OTAGO BOYS' HIGH SCHOOL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14899, 30 July 1910, Page 11

OTAGO BOYS' HIGH SCHOOL

GYMNASTIC DISPLAY ( The gymnastic entertainment given in the Garrison Hall last evening by the pupils of the Otago Boys' High School under the direction oi Instructor Henna, proved an attraction /to many, tho gallery being crowned, and the body of tho hall liberally patronised. Before tho entertainment commented the Rector of the school (Mr Morrelll-made a few explanatory remarks us to the object in view. He pointed out that two yeara' ago/they had had an en> tex-tainment of t.he?|Same sort, and thoir friends had been good enough to stand by them, and as a. result they had succeeded iu. making chough to effect hn-' provemenfs to the'baths. Their fives oourt-s at the school, which were of value to the boys; had been much in want of repair for some'time past, and the Board of Governors, being, .perhaps,-,, like other boards, troubled by a. want, of money, there had been a 'reluctanee to ask it for funds for doing the neccesaryrcpairs./He had thought they might/get- their friends to rally round thoni again, and had mentioned tho matter to Instructor Ha-nna, who had taken it up with, alacrity, and tho result 1 was before them. He hoped none of the ladies present would bo alarnied, on looking at the programme the thought that. they were going to witness anything in the liaturo of tho •Tohn-son-Jeffrios contest. Ho personally .'thought that boxing, taken prolierly, was' a. thing well. worth cultivating at ijohodl. It cultivated agility, taught bovs to control their temper, and provided them with means, should necessity arise, of giving a good account of tliemr.olvos. Tho programme -was then entered upon, an. overture beinct plaj'ed .by ithe orchestra bjforo the junior forms engaged in physical exercises. These consisted, of marching, jumping, and the usual body movements. A number of senior and junior scholars then went through rope-climbing, and dumbbell exercises by. tho matriculation fifth...which were very neatly performed, wore next given. The boxing consisted of a bit, of playful sparring, and wa3 engaged in by two juniors and two seniors. : Swinging along the length of the hall on to the platform by the aid of Roman rings was watched with interest, and some clever feats on the horizontal ; bar • were loudly 'applauded. Sword oxercisc6, consisting of attack and defence, and concluding with, a general mete® by the Upper Sixth boys, were gono through with considerable skill, and tho play with quarfer staves, in which two of the older boys toek part, produced feme excitement, ono of f.he combatants laving about him with such right good will that he splintered two of the bambco wis which <hd duty for staves. A neat exhibition was giveji witti the bar . bells, and the lads showed activity and address on the parallel bars, which were finally ussd as the framework upon which a very fine human pyramid was built up. Club-swing-ing followed, and a variety of jumps over the horee concluded tho evening's work I>.V the pupils. About the middle of the programme Mr J. A. Haggitfc appeared, and sang a song, which- was vory well received. Instructor Hanna -was in 'charge of the boys, and displayed his usual watchful cure while tho exercises were taking place, nn-d tho, musical aecompaniment-s were played by Messrs P. S. Brent and L. 11. Booth. _ Before the last item tho Hon. J. R. Sinclair, speaking on behalf of tho Board of Governors, thanked all those who had contributed towards the ■iitartainment, and in referring to Instructor I-lanna mentioned that he had now been with .them for a quarter of a century; A MISSIONARY EXHIBITION A unique exhibition is to be held in next month, with the object of deepening interest'in. missionary work by increasing the knowledge of the lauds in which it is (Carried on. Preparations have been in progress - for many weeks, an<l on Ihe opening dato. August; 17, there will be cm view a collection of artistic work and . curios . from different parts of tho world, such as has not before been exhibited in New Zealand. In the United Kingdom several missionary, exhibitions havL- been held cf recent years, but this is the lirst time that an attempt has been made to hold a roprese.nta.tive missionary exhibition on a large- scale in New Zealand. In addition to tho exhibits, which will bo both interesting and instructive, it. has been arranged that ladies and gentlemen who have been associated with' the countries from which tho exhibits come, will be present. to give information and explanations. The exhibition is planned in four sections. In connection with the.Mr.ori Motion there will be a representation of a wharo with its contents, specimens of writing, drawing, etc., from the Turakina Girls'' School. Two or throe of the. Maori girls are coming all the way from'this school to add interest to this section.

The Indian section promises to bo very attractive, Several missionaries from India, will be in Dunedin, and will have personal exhibits on view, and there will be doscrip-' tivo'missionary scenes graphically displayed with t'ho assistance of a number of girls in various native costumes.

probably the largest department in. tho exhibition will be the Chinese one, which will contain upwards of 400 exhibits, some of them very rare and valuable. Among these will be ft facsimile copy of the New Testament, presented by the Christian women of China to the Ist© Empress Dov.viger on her sixtieth birthday. A pair of bride and bridegroom's enormous marriage certificates,. and a fine collection of dressed miniatures, representing tho typical costumes .and faces of mid-China.

An entirely different collection will bn that from some of the South Sea Islands. From the New Hebrides group, where Now Zealand missionaries have beer working for many years, and fit ,i Samoa and j\ow Guinea, .will be- shown many articles illustrative of the distinctive features cf the l )c 2P' es widely diversified lands. The exhibition is to be supplemented by numerous tableaus. dialogues, marches, ana cantatas specially arranged for each evening, together with large diagrams illuetraof the different countries. It will be held in Knox Church Hall, King street, and will be open for three days.