GIVING THE BOYS A CHANCE

Manawatu Times, Volume LXIV, Issue 280, 4 December 1907, Page 3

GIVING THE BOYS A CHANCE

A VISIT TO THE WEftAROA BOYS' TRAINING FARM.

[ The name Industrial School does not usually conjure up visions of a clean, bright residence stand in tr in the midst of well laid out flower gardens and lawns, in fact those institutions are usually regarded with some degree of disfavour, as places where boys who have been found quite unmanageable elsewhere, are sent to be taught obedience and other virtues, and whero the strictest restraint is necesssary. The Weraroa Boys' Training Farm which has advisedly dropped this unsavoury appelation, is worked on very different lines and a representative of the Manawatu Daily Times who paid a visti to this excellent institution was struck with the cheerful and homely aspect of the place. The writer has visited many homes of a like nature in England, where a very different state of affairs prevails. Instead of the cold and dreary stone-flogged passages poorly furnished rooms, and wretched uninteresting surroundings which one sees in the Old Uountry, one finds a well appointed residence, all the rooms in which are comfortably furnished, spotlessly clean, and having an atmosphere of homeliness pleasant to see, standing in the midst of gardens, lawns and playing grounds. The faces of the boys too, have none of the forlorn wretchedness so noticeable in the "Unions" of England, but are generally bright and intelligent showing that life to them is not a misforture to be got through somehow, but an interesting present with hopes for a bright future.

Mr G. M. Burlinson who is in charge of the school evidently takes a great interest in the boys, and with the assistance of a large and» efficient staff has been successful in making the institution the best of its kind in tho Dominion. Some two years ago, when it was decided to separate the sexes in the Industrial Schools, this establishment for boys was started at Weraroa, and on the 3rd of October, 1905, the boys from the Caversham Industrial School which had been in existance since 1869 arrived at their new home. The conditions at the Training Farm are very different from those at Caversham, Rince at\ Weraroa there are some 400 acres of land and the boys are thus given the opportunity of learning practical farming in all its branches. There are 200 head of cattle, 8 pigs and 18 horses on the farm, and the general work is done by the boys under the instruction of an overseer assisted by four farm hands. The 1 amount of cropping done is necessarily limited owing to the amount of ground which is still unstamped. In addition to the general farm work the boys are taught carpentering, carving, laundry work, etc., whilst in the cook house the elements of cookery can be mastered. The boys who do the work of the farm .etc., are called service boys, and it will be seen that they are given a very good start in life, and a very large proportion of them have turned out well. Many of the lads have from £80 to £40 in the bank when they leave paid to them by way of wages, and they are allowed to receive these savings on their discharge, if they can show that they have a suitable purpose to put the money to, and providing the Minister approves. The schoolboys who are under 14 total about 88 and attend the day school under two teachers, Messrs Eccleton and Watt. The curriculum is similar to that of the public schools, having the same exainina-

tion and certiorate. In this department the children go from the primary class to the sixth standard, and whilst there are some bright boys amongst them, the age of*those in the junior standard is unduly high, owing to their irregularity of attendance at school before they were placed in the institution. The general aim of the instruction is the formation of character, selfrespect and self-reliance being instilled into the minds of the boys, and the manager of the staff takes every possible care to carrry out everything that contributes towards that end. There is a Sunday School conducted by a number of ladies and gentlemen from the surrounding district, and at the last examination five of the boys at the farm took prizes. The cadet company of the farm is the Weraroa Company of the 3rd Wellington Battalion and is well known for the excellence of its drill and discipline. A recent improvement to the institution is the cottage homes, of which there are at present three, known respectively as Jasmine, Clematis, and Nikau cottages, each under a capable matron, in which

the best behaved of the boys live, and where more home comforts obtain than in the main building. THROUGH THE HOME. Starting on a tonr of inspection under the guidance of one of the boys, the first place visited was the carpenters' shop, in which there were some five or six boys working under the instruction of Mr McDonald. The shed was large and roomy and there were four benches and six tool safes, each containing first-class sets of carpenters' tools. The store house was next inspected. Here every kind of requisite for the inmates is stored. The dairy, which is under the charge of Miss O'Brien, who also superintends the milking operations, is a beautifully cool, airy building, and here separating, churning and the other work incidental to butter making is carried on. The whole of the establishment is lighted by electricity, a h.p. engine providng the necessary power and the same engine works an enormous steam boiler, which communicates with the kitchen and provides the steam by which the greater part of the food is cooked. In the laundry some dozen boys were hard at work washing and ironing under the supervision of Miss Connolly, and in connection with this department there is a specially heated drying room for drying the clothes when the elements are unfavorable for the large open-air drying ground to be utilised. The institution is well provided with appliances in case of fire, two chemical fire engines besides a hand pump and a large amount of hosing being kept. All the water used is filtered in an enormous filter, from which it is pumped into six large tanks connecting with the kitchen. In the latter department several boys assisting Miss Fitzgerald in the preparation of dinner, under the supervision of Miss R. Bannerman, matron in charge of the cook-house, and enor-

mous cauldrons of vegetables and meat were being cooked by steam, the savoury odours arising therefrom proving that tlie boys are a ■"•■id family of youngsters. well k - for the week was proTlie menu M have done credit dnced, and wooiu " boy is alto a good hotel, ' wants, lowed to eat as muf<li as providing he doesn't extend good for him. , J The diningroom contained 18ttaleS^ leS I - ■ « * . -9

ready laid for dinner., and it m lot long before the bugle sounded to lerve out, and the 157 hungry boys ;vere marshalled into line and uarcherl into the hall. In the diningroom is a very handlome tablet on which are inscribed ;he names of those members of the school who died in the South Afrijan War. The large social hall where the Joys gather in the evenings after lark was next visited, and here there is an excellent library of some 200 joofes with chess, draughts, ludo, ind other games, and the uniforms md instrmuents of the school band lome 19 strong including four pipers. The boys' lavatory and bathroom shows that cleanliness is the rule, ;here being eight large baths and a shower to which hot and cold water s laid. Each boy has his own towel ind takes two baths a week, the service boys and millers having ;hree. The dormitories, of which there ire fonr in the main building, apart :rom the cottage homes, contain ibout 150 beds, and in each a doimi;ory attendant sleeps in a parti;ioned off apartment. The boys make their own beds, ;lean out the dormitories and beeswax the floors every morning. The aedclothes are changed once a week ind the whole establishment is kept spotlessly clean. THE FARM BUILDINGS. The farm buildings are kept almost is clean as the residential portion, sven the piggery being absolutely levoid of the usual filth. The stables jomprise ten stalls, four loose boxes md a large harness and saddle room. The large concreted cowshed has IS patent bails to which trolley lines ire laid, by means of which the cowi ire fed when milked. There are ibout 37 cows at present milked md it takes about an hour for 1( joys to do the work of milking them, [n connection with the cowshed if i patent pump for taking the liquid aianure from the cowshed to the garden. The piggery contains nine .pens and a more comfortable lot o: porkers it would be difficult to find, Their pens are thoroughly cleaner oat daily, and their food is l all cooked by steaming.

THE DAY SCHOOL. The day-school -which has aot long been erceted, is fitted yrith all modern improvements, including single desks and patent green hyloplate boards for instruction. There are two classrooms, one for the more advanced pupils, and one for the juufors. Each boy has to pass the fifth standard before he leaves the school and becomes a service boy.Each pupil has his own little plot of ground in which to cultivate a garden, the even numbers growing flowers and the odd ones vegetables. Taken all- through the young rascals who are sent to the school for insubordination are extremaly well cared for, and in a good many cases have a better- time than they would have at their own homes. Still, the raw material operated on is good, and the excellent environment, it goes without saying, counteracts to a great extent the evil influences of a vicious heredity. The future careers of these foster-children o! the State should be carefully watched. They will be productive of many valuable sociological lessons.