direction t<> purchase the necessary ground. I nle-s imnieiliat” advantage was taken ot the opportunity i.f securing a section so convenient to tbe school, the whole bran<-h would be a failure. Mr. Land then lead a letter from the connnittc'' pointing out that the land at present available was only sufficient tor 'growing kitchen garden prod-tets. ami the teaching of agricultural farming was ot the greatest im-portam-e io boys. Ihe imi-essary land was available at a reasonable price, ami prompt action was urged otherwise tne offer might be lost.

Mi. Miller endorsed what had been said I>V Mr. Land, and speaking to the hoard as practical business men. lie could say that farming lequiied as much teaching as that required in any ' mh,u- walk of life. At Lincoln College H'hri-tehurch) from (> to 10 acres was ■ mailable ami small plots were sown m various ru-otis sm’n as rape, turnips, mangolds, etc.. and what the boys learnt there they mlapt.-d themselves to i when th<-y became farmers, it >e-med la pitv that they should have such an I np-trndate Staff at Hastings to t -a< h i agriculture and yet no suitable land lit was true the pupils were taught | vegetable growing, but this did mil go 1 far'cnotlgh. practical farming was what i was m- -dcd. The knowledge given to i (he childi-cn would also be of use to i their fathers, and t • themsehes in ! later vears. The result would I"’ a great ‘benefit to the country, ami it would also mean an increase in the attendance at the school, bet-au.si’ childfrom other schools would come to attend the classes. Fruit farming could also be taught, and thi- was most important whin it was < onsidered the enormous extent to which this industry was being fost'-red in Hawke’s Bav. I he combatting of potato pests, and tne planting of shelter trees would also be included in the branch ami Im h«l»’<l the beard would sc- its way clear to assist them in tin' matter. Even tl the class was a failure. which was not likely, the land could be re-so!d at a hamlsome profit. Mr. L. F. Pegler, referring to the attendance. said that some seven tears ago win'll t!.<- secondary t.a-ses w< .< started he was the master in charge under Mr. .1. A. Smith. In the second veil- tbov bad over !»<► pumls and thev hoped to reach over ll)(>. Subsequently, however, the number <l-creised during the boom ill the town, and lie r.tti ilmted tills to th - childi-e-1 being mopped up in the various industries. I he opening of the Waipawa school (a proposal of which he always approved) had also affected the attendance, because it intercepted th- attendance ot the Mmpukman children, but what he did find fault with most was that tne 5ur,...,■,,,.10," -chools did not support t.m Hastings High School as they should. h„t s.mt their sixth standard pupils t<> Napier, and thev had been given to nn-du-.-taml that thev would get a rural education there. The curriculum ot the Hi>di School was complete and the statt was in eve-v way efficient. He considered that all childri-) within a radius ot from 7 to 10 miles should be co-npeded to attend the Hastings High School in-st-'id of wasting valuable time Have - lin.'r to Napi'-r. Th" Hawke’s Bay Education Board should assist in helping to im-i-e-ts’ the attendance. He had been advised to issue a pro-pectus as was do-ie Lv th ■ Napi'-r Technical sc.iool. ,vhi<h -'-nt one to em-h pupil sitting to) the sixth standard examination, and these pupils were perotaded to go to the Napi-r -bools. He :d-o th-night thill as a school specially equipped tor the rural ,M-b.e;no. t’u'V should a>k t-u . Napier people who d-sired to maxc iar-ir-rs of the l evs, tn semi tm'-.n to tin Hustings school, ii-st a- tbe emnueeri,,;, stmi-rts should b" sent to Napier. He asked the board, the parents ard the ■ nevspap'r- both in Hasting- and Na-m-r to assist them in their elTorts to incr'ise th>- attendance. ami he felt eo-.' the j.-t-.-udtm-e m-xt year won’d be, ;i, . highest on ■ei-ord. '1- Morgan expressed full -ymput.iy U h:tt had be-n -lid in regard to t |.,. sitv of seeni'ing land to! the, e-t n of pg’-ienTural education. ; The board would have to approach the-D,’-'art-n>’"t for th" inonev and it tn" (..e/e Ct Ha-tirg- would undertake to -.is’ a coition .it would strengthen the hand- of the beard in asking th-’ Deoartmont tor a grant- He v-.is ' 1 ’ favourable imp’ I «trh th" improvonionts to tlm plavground- ami also tbe garden plot-. When the memi 11•" board were first mvivd. he ot ’O’l it was in oni-ection with the t‘clinical class-, but Im con'd -e > that th’-e was something >"”’•! behind it He quit-' r" ■m-m-ed that it was iu-t f.s ii.i-.-suv t<*f - tm meto learn bi- Im-is-' - ontlv it w a< ii«—suy tl.a. L. • be taught young by takmg the gat'd. .

as the conimoTicomont of an agricultural carreer. With I'egaiil to the qm-srion of al tendance, the industrial demand lor boy and girl labour had been a great inducement to parents to take their children away from school ai an early age. I.nt that would make it ■ o-.vn eui<' as the d.-niaml hi’camo satisfied, when the free places at the s< hods and th ' specialisation of std>-ie-ts must induce a larg" attendance. Agricultural students should ho instructed how to get as much as possible out of a given area. liecaus" New Zealand was never going to be a manufacturing i-ounti-y like England, and would have to depend on its agricultural resources. . It was also necessary for students to become aeqiiaint- •• I with the different classes of soils, for although farmers were <onseivative they often had to admit that they did not know everytliing. In conclusion, ii ho could do anything to assist the •.'inmittee he would lie pleased to do

... UUIIUIO. u-. so. Mr. Darton also complimented the ernmittee on the condition of the schoolgrounds, and commend.'d the desire of the committee to second the

• efforts of the hoard, who in the past ■ had proved their willingness to help i those committees who helped them- ■ si-lvi's. He was pleased to see that the i committee was in sympathy with agricultural work, because some comniit1 t-- 's said they were faddists on rural I "duration. They never hampered Mr. I Loten, and always did their best to ' assist him ami were earnest in agricul- ! tural teaching. It had to ho reineniberi nd, however, that they were only dealI ing with cliildi.'n and with the rural I S', stem. Their agricultural education I commenced from the infant stages un- ; til they undertook plots in the sixth standard. As good as Lincoln College 'was, it was of very liltle use to Hawke's Bay. as climate had a won-'l-rfiil effect on crops, and what might lie practical at Lincoln College would bo useless in Hawke’s Bay, where an ! a'.’.i-icultui al college would hi* of great i value. He thought they should deI vot" tlmir energies to preparing the [ children for such a college or for a [continuation of some scheme as that I proposer!. In the selection of land it had to be re mem be red that they had i not onlv to teach how to farm good i<| iL but also soil of a poor quality. Tile proposal to extend th*' agrieultuial Icamh would have his hearty support. Mr. M. McLeod said 'that if Mr. Liten considered the proposal iiecessarv he would not raise any opposition, heeaus" he considered the Hastings district verv suitable for agricultural

Mr. G. Lan<l. on behalf of the coinmitte? and stall', thanked the members of the board and the officials for their at tendance. and the proceedings terminated.