SCHOOL DAYS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18158, 1 February 1921, Page 6

SCHOOL DAYS.

’ GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL JUBILEE

REMINISCENCES AT THE BURNS HALL.

HAPPY TRIBUTES FROM DISTINGUISHED EX-PUPILS.

For the evening gathering in connection with the Otago Girls’ High School Jubilee, ' .when a number of ex-pupils indulged iu ' happy historical reminiscences of by-gone days, the Burns Hall was prettily decorated with flowers and greenery, in which roses and bracken predominated. The hall was crowded with past and present pupils, and 1 the incessant crackle of animated oonveraa- ; tion that rose from all parts of the building indicated the keen interest of everyone in tihe occasion. The appearance of Miss Allan on the platform was the signal for applause that listed for several minutes. She announced that it had been decided, before hearing the speeches' of the evening, to allow a brief space for conversation and the renewing of c. : old acquaintanceships. The opportunity was - eagerly availed of, and the babel of cheery . voices rose louder than ever. At half-post 8 Miss Allan again took the platform to make a few announcements and to introduce tho more formal part of the proceedings. Sihe apologised for the absence of Lady Stout •who hod telephoned that she was not feeling well enough to be present. From one ot ; the present girls Miss Allan received a beautiful bouquet of flowers, which drew forth another demonstration marking the esteem in which/ she is held. The first speaker called on was Mrs R. S. Allan, vice-presi-dent of the Jubilee Association, and a daughter of its first distinguished principal, Mrs Buhl. Mrs Allan said she would ask the girls of tho seventies: "Do you remem- ■ ber?” and the present girls “Can you realise?” what the old school was like. She described the appearance of the old school buildings and grounds, where Maori prisoners of war from the North Island were engaged st work till the opening of the •; school. The washhouse even was invaded by them, and used as a lunch room. There was one large school room, into which, on February 6. came 80 girls to bo examined by Mr (afterwards doctor) Hislop, the kindly secretary of _ the Education Board. When the “crocodile” took the air‘it was hailed by shouts of “High School loafers,” and .when, under the care of the tall governess (Miss M'Dougall), it met the Maori prisoners they evidently thought the girls were fellow unfortunates, and grinned sympathetically and said ” Tenako©.”—(Uiughter.) They had a great day when the school went down m the Golden Age to see the Nevada, the paddle wheel boat which inaugurated the San Francisco service. As the prooes- - sion, headed by the big girls, of course, all with their hair up, passed by two old men ■ stored amazedly. “ Where be oil these . females coming from?” asked one of the other.—(Laughter.) One incident of that first year would be impossible now. “Miss : ” asked the lady principal (the “miss” was a custom dropped soon after) “Where . is your. French grammar?” “Please, Mrs Burn, it’s on tho floor under your crinoline!”—(Laughter.) At one time they were ; drilled by a sergeant, an old army man. . Tradition said that on his first appearance he was rather nervous, but tackled his work V aftir this fashion: “ Shun! Heads up! :• Ghins in 1 1 Chests out! Hands at side! , Thumbs in lino with seams of .’*— (Laughter.) The poor man choked ■ and • blushed, and the girls tittered. Their . adored Mr Pope had his lapses from amiability. One day they aggravated him sorely, the result being the throwing down of his book and. the exclamation “I will not be a nigger driver. I will return i and teach this clasp, at 4 o’clock.” After the first shocked ; silence, a, small voice belonging to a mem- ' ber ; q£.that audience was heard to remark: “ I •, never, saw such a shocking exhibition of temper, in a teacher in all my life.”— (Laughter,) Well, these days were long 1 past, but the girls of 1871 whose faces were turned to the' westering sun, greeted the girls oi 1921, on whose faces shone tho morning glory, wishing them ns happy days in, the new school as their predecessors had had in the old, and confident that the honour of the school was in safe keeping.— (Applause.) Mrs Mathews, better known to many as Miss Rose Davey, was the_ next speaker. t She. w,as. introduced as a distinguished pupil ■\ the time of Mr Wilson, who afterwards carried .off many honours at Otago University,. and went as a missionary to India. Shp represented, she said, the end of the second decade and the beginning of the third in the life of the school. That was the time when people were still arguing about the higher education of women, and suggesting that it would only unfit them for home life. It was amusing now to look I back and see how time had refuted these arguments. She referred to the teaching of English under Miss Grant, which had been •: a delightful revelation to her and a preparation for Mr Wilson’s lessons already rc- . , ferred to.. She remembered also the “slang club,!’, which really ought to have been called an anti-slang club. It had a secretary .and. a treasurer, and fines of Id were most rigorously imposed. She d'd not re- . member what became of the club, but «liodid remember the toffee they bought with ■ the proceeds.—(Laughter.) She warned, the present girls that they had not been wholly frivolous in those days, and if they thought of imitating their breaches of the rules they s' must also imitate the good things they did. —(Applause.) Mrs Laurence Thompson (nee Minnie Thompson), of Solwav College; was intro- ' duced as another distinguished nupil under 1 Mr Wilson and under Miss Allan. Mrs Thompson said that, although she could not ■ boast of prizes won, she could boast the best >, prize of all in a host of happy memories. She recalled the eagerness with which she had looked forward to becoming a High School girl, her joy when her hope was , realised, and ‘her pain when, the time came ( to leave. She referred in particular to the influence of their well-beloved rector, Mr Wjlsori,. and his auiet, incisive remarks upon occasions. “You do not put your stockjngs on in the street. Why should you ■: put on your gloves?” was a comment ho sometimes addressed to them.—(Laughter.) ■- Or, on striking a dull pupil while he’ was expounding Shakespeare: “I wish Shake- . snoare had never been born !”—(Laughter.) Another remark of his that had remained with her was: “If people turn to look at ybu in the street you are not well dressed.” She r.ecelled his great love of flowers and the delightful social gatherings at the c'ose j of the, v-inter terms. At the time they had not understood thei intensity of his pain and , indignation on a certain occasion, but. they understood now. The reputation of his beloved school was at stake. She paid heartfelt tribute to the dearly loved Miss M'Kean.—(Applause.) The affection she inspired was all the more remarkable when it , was recalled that she wag the teacher ol

mathematics. A friend to the pupils, she remained girl enough to condone a girlish escapade, and she .had the wise discernment that could discriminate between the trivial and the heinous. Her intellect was great, but her woman’s heart riiade her their teacher, guide, and friend.—(Applause.) She claimed it as an honour that she entered the school ae a 'pupil on the same day as the present esteemed principal joined the teaching staff, just 30 years ago.—(Applause.) From the first they all felt her stern disapproval of shoddy work, and her one endeavour waa to stamp on her pupils her own mental thoroughness. Those who were her pupils m the long ago rejoiced to think that she was the genius of that big school, and_ that her gracious personality had left its impression on so many lives. —(Loud applause.) She referred next to their genial science master, the Hon. G. M. Thomson, kindly of heart, in his pupils individually, a lover of music and of Nature and of his fellow men. His old pupils felt that his promotion to the Upper House, was a recognition of merit which they had long recognised.—(Applause.) Speaking of their pride in their old school, Mrs Thompson referred to the prominent place in the teaching profession taken hy old pupils of the school.

Dr Ada Paterson, another distinguished pupil, of Mr Wilson’s time, said that she had been three years under Mr Wilson and three years under Miss Marchant. Public speaking was not included in the curriculum.—(Laughter.) Comparing the schools of twenty and more years ago with those of to-day she said that the trend of teaching had now become much more practical and useful. Scientific subjects in particular were now taught with a view to their practical application. It was very gratifying, too, that the higher, education of girls was now recognised as being quite as important as that of boys. She recalled memories ot Mr Hanna and the drill ground and said that she could never pass him in the street now without an inclination to hold her head up and put her chest out and walk properly. She also paid a tribute to Miss Allan, making special reference to her ideal of thoroughness, serious purpose and absolute devotion to duty.—(Applause.) She referred to the foundation of the Field Club of which she believed Miss Annie Hancock and she had been the first promoters. All medical women in New Zealand felt that they owed a great debt of gratitude to Dr Margaret Cruiokshank—(applause)—and' it'was a great regret to them all she could not have been present.—(Applause.) Miss Isabel Turnbull, whose brilliant, scholastic career was outlined by Miss Allan, spoke for the time when Miss Marchant was in charge of the school. She said that of the five years she had spent at the school the first two were in the old school, the last two were in the now and the entervening year nowhere in particular. She described the old dilapidated buildings and the system of changing from one classroom to another, which sometimes enabled a class to get “lost” and hide quietly till found by some indignant teacher. She recalled some of the misdemeanours of Form VIB, such as all entering the room with pigtails over their shoulders and the putting on of the dock three-quarters of an hour. In each case swift retribution followed. Miss Turnbull described the entering of the new school and said that the most vivid figure in all her recollections was that of Miss Marchant.—(Applause.) She recalled, in particular, her weekly lessons in English literature. At school they had learned what hard work and the joy of hard work, really was.—(Applause.) Dr Marion Whyte, an ex-dux of the school, said it fell to her to finish this tale of love and hope and laughter. She felt that little had been left for her to say ,and yet the text was so great that they could go on speaking about it for ever. She described her own experiences when coming as a girl of 15 from another school in the North Island. Under Miss Allan she had quickly learned the meaning of thoroughness and conscientiousness.. She belonged to the worst “Sixth” Miss Allan ever had —Miss Allan had told them so repeatedly—and yet many of these had distinguished themselves in no small degree. She told of school successes in hockey and tennis and swimming, , of th© Debating Club, and of the wonderful extra literature lessons, with Miss Alexander. Gradually she became absorbed in devotion to the school, and so it was with everyone who came in contact with that great school.— (Applause.) She could not but wish God speed to “the beat school of all.”—(Applause.) Miss Allan’s invitation for any further impromptu reminiscenes led one lady to rife and express regret that Miss Little’s name had not so far been mentioned. She paid a brief tribute to hey work. During the evening Miss Allan presented the first and, second prizes given by the Jubilee Association for the best designs for covers in connection witji the celebrations. The first was won by Hazel Maguire, and the second by Winnie M'Millan. A delightful musical programme was contributed at intervals by gifted ex-pupils of the school, as follows: —Miss Stella Bailey (violin solo), Miss. Meda Paine ("Oh Flower of All the World”), Miss Phyllis West (“Prince Charming”), Miss Hope Hodges (“My Ships”), Mrs _R. J. M'Laren (“Queen of May”), and Misses Molly Vickers and Dolly Dempster (“The Golden Bird”). Miss Ida White provided the accompaniments. A particularly happy and effective gathering broke up shortly after 10 o’clock with the singing of the National Anthem, and cheers for the old school. REMAINING ARRANGEMENTS.

To-day a harbour excursion has beenplanned, leaving the wharf at 10 a.m.. calling at Port Chalmers, knd returning at about 5 p.m. In the evening a concert is to be held in Burns Hall. To-morrow evening the celebrations will be brought to a close at an “At Home” to be held in the Art Gallery.