MANAIA

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLI, Issue XLI, 12 August 1921, Page 4

MANAIA

OPENING OF NEW SCHOOL.

Yesterday was a gala day for the Manaia scnool children, the occasion being the opening of the fine new I concrete school there. The official ceremony took place in front of the mam entrance, in the presence of a large gathering of children and adults. .-Amongst those present were Messrs Hawken, M.P. for Egmont; Dison MP for Patea; Masters, M.R fpr Stratford; and Smith, M.P. for iaranaki; the chairman and all the members of the Taranaki Education Jttoard, with the exception of Mr jllOslan; the provincial president of the Taranaki Farmers' Union, MrDunn; the county chairman, Mr. Uoi Phillips; and the Town Board chairj man, Mr. Craig.

The senior prefect, Master D. A. Hewlett, read the following address of welcome: "To the chairman of the Taranak! Education Board, ladies and I gentlemen —On behalf of the pupils of the Manaia State School I have i very great pleasure in welcoming you |on this auspicious occasion. With keen] interest we have watched the building! of our new school, and have longed) iZ T ij\ moment arrive when we i should be able to commence our studies ! under happier circumstances than in days gone by. It would give us very great pleasure indeed to see the grounds improved, in keeping with so j ornate an edifice, and we are prepared .to do our part in keeping the same 1 wwlf r> i> W.! ieArt% congratulate both the Board and the Committee on the erection of so magnificent a build-j ing, and trust that in our future! j scholastic progress we shall prove ourj selves worthy of so fine a school. 'Forgetting .that which' £es (behind., lowards the mark we press. May big success our labours crown, \ And- God our labours bless.''' Mr. Bridge, chairman of the School Committee, first of all apologised for I the unavoidable absence of Mr. J. S. J Mackay. He then expressed his ap-1 preciation ,of the action of the mem- i . bers of the Education Board in per- | suading him to remain on the Com- | mittee—although he had desired to retire at last election —in order that he i might have the honour of presiding at \ that day's important function: He I fully appreciated the honour that had I thus been done him. He reminded his j audience that 18 or 20 months ago the ! old school had been burnt down. The old school had been built 40 years ago, ! . when the conditions in that district j were very, different to what they were to-day. Then they had no tar-sealed roads and no motor cars to move about in comfort in. But they had progressed since then and he hoped they Would continue to progress. Since the old school was burnt down and until now the work in connection with the teaching of the children had been carried on under most adverse conditions. They had had to work in three different buildings—in the Technical School, m the Oddfellows' Hall, and in one of their old shelter sheds. Considering the adverse conditions under , which the teachers had to work, the i inspector's last report, in which he , highly commended the work done, reflected the greatest credit on the head- ; master and his staff. He congratuj lated the Education Board on the very : fine school building they had to-day; • they would never have occasion toj . open a new school" at Manaia under j the same circumstances as the present, ] because the new school would be there i i for all time —being of reinforced concrete it could never be burnt down. !Be thanked the children -wflio (had ! cleared out the new school for the present function; that had saved the wommittee'ls, funds iconsiderably, 'and , they badly wanted all the funds they : could save to help beautify their grounds. He hoped the Board would see its way to pay all the cost of the , fine new concrete gate that the com- j mittee had put in in place of the one designed by the Board. The Committee was committed to an expenditure for this, and if the Board could not i meet the whole cost they must raise ! , funds elsewhere for it and for beautifying their grounds also. Already he . had had £5 promised by Mr. Bennett ■ towards the cost. The speaker re- ' . ferred.to the motto, they had adopted ' for the school, "Scopum versus feror" (I press towards the mark); this was the first primary school to adopt that I motto and he trusted the scholars would be true to it. He hoped they would do their best to make a name . for themselves in school, and later , when they went forth into the world, i that they would 'still be true to their , motto, and so prove worthy citizens and worthy men and women of the i district they represented. j Mr. O. Hawken, M.P., remarked . that it was very important for any ! new district to have a fine new school ; and the Manaia people were to be con- , gratulated jon the splendid new building the Board had erected for them. This country was spending a tremendous lot of money on education—more than ever before in the history of the Dominion. This Dominion, as they

■ ""• ,*"" i/umuuuji, oa laiey j knew, was the first amongst all the ; countries to adopt free compulsory j education. Sometimes he thought that i being free they did not value it quite jas much as they should. It was a treJ mendous advantage to Be well educated—that was to those who made proper use of it, but he was very much afraid that many people did not make ] the best use of it. The old people who ■ had to pay for their education and work hard for it .valued it, but a lot lof boys and girls did not appreciate ; what was to-day being done for them in the way of education. He urged , them to take the fullest advantage of and make the greatest use ,'of the , great facilities offered them to-day. j and so grow up to be worthy men and : women. JMr E. Dixon, M.P., confined his remarks to the boys and girls. He asked them what their school motto meant? "I press towards the mark." What was their mark? What did they go to school for? To learn their , lessons. It was their, greatest opportunity to prepare themselves for the days to come. If they neglected their opportunities to-day they would deeply regret it later on. The most im- ; portant thing in life was to aim at I being good boys and girls and good men and women. There were numbers lof clever people, but most of all they wanted good people. They must not Ibe influenced in their opinions by the clothes some boys and girls may wear. Some of the best boys and girls, particularly in the big centres, came from poor homes, where they could not afford fine clothes, but sometimes beneath poor clothes they found the best of character and the grandest of , hearts that ever beat. They must, : judge on character. If they 'found a i boy or girl having a particularly hard lite, let them prove their manliness and womanliness by taking a special interest in that boy or girl. "I press towards the mark." If, in future years, they were going to be -farmers, Jet them always remember that motto, and strive to be the very best farmers on the Wai mate Plains; or if a lawyer i or a school teacher, then aim at being the very best. But he would not like to see too many of them ambitious to become, lawyers—(laughter)— or even

business men. What this country re^ quired was farmers, not to make money only, but to become producers, who were the country's most valuable asset. If the Manaia School succeeded in that direction it would not have existed in rain. . ■, Mr Graig, chairman of the Town Board, remarked that to Have such a fine school was an honour to the district, and he congratulated the Board on providing such a magnificent buildlng; }\ W, as the most complete and up-to-date he had seen. He reminded the children that in their school days they laid the foundation of their lives and urged them to make the very best of their opportunities, and so cet a good basis to work upon. >iTr J Ti:. McPllillips ' county chairman, added his congratulations, and remarked that the Education Board had done excellent work in advancing education. The new school would be a great acquisition, and would assist teachers to impart knowledge to the children. The school daystf children were the most important in thenlives, and he stressed the* great influence that good teachers had on young lives in moulding them along proper lines. On them very largely depended the character of the coming generation. He wished the new school, the teachers, and the district every success. . «»«jf A rMroEa^ es'-Jenior Board member for the South Ward, congratulated the district on possessing such a fine school, the finest country school, he believed, in £he North Island. He congratul lated, too, the Board's architect, not only on the design, but on the manner m which the work was carried ou# Me was sure both teachers and chill dren would thoroughly appreciate their new school. \; Mr A. C. Lees, in the course of his remarks, mentioned that it was five years ago that this part of the district came under the Taranaki Education Board from the Wanganui Board. Under the latter board it was well represented, but the change to the Taranaki Board had not been any detriment to the schools of the district. South Taranaki had received every from the Board, and this was the fifth new concrete school counting Qpunafce, that had recently been erected in South Taranaki. It was only because of the I scheme inaugurated by the Board I some years ago of having its own architect and staff and manufacturing 111 T n, fitti"gs > Joinery, etc., that en- ! abled these buildings to be completed [■as expeditiously as they had been. A ! great many schools now had nice surroundings, due mainly to the efforts :of the people. in the locality. He trusted this would be fostered and , turther developed. i Mr Trimble and Mr Gray, director of Hawera Technical School, also spoke. i Mr White, chairman of the Education Board, congratulated the people of the district on their fine new school, which had_been erected as a result of good team work. Firstly, there were their efforts to secure the right type of school; and secondly, . haying* secured that, .there were their J united efforts and their architect's en- ; thusiasm permeating his whole staff in j bringing it rapidly into existence. He I would remind the boys and girls pres- , enfr that this building was, after all, ■only a building and not "their school." He had attended many school | functions and dinners at many of the j honoured schools throughout the Do- | minion, and the most important toast I always was "the school." In speaking of "the school" they did not speak of their building, but of the scholars attending, those who had passed through it and all who -tpere or had been associated with it. "'The building was merely the place in which they had received their education. This school would be successful in so far as they all worked for the good of it. They must strive to give it a name which they would be proud of in days to come. The success of a school depended on their individual and collective efforts in supporting the work done in connection with education in that district. He did not believe that education could ever be centralised. The government of education must depend upon the efforts of the people in the locality in which that education ] was taking place. Those efforts must Ibe continuous, constructive and helpI ful in order to build up not only the i policy but the life and character of the children who go through that school. If the residents of Manaia had any legitimate requests to make to the Board that came within their regulations the Board would heartily co-operate with them in any endeavour , to forward the cause of education in their district. (Applause.) Mr Bridge then presented Mr White with a silver key with which to formally unlock the door and declare the school open. The. key, it may be mentioned, was very kindly presented to the committee by Mr Hammonds, secretary to the School Committee. The following concert programme was then given by the children: National Anthem; recitation by Miss Eva Sandford; duet by N. Hotter and G. Beninett; song by infants; recitation by E. Hansen; duet by J. Abdul and E.

Dakers; song by Miss Muriel White, recitation by L. Petch; song by E. Price; recitation by G. Jorgenson; song by G. Sandford; recitation by J. Hammonds; recitation by A. Jackson; song by senior pupils; Auld Lang Syne. Half-way through the programme the secretary, Mr P. F. Hammonds, presented Shelliah Lewin and Edward Hammonds with a medal each for writing the prize essays on the new school. Mr A. T. Honore, head teacher of the Kapuni school, was the judge. Later in the afternoon Mr Bridge took a- favourable opportunity to thank the visitors for attending, and Mr Masters, M.P., replied. Mr Bridge, in addressing the old scholars of the school, said that the committee could not let the day pass without saying something to them. It gave him great pleasure to see them all making such a success of life, and also to see that the instruction they had received from their old schoolmasters had not been in vain. Mr Hewlett, the present headmaster, who also addressed the old pupils, said he would first of all like to pay a tribute to His predecessors. Their work was plainly evident in those who stood, before him. But it grieved him greatly to know that there were some who could not be present— he referred to those who had made the supreme sacrifice in the great war. He was very proud to mention the fact that an ambulance outfit given by the Manaia school had been used in the landing at Gallipbli. There was one matter in connection with the new school that he would like to mention, and that was that he would very much like to see the old pupils take a suggestion from him and erect a memorial tablet in the school to the honour of those brave boys who gave their lives so that English should be spoken in their school and not German. •

Mr D. J. Hughes, of New Plymouth, who had been referred to as one of the oldest scholars, said that when Fie. came back to the old school and saw the children playing in the grounds it made him feel as though he wanted to be young again. The new school was a fine one. but he sincerely hoped that the public of Manaia would make it

better by giving the children an op« portumty of enjoying the healthy exer« c»se obtained by attending a swimminfl bath. He knew what swimming hail done for some of the children at Bam Plymouth. He also wished to nay a*. tribute to the work done by the school--masters. The first master- was Mr GLWilks, who was followed by Mr J Xl £aw^- He in,turn was followed by Mir \. Bmdon, who was the predecessor oE the present headmaster, Mr Hewlett-. Jde well remembered the old days oS\anaia when he had been one of thosa> who had cleared the flax so that the^ old school could be built. Since then there had been many changes. On beIlf1 lf w t!? students of the school, he, thanked those ladws and gentlemen who had entertained them that day At hisxall three cheers were given forthe^ Education Board, the Boards the headmaster, Mr Bridge mittee members of the s^ool comBennett then called for^ihreacheers for the old Boys and giris. Ruby Hill 1, Doreen Hotter 2, Con*" stance Lloyd 3; Stds. 3 and 4 Gladvk w nde *Son o J,' Edna Dal^ i ciw" 3; Stds 1 and 2, Dorothy Wif cox 1 Ella Jackson 2, tinda Wilco"a;infants Eva Sandford 1 5 -Dorl £Sw 2, Constance Edwards aAd Helen 15r£ 3. Skipping: Girls under 14 Winnie^ (From Our Own Correspondent) MAGISTRATE'S COURT cuiu ? ?Te Proceeding with th£ Court business, Mr A. 6 Bennett solicitor, Manaia, extended" t! ? & Mowlem a hearty welcome on behiJT Mo3 c pr»fessi?n and citizens oF Sonded. Mowlem. suitably re-i j In the following civil cases iud?. I was given by default with cVstf:" ISV TtJ^ V Cx^f- Pear«>n 5 claim •i M Jd > H- McVmnie v. J. Brad--ley, £3; same v. G. Hill, £1 6s 6d;same v. A Crawford, £7 6s 8d (nrfg!iment for £5 6s 8d); I Beard v. 51i Damon £6 14s 6d ; Kaupqkonui Da^ p-iooßeere'£2; G-a GleS t1?!-* 116 iudgm ent summons case B< J. Shaw v. Rangi Taha, claim £8 sb, I there was no appearance of defend- ■ ant,-M'ho was ordered to pay thd. amount and 10s 6d costs, iniefaultl . 10 days' imprisonment, warrant to be - suspended-for seven days. W Odu ;v. W. F. Garratt, claim £16 13s. Na&ppearance of defendant, who was ordered to pay the amount and 10s 6d costs withm one month, in default ICT . days' imprisonment. The Defence Department proceedecl against W. Ashford for. failing jto at- -" tend Defendant was fined - x-o and 7s costs. . J. J. Eattison, for assaulting R. Paul, was fined 5s and 21s ooste. J.. Jackson, for failing to send his - child to school, was convicted and - fined 20s and 7s costs. " !, ' FARMERS' UNION.' • ■' . The monthly meeting of the Manaia . branch of the Farmers' Union' was held last Saturday/night, Mr J Dakers presiding. There was a Sair attendance of members present. Before proceeding with the meeting a vote of " condolence was passed to Mr and Mr* J. Deacon in their, recent bereave- - ment, all present standing in silence* A'-hearty vote of thanks was accorded - Messrs Miller and Woods. A very in. " ; teresting article was reaol by- Mr Jas.Dakers, dealing with . reasons for - failure- m crops. A hearty vote off thanks was accorded to Mr Dakera, . and was carried by acclamation.