SCHOOL COMMITTEES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18387, 1 May 1923, Page 9

SCHOOL COMMITTEES

,THE ANNUAL ELECTIONS.

(SEVERAL LABOUR "TICKETS."

ONLY MEAGRE SUCCESS.

The annual meetings of householders in ; the various school districts to receive the - annual reports of the outgoing committees and elect new committees were held throughout the Auckland education district last evening. For the most part the meetings were devoid of any particular interest. In "*■ small number 'of districts "tickets" were ran by the Labour Party, but the candidates on these tickets met with but little success. At Ponsonby, where the largest and most animated meeting of the evening was held, a full Labour "ticket" of nine candidates was nominated, but onlytwo were returned, the "ticket" nominated by the supporters of the outgoing committee securing seven seats. At Grafton there were five Labour candidates and two were elected. Five Labour supporters were nominated at Grey Lynn, and four . at Vauxhall, but none were elected in either.case. In the City and Parnell districts, where Labour committees have held •' office for some years, similar committees were re-elected without opposition. In several districts, including the city, I the number of candidates did not exceed the number required. No election was necessary in connection with the Kowhai Junior High School, the present commit-j tee holding office until April next. j .... The details of the proceedings at tha various meetings are as follows: — PONSONBY. • Considerable interest was evinced in the election at the Ponsonby meeting, held in All Saints 5 schoolroom. There was an. attendance of between 600 and 700 people, nnd the utmost 'keenness was displayed, 1 due to the. fact that two complete tickets had been announced. The progressive ticket included five of the - retiring com-1 raittee and a number of old pupils of the Ponsonby schools, making nine in a,ll, j while the Labour ticket also had nine names upon it. It was apparent from ! the beginning ' that the meeting . was sharply divided. The Rev. F. W. Young was nominated for the position of chairman of the meeting by members of the retiring committee and the Rev. L. B. Busfield by Labour supporters, the latter " being elected' by an overwhelming ma- ' jority. The meeting carried a hearty vote of thanks to the retiring officials, with special reference to the four members who were not seeking re-election. These were Mr. W. J. Campbell, the chairman, who had | completed ten years of service on the committee, Mr. G. C. Codlin, with seven; years' service, and Messrs." G-. William i and T. C. Pow each with three years' service. , - Voting . papers to the number of 640 wero issued 'and the voting was not completed until after nine o'clock. The count'ing of the votes was not completed until 11.30 p.m., by which' time most of the householders had gone home. Contrary to general expectations, all the retiring members were re-elected, Labour securing only two seats. The Labour nominees returned were Messrs. T. Vivian and W. J. Gib- '< tons, th°> complete committee of nine being made up by the return of Messrs. T. Aitken and W. J. Searle. who figured on the progressive ticket. The voting resulted as follows, progressive nominees being indicated bv the latter (P) and Labour nominees bv (L) — . • • • ••> Successful.— T. Vivian (L), 291; W. J. Sen rle (PI, 269: *J. F. W. D->k-ton (P), 267;' *S. H. Levland (P), 267; T. Ait I 'en (P). 265; *H. H. Sergeant (P),. 265; *R. A. "Hew (PL 2*9: W. .T. Gibbons (L), 256; *W. T. Brown (P), 2-51. Unsuccessful. —Messrs. R. S. Maokay (L), 245- A. P Crowe IV), 242; S. Takle IV), 239; W. Murray (L) 236; P. H. Hickey (L). 227; T. S. Be 1 lamv (L). 216; W. C. Lustv (T.). 214: V. E. Johnson (L), 212; J.'Whitfield (L), 207. An asterisk denotes sitting members.^ ' A meeting of the newlv-elected committee was held following the declaration of the noli, and Mr. R. A. Rew was elected chairman. . ■ ' AUCKLAND CITY. Little interest was taken in the City 'district schools* meeting, which was held in St. James' Hall. Only about 20 persons, including the members of the new committee, which had ; been .returned un- ' opposed, attended. Mr. .G. Pardmgton presided: The members of the new committee areMesdames M. Lee and I. McCready, Messrs. G. Pardington (chairman), A. Martin, W. S. Moxsom (treasurer), R. G. McGregor, P. -, lylcoat G. Tomlinson, and P. Vercoe. Mr. 0.. Mc Brine was appointed secretary GRAFTON. - Keen interest was taken in the Grafton contest, for which there were 14 candidates, including five Labour candidates. There was a crowded attendance, presided over by Mr. D. Duncan. The election resulted in the return of the majority of the outgoing committee, with the addition'of Mr. Horspool and two Labour candidates, Messrs. Jolly and Fyfe. The ' voting was as follows Successful: Messrs. W. J. Edwards "(chairman). 51; J. -Burton, 50; H. Hc-rspool, 44; Rev. A. Thornhill, 43; Mr. F.G. Atkins, 41; Mrs. E. C. Harvey, 40; Messrs. H. Jolly, 39; H. TPyfe, 39; and H. Radcliffe, 38. Unsuccessful : Mrs. N. Weaver 37; Messrs. W. Marshall, 36; A. Oldham, 36, *. Oliver, 35; and H. Haines, 35. Mr. u. C. Burton was appointed secretary and treasurer. NEWTON. ' , About 150 persons were present at the Newton meeting. ' Mr. J. Jenkin presided. The. following committee was elected:— Air H. J. Donald (chairman), 84; Rev. J. Halliday, 90; Messrs. F. W. Bnnsden, 89- G. Kerr (treasurer), 87; E. Loiiett, 79- C. Morris, 73; VV. Mills, lO; JBa'ird, 69; D. Bradley, 66. Mrs. A. Carter received 66 votes, but the chairman, ,v ho said he had not voted, gave his casting vote in favour of the sitting member. It was decided to request the City Council to pivo all water used at the public schools free of charge. MOUNT EDEN. ! There was a fair attendance at Mount Eden, the chairman of the committee, Mr. • R. H. A- Potter, presiding. A resolution was passed, viewing' with alarm the overcrowded condition of the schools in the rapidly-growing Mount Eden district, and urging upon • the Education Department the imperative necessity of at once meeting the position/which was unfair to the parents and unjust to the children. Thero was no election, the members of the outgoing committee being returned unopposed as follows: Messrs. R. H. A. Potter (chairman). S. E. Chappell (secretary ercl treasurer), W. J. Evans, G. Johnston, W. G- Lange. A. J. Le Roy, J; Mars, G. E. SpoOner, and J. G. Turner. ' . PARNELL. About 40 householders attended the • meeting at Parnell. Mr. P. D. Jones presiding. The annual report of the committee stated that excellent work had been performed by the children and teachers, 69 of the pupils, having obtained proficiency certificates at the last examination, and one a certificate of competency. There were no failures. The committee urged the reintroduction of free stationery, as the present practice of paients paying for their children's stationery was unsatisfactory and not conducive to efficiency. The following candidates, principally members of the retiring committee, «ere declared elected, there being one less than the required number of nominations : —Messrs. P. J. Barry, T. Bloodworth, G. H. Cameron, F. Huiiter, H. Holt, S. Keen, J. W. Mitchell* and A. R. Turner. The vacancy was contested by four candidates nominated at the meeting. The ballot refuted in Mr. E. E. Collins being recommended to the Education Board for appointment.

GREY' LYNN. o+J h6 i Grey L -" meeting was largely attended. There were 14 candidates for the nine vacancies, including five Labour nominees. The Labour candidates were defeated. The result of the polling is as follows:—Successful: : Messrs. A. E. Edwards 83; A. A. V. Piesse (chairman) 81; Mrs. A. E. Warnock, 78; C. Matthews, ?6; Mrs. F. E. Swan, 72; A. A. Greene, 69; J- Edwards, 67; H. . p - Churchill, 67; H. E. Low, 65. Unsuccessful: C. A. Watts, 44; T. Wheeler, • j 43; Mrs. A. Vaughan, 40; J. S. Adeano, ■ 39; Mrs. V. Myers, 35. It was decided ! to protest against the neglect of Larch- , wood Avenue, which, it was alleged, had become "a peril to the moral welfare ( of children" attending the Richmond West School. • The bridge crossing the channel, it was added, was unsafe in i wet weather. NEWMARKET. ' Little interest was taken 'n the Newmarket district. Mr. W. J. Cross pre- , sided over a small attendance. It was resolved to send a strongly-worded appeal to the Education Beard to build a primary school on a site adjoining the infant school, ! as the present school site was unsuitable. Thero was no election, the following being ( returned unopposed .-—Messrs. J. Elliott, i N. ell e way, A. McLaren, F. J. O'Meara, ■ G. E. Smerdon, T. J. Watts, F. Williams, H. Wilson, J. E. Wright. REMUERA. ' There was an attendance of about 30 at the Remuera meeting. Mr. J. Dempsey presided. The new committee are:— Messrs. A. M. Paterson (chairman), B. L. Bagnall (deputy-chairman), G. Brownlee, I A. G. Cooke, J. B. King. W. J. Parker, ! A. Smith. There are still two vacancies ■ to be filled. MEADOWBANK. A crowded attendance was recorded at the M.eadowbank meeting, over which Mr. ■ A. J. Entrican presided. The district is j a newly-constituted one, the school having ! been previously under the control of the Remuera committee. Th interest taken in the first election of a committee was I largely due to the fact that the residents , had raised a considerable sum for improvements to the school grounds. The comj mittee is as follows: —Messrs. J. B. Pater- ; son (chairman), H. Taylor (secretary), H. J. Grieve (treasurer), A. J. Baker, G. H. Clapham, H. E. Jones, E. E. Wigg, P. D. Wright, and R. B. Young. It was stated tha.t the school was already crowded, and that extensions were needed, especially to the Infant department. It was also suggested that the grounds might be extended. : EDENDALE. , No election was necessary at Edendale, ! where the following were returned: —Mr. , J. Carrie (chairman). Mrs. R. Scan'.en j (secretary and treasurer), Miss S. E. Jackson,"' Messrs. T. H. Boss, J. J. Crawford, W. G. Edmunds, W. K. Goudie, W. E. Hirst, D. Ward. MOUNT ALBERT.The following committee was elected uni opposed at Mount Albert:—Messrs ' R. J. I Allingham (chairman), F. R. Warren ! secretary), E. H. Page (treasurer),, T. H. Bevin, J. T. Blair, B. Brigham. G. E. Coles, R. N. Fulton, F. J. ManselL Mr. A. M. Wilson presided. - MOUNT ROSKILL. The following were elected members of the Mount Roskill committee: Messrs. J. J. Preston (chairman), P. W. White (secretary and treasurer), S. Scarborough, W. Martin, G. H. Hearst, J. Moffat, A. E. Franklin, W. A. Champion, W. Coop. EPSOM. . w About 20 persons attended the Epsom meeting. Mr. W. T. Smith presided. The retiring committee were re-elected unopposed,"as. follows Messrs. R. G. Clark (chairman), C. S. Waddingham, H. Frost, H. Gregory, R. Hull, A. W. . Jones, R. B. Marshall, T. G. Mynott, A. Worrall. Favourable mention was made of the improvements to , the school grounds, which had cost between £200 and £300, while a further: £200 was still to be spent on the girls' portion of the playground. , DEVONPORT. : There being only the required number, of nominations, there was no election at Devonport. The new ■ committee is as follows :—Mrs. F. E. Nicholls, Messrs. F. E. Mason (chairman), H. C. Bennett, P. P. (Houston, T. E. Goodwin,, K. 'Harty, J. Henderson, F. Mortimer (secretary), and J. Newell. The annual report stated that an effort was being made to obtain a: secondary school, on a central Mte, to provide for Devonport., Takapuna, and Stanley Bay children. VAUXHALL.. There was a crowded attendance at the Vau.chall meeting and some 50 or more people who attended were unable to enter the building. Mr. H. H. Watkins presided. The following committee was elected Messrs. S. G. Cooper, 154; W. J. Buckley, 153 R. H. Dellow, 144; H. H. Watkins. 144; - W. ley, 140; S. Fieldsen. 131; R. Hunt, 119; Mrs. Hay, 114 ;F. T. Eyre, 105. Unsuccessful: J. R. Turnbull, 74; E. H. Wing, 57; S. L. Kennings, 50; R- F. Way, 40; F. Langley, 39; A. T. Gladding, 38; L. O'Mallev, 30; P. Andrew, 27. Mr. Watkins was elected chairman. There was a Labour ticket of four members, none of whom was successful. The annual report stated that the total number of pupils enrolled at the beginning of la"st year was 254 and the average attendance was 242.1, resulting in the school being advanced in grade from IVC-. to YA. Great difficulty was experienced in the disposal of 'classes as the attendance greatly ex ceeded the accommodation. Application had been made for additional class-rooms, Twenty-three pupils were presented at the proficiency examination and all obtained certificates. Vera Harding obtained a Junior National Scholarship. The total receipts for the year were £676 and the expenditure £638. Unsuccessful : J. R. STANLEY BAY. The meeting at Stanley Bay was ,pre- ] sided over by Mr. E. Jones, chairman of the committee. The chairman's reportshowed that of 25 pupils in Standard VI. presented, 24 gained certificates of proficiency. Two old pupils of the school, Nellie Kallaugher and Gwen Jones, gained their B.A. degree at the last University examinations. The treasurer's report presented by Mr. H. Linder, showed that since the committee had been in office they had expended £2GO on improvements to the ground?, etc. There was a credit balance of £41, The improvement account showed a credit balance of £12. which when the board's subsidy is received would make the amount £46. The following committee was elected unopposed :Mrs. Ross, Messrs. L. J. Haselden (chairman). Brown, Harvey, H. Linder (treasurer), Robinson, Spring, Turbott, (secretaiy) and Vi. B. ilson. 'NORTHCOTE. The meeting of Northcote and Birkenhead householders was well attended. Mr. J. P. McPhail presided. The proposal to establish a junior high school at the Northcote main school was endorsed, and the committee was urged to press the matter upon the Minister for Education. The chairman said the proposal would involve the addition of three rooms at each of the infant schools at Birkenhead and Northcote, which would then take pupils up to standard 4. The only other expense would be the teaching staff, as teachers specialised in their subjects would be required. Thus, the cost would be oomparativolv small, as additions were required in "any case, the side schoo 6 being on the verge of the minimum space of 10 square feet per pupil. The Kowhai Junior High School had cost £^5,000. Thirteen nominations were received for the nine seats on the committee, the voting resulting^Successful: Messrs. J. P. McPhail (chairman), 50; H. S. Gribben (secretary and treasurer), 45; Mrs. A. £.

Taylor, 42; H. Boardman, 38; H. H. Broady, 37; A. Parrish, 36; Mrs. A. Good, 34; W. C. Smith, 32; A. G. Osborne, 29. Unsuccessful: Messrs. L. V. E. Smith, 26; E. Swindail, 20; W. Jones, 8; W. R. Norton, 4. : TAKAPUNA. There was a ■ record attendance at the Takapuna meeting, where about 250 people attended. Mr. A. Harris, M.P., presided. : It was reported that the school war memorial gates would be unveiled by the Governor-General on Thursday. May 10. An area of two acres had been puri chased for playground extension, while j brick additions arc to be made to the ! school building. Seven pupils entered last year for the junior scholarship examination, and all passed, three gaining scholarships. The following were elected members of the committee:—Messrs. F. Baechniann, 162; J. Collins (chairman), 141; '1. Hanna, 127; A. Rappard (treasurer), 119; W. : Lisk, 116; R. C. Brinsden, 101; Mrs. E. Maw, 97 Mrs. A. Blomfield (secretary),' 88; M. Bruce, 85. BELMONT. About 150 people attended the meeting at Belmont, Mr. T. Leitch presiding. There were 17 candidates for the committee, those successful being:—Mrs. E. A. E. Gaudin, 92; Messrs. A. R. H. Francis, 92 W. Baxter, 85 P. J. J. Dawson (treasurer), 73; W. A. Johnston, 69; F. W. H. Chambers, 68 A. H. Bishop (secretary), 64; A. N. Hankin, 61; W. Knaggs (chairman), 57. ELtERSLIE. Only a few persons were present at the Ellerslie meeting. The Rev. C. L. Tuke presided. The retiring committee were reelected unopposed, as follows:— D. A. Moore (chairman), J. M Crosker, W. G. Bartlett, A. Ferguson, A. Hughes (secretary), G. Eckett, A. Hewson, A. Dale, and J. Clark; - - OTAHUHU. The Otahuhu meeting was largely attended. Mr. A. McDonald presiding. The following committee was elected':Messrs. A. McDonald (chairman), S. B. Whitmore (secretary), J. Hunter (treasurer), Mrs. A. McDonald, Messrs. T. Clements, T. Henery, A. Phillips, C. V. Pearce, H. Linkhorn. ' ONEHUNGA. The Onehunga .meeting was the largest held for several years. 'The Mayor, Mr. J. Park, presided. It was decided to urge the. Minister to expedite the grant for the erection of the new infant school to replace the one destroyed by fire. The following are the results of t)he polling: Successful: Messrs. P. R. Lipscombe, 113; R. G. Speight, 112; E. R. Gilbert, 106; H. R. Strong, 104; H. E. Jury, 103; Mrs. E. Hunter, 98; Messrs. R. Inglis, 98; W. Colledge, 80; Mrs. S. Jameson. 73. Unsuccessful: Mrs. S. Moor, 70; R. Basham, 69; Mrs. A. Heaslep, 65- Mrs. E. A. 63; T. Ashe, 34. V MANGERE. There was a large attendance at the Mangere meeting, over which Mr. M. B. Kirkbride presided. The following committee was elected unopposed :—Messrs. M. B. Kirkbride (chairman), J. S. Johnstc/h (secretary and treasurer), C. H. Teppett, J. Clark, A. S. Goosman, W. Massey, P. Cutfield, J. Mansell, H. Woodcock. ST. HELPERS. The St.. Heliers meeting was well attended. The following comprise the new committee: Messrs, G. R. Hogan (chairman), G. Foster (secretary), A. Bushill, J. R. Carter, J. H. Hubber, W. Darby, D. N. Purdio. ' " v. I '-- i) POINT CHEVALIER. The ; following committee was returned unopposed at Point Chevalier—Messrs. F. Astley, A. T. Garlick, W. D. M. Glaister, W. J. Gwilliam, A. J. Jenkin, F. C. Jordan, F. G. Rose, D. L. Thomas. AVONDALE. The Avondale meeting was sparsely attended, the chairman being Mr. H. A. V. Bollard. The following committee was returned unopposed:—Messrs. H. A. V. Bollard (chairman), H. A. Harrison (secretary and treasurer), P. J. Brown, F. G. Desmond, A. Donaldson, A. W. Felton, A. Rogers, J. Somervell, A. Pringle. The annual report showed that the roll number of the school was now 575, as against 611 a year ago. The year's receipts amounted to £332, and the expenditure to £312, the latter sum including £78 paid by the Education Department for the rent of St. Jude's schoolroom, and passed through the committee's account. Of the 50 pupils presented for the Standard VI. proficiency examination, 48 passed. A John Bollard Memorial Scholarship had been awarded to Millie Grime. In future two such scholarships will be awarded, the test being the same as that for the junior national scholarship. NEW LYNN. There was a good attendance at the New Lvnn meeting. Mr. G. Lawson presided. The following were elected: Messrs. Brear, 70; Lithgow, 69; Fielding. 66; H. Green. 65; E'lison, 64; Kennerlv, 64; Mrs. Siddle, 63: Mr. Tvle, 51. The unsuccessful candidates were Mrs. Walker, 46, and Mr. A. Shaw, 36. It was decided to request the Education Department to increase the grant to the school by 50 per cent. ' HENDERSON. There was a record meeting at Henderson, about 150 persons being present. The new committee consists of: Messrs. R. Carey (chairman), J. Fuller (secretary), Mrs. C. M. Stuart, Miss E. Brookesmith. Messrs. H. Hutchinson, W. Bodley. C. H. Scott, C. Smith. Mr. Smith is the only Labour member. PAPAKURA. There was a fair attendance at Papakura, where Rev. W. C. Wood presided. The committee consists of the Rev. ,W. C. Wood (chairman). Messrs. A. L. Turner, J. Rea, W. G. Markwick, W. K. Francis, H. H. Muir, G. H. Kernot, W. F. Smith, and A. B. Irvine. A stronglyworded protest against the Education Board's delay in enlarging the school was passed ./ COUNTRY ELECTIONS. The following are the results of -country school committee elections :— Whitiora.Messrs. W. M. Cann, H. Cracknel!, G. Bradley, F. S. Wilson, J. H. Gittos. C. Nesbi't. D. Cann, C. W. Wycherlev, and Dr. Pinfold. Waiuku.—Messrs. A. M. Earriball. C. J. West. J. Whitham, D. H. Marks, W. Clark. A. Hull and — Fussell.