A GREAT HEADMASTER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18278, 20 December 1922, Page 10

A GREAT HEADMASTER.

MR. TIBBS' RETIREMENT.

KEMARKABLE OVATION.

GIFTS FROM BOYS AND OLD BOYS. A remarkable tribute was paid to Mr. J. W. Tibbs, the retiring headmaster of the Auckland Grapnmar -School, at the .annual prize-giving last evening. A crowded gathering at the Town Hall, comprising parents, old boys, and present boys, repeatedly applauded and cheered the headmaster during the course of the proceedings, which included the presentation to Mr. Tibbs of a number of useful gifts by the past and present boys. The retirement of Mr. Tibbs, said the chairman. Professor A. P. W. Thomas, was felt to be a grave loss to the school, but the time had come when he had earned a rest from the arduous duties which had been his for so many years. They all knew how successful the school had become under Mr. Tibbs. (Applause.) Its standard had been raised until no school in the Dominion stood as high as tho Gralmmar School in educational experience and honours. Mr. Tibbs had acquired the esteem of ail parents, was greatly valued by the board, and personally he could fay that never had he experienced a more agreeable headmaster to work with. (Prolonged applause.) There was no need to dwell on the esteem in which he was held by the boys. In his administration of the school, Mr. Tibbs. liad dealt firm justice, always tempered with kindliness, yet it was his personality that principally gained him such a deep measure of affection. It must be some comfort for Mr. Tibbs to know that the traditions of the school would be carried on by such an experienced scholar as Mr. James Drummond.

" Auckland's leading Citizen." The Mayor, Mr. J. H. Gunson, who presented the prizes, paid a warm tribute to the work and personality of Mr. Tibbs. He wquH not presume to speak in his capacity of old boy, he said, but in the wider sphere of his citizenship he could express the appreciation of the community in the work of the headmaster for the last three decades. Mr. Tibbs had, without doubt, reached the crowning point of his career, and they knew that, whether among adults or among the boys themselves, there could be only one opinion regarding him, namely, that his record and work entitled him to be classed that night as Auckland's leading citizen. (Prolonged applause.) With pronounced success, he had formed the character of boys who had gone, to every point of the globe where the British flag wavedmen whom they had yet to hear had disgraced that flag or Mr. Tibbs' reputation. On behalf of the present boys, the head prefect, C. R. McLean, presented Mr. Tibbs with a canteen of cutlery. In a happy speech, he roferred to the endearing qualities that had made the headmaster so devoted a figure in the eyes of the boys. They owed him a debt that could never be repaid, and it was only when they found how little they could do in return that they realised what a powerful factor one man could be to his country. It was with a sense of reverence that they remembered that Mr. Tibbs had been always their good philosopher and friend. Mr. J. Stanton, president of the Old Boys' Association, presented Mr. Tibbs, on behalf of old boys throughout New Zealand, with a solid silver salver and tea service, and a cheque. For 30 years Mr. Tibbs' commanding figure had been the very embodiment of the school itself, said Mr. Stanton. The old boys desired that some permanent record or their headmaster should be placed in the school, and with this object they offered the school a large framed portrait of Mr. Tibbs. The appearance of the portrait was greeted with applause. It was inscribed:. "This portrait of Mr. J. W. Tibbs, M.A., Mathematics Master, 188593; Headmaster, 1893-1923, was presented to the school by old boys."

The Master's Thanks. Mr. Tibbs was greeted with prolonged applause on rising to reply. He said he was quite unable to thank the boys and old boys for what they had given" him. His relations with the boys had always been cordial. He had come to understand that they were not altogether saints and certainly were not geniuses. (Laugh- 1 ter.) He had therefore tried not to see or expect too much, and that was one reason perhaps why they had got on so well together. He believed they would admit that as far as possible he had spared the rod, and that when resort was made to it, it was with a view to persuasion rather than compulsion. (Laughter.) If he had spared the rod and spoilt the child he was very sorry. Mr. Tibbs paid a, tribute to the part his staff had taken in the success of the school. A headmaster should always have unrestricted powers in the choice of staff, though this was not alwavs the vi&w taken by the authorities in Wellington. Regarding his plans for the future, Mr. Tibbs said he would shortly be attending the University Senate in Dunedin. Thence he would go to Hobart to report himself to his mother (applause), and he hoped to return about the end of March to a new homo in Auckland. He trusted old boys would not abandon him, but woud pay him visits to that home whenever possible. He would lead the life of a quiet citizen, but hoped they would find him some simple task where he could be of use to his fellow-citizens. (Applause.) . The entire gathering stood at the close of Mr. Tibbs' remarks and repeatedly cheered him, concluding with singing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow," and the National Anthem.