BOYS' GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17234, 9 August 1919, Page 11

BOYS' GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS.

AN INTERESTING HISTORY.

RECORD OF GREAT PROGRESS. The jubilee celebrations in connection with the Auckland Grammar School, which will be held on August 21 and 22, mark the fiftieth anniversary of one of the oldest schools in New Zealand, and one that has bad of late years the largest roll of any educational institution in the Dominion. In half a century the Grammar School has grown from an academy possessing 78 £5? T& °" Wlth "> attendance of over oau. Ihe increase has been gradual, but steady. At the school to-lay will be found sons and grandsons of former pupils, and with each generation there has been «!!♦ f n>6 ,/^°« l spirit that animated the first handful of scholars in 1869. The roll tW e f each , 3JOar '^ nd i 4 *» estimated pupils. g there wUI •* 100 * rt T pL Grammar Scho ° l owea existence tori? - gran A *%** by Queen Victoria, and issued by Sir George Grey then Governor of the colony, i* 1850*51 53 By Act., passed by the, Auckland Provincial Council in 1868 and 1869 a board of e^k^tr nerß . was constituted, Thich exists at present as a board of governors »L.f * »t gh '„ on the occasion of his visit to New Zealand, on May 17 1869 The Governor of the colony, Sir Georee Bowen, and Lady BowS, were present at the ceremony, The school bui}EZ f were first seated in Howe Street, and theirs? M A ma TT er r/ aS J Rev " Almost oil ;U aSSIS by a staff of five torn D ? K h^. pap,l - ore inferred irom Dr. Kidd a private school. The school remained in the Howe Street So or two years. On May 1, 18":, jj was transferred to the Albert Barracks, and TV,:' üb ;^. Mac became headmaster, in. isadd taking the position of classics master. There the school remained for seven years, until June, 1878. " Barring-out" Incident. The removal from the barracks was preciptated by the famous "barringout of June 15, 1878. On this occasion • the Government Improvement Commission had decided to occupy the building under the terms of a previous agreement. However, no suitable accommodation could be secured for the pupils, and Mr. Macrae protested without avail. . in commission went so far as to put bailiffs ' in possession," and the headmaster, as a protest, ejected them and barricaded the building. He remained in it, and the scholars were outside His act created a sensation, and pressure having been brought to bear on the commission, the next resting place for the school ™ "* buildings in Eden Street,, later occupied by portion of the University College. ' But the accommodation was not sufficient, and some pupils occupied an old Maori chapel in Parliament Street, and others St. Andrew's school, in Symonds Street. Sir George Gray's Assistance. This state of affairs was most unsatisfactory, and feeling ran high in educational circles. Sir George Grey, it was, who came to the rescue. He" was the Premier in 1878, and during his administration a. Parliamentary grant of £5000 was made for the purpose of erecting a permanent Grammar School btiilding.' This ram was supplemented by £3000 from the Grammar School funds, and in 1&79, the building in Symonds Street was erected, and was opened by Sir George on February 5, 1880. Thus, after a rambling existence of 11 years, the school found a secure abode in & building that was used by it until three years ago, when the present budding at Mount Eden was opened. In 1880, the only drawbacks were, the lack of p'aying grounds and a boarding section. In 1882, Mr. C. F. Bourne was appointed headmaster, holding that position until 10 years later, when the present headmaster, Mr. J. W. Tibbß, M.A., was anointed. The present home of the school, in Mountain Bead, is a magnificent structure, and is the largest school building in the Dominion. - The Governing Bodies. The first governing body of the Grammar School consisted of the Superintendent of the Auckland Province,' the Speaker of the Provincial Council, members of the Provincial Executive Council, and three members appointed by the Judge of the Supreme Court at Auckland. Such it continued to be until the end of 1872, when it ceased to be an exclusively i Grammar School Board, and became merged in the Board of Education. This' was accomplished by the Education Act of 1872, which was passed while Mr. T. B. Gillies was Superintendent. In addition to the merging, the Act provided that the Superintendent should be chairroan of the board, and the Grammar School Acts of 1868 and 1£39 were repealed. The abolition of provincial legislatures in 1876 led to important alterations in the laws affecting boards of education, and a later repeal abolished the appointment of members by a Supreme Court Judge. A new Act in 1877 dissociated the Grammar School from the Board of Education, and restored a separate governing body for the school. This system exists at . present. The Grammar School Board— which controls both boys' and girls' , schools—has been brought into close association with the primary schools' system by enabling the Education Board to appoint three members of its personnel. Later acts provided for the University Senate to elect three governors. The School of To-Day. From the year of opening until 1896, the school roll increased from 78 to 208, and after 23 years has quadrupled. There were very large attendances in 1883 and 1884. In 1889 gir's were admitted, the Girls' High School having been amalgamated in the previous year. Then, about ten years ago, the school was made solely a boys' institution, when the Girls' Grammar School was opened. . Unfortunately, the records of an interesting period in the school's history the first three years—were lost in a fire that destroyed the post office and superintendent's office on November 18, Itit'A. The missing link in the history of the school was restored by the late Sir G. M. O'Rorke, who was for many years associated with the school interests. Grammar School boys have done well in every profession, and they are to be found in far corners of the earth. The Old Boys' Association has done much in uniting them after they have left school, and its work has not been in vain. Many hundreds answered the call to arms, many of them never to return.

The Grammar School has done its duty to the community. Under the able guidance of Mr. Tibbs, lads are fitted for the battle of life, and the system of free education after the proficiency certificate has been a boon to hundreds of families. It is expected that thousands of old boys will be present at the re-union, and many old friendships renewed.