AFTER SEVENTY YEARS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20380, 11 April 1928, Page 4

AFTER SEVENTY YEARS.

WAREPA SCHOOL ANNIVERSARY. EX-PUPILS CELEBRATE. SOME EARLY HISTORY. (From Our Special Reporter.) BALCLUTHA, April 10. The celebrations in connection with the seventieth anniversary of the Warepa School were commenced on Saturday afternoon, and were continued on Sunday and yesterday. All were well attended and highly successful. Warepa as a settlement has a history extending bach nearly to the days of the pioneer settlers who arrived in the Philip Laing and the John Wickliffe in 1848, and its school as a public institution dates back to 1858 —70 years ago. Prior to that, however, there was a private school at Warepa, conducted by Mr William Waite, an American, which was opened at the west end of the Warepa Bush in 1855. There were no public schools in Otago at that time, education being under the control of the church. In 1850 an educational ordinance was passed by the Provincial Council, and marked the beginning of public education in Otago. On April 26, 1856, meetings under the ordinance ware convened to elect school committees and provide schools in each of the newly-formed school districts —viz., Green Island, Dunedin, Taieri, Tokomairiro, and Clutha. The ordinance at first was not popular; first, because of its introducing the teaching of the Shorter Catechism, and, secondly, because of the composition of the Central Board of Control. However, these matters were remedied, and on May 7, 1856, the first meeting of the Otago Education Board was held in Dunedin; the Rev. Dr Bannerman representing the Clutha School District. The ordinance provided that the expense of education should be defrayed by an education tax of £l. payable by every male of 21 years. Later the tax was reduced by the Education Board to 10s, and eventually finding it impossible to collect the tax, the entire cost of education was borne by the revenue of the school fees. The ordinance continued in force until The school committee of the Clutha district soon set to to establish schools, the principal at Inch Clutha, with side schools at South Clutha . (Puorua), and Warepa. The exact date on which the Education Board assumed control of the Warepa School cannot be ascertained, but the school committee report for the year ending September 30, 1808, states the school has so recently commenced that an opinion can hardly be formed, but the children are making progress, and satisfaction is given.” Mr William Waite, who has controlled the, private school, was appointed the first teacher, and school was held in his house until the first school was built. A section of 50 acres were set apart as a school site, and the timber was removed for the uso of the school. The first school, which was built from pit-sawn timber by Mr P. Ayson and his son, was a substantial building, containing, In addition to the schoolroom, accommodation for the teacher. This building is still standing on Mr Ross’s Property. Tn 1859 the Education Board voted £2OO for the school, and provided half the teacher s salary, which at that time was £IOO per annum, the other half being subscribed by the settlers. A school fee of 10s per pupil was charged, but as only 11 boys and three girls attended the school, the committee had to rely on public subscriptions. In 1861 Mr Waite tendered his resignation, and by that time the school was overcrowded. When Mr H. M Leod was appointed teacher early in 1862 it was found necessary to hold the school in the church, which then stood opposite the present cemetery. During the four years the church was in use as a school the original school building was occupied by Mr° M'Leod as a residence. Mr M'Leod held office until April 5,1866, and was suceeded bv Mr lugs, who remained for only a few' months. In 1866, during Mr Ings’s short stay, the Education Board secured the present site, and a new school was built by Mr M'Klnlay, of Stirling. It was a two-storeyed structure, and the site of the present playshed, portion being used as the master’s residence. The next teacher was Mr Thomas A. Meeking, who entered on his duties towards the end of 1866. . Th© present school was built in 19U2, the contractor being Mr Alexander M‘Neil, a native of _th© district, who was present at the reunion on Saturday. It comprises two large rooms with porch, and the contract price was £479 10s. There are no records of the early school committees. Members of the present committee are: Messrs L. Edwards (chairman), J. F. Ayson (secretary) J. M'Gillivray, G. Farquhar, and W. b. Thomson. The school became a two-teacher one in 1895. and a new school residence was built in 1896. the old residence being converted into a second room. The teachers who followed Mr Meeking (appointed in 1866) were: W. Waddell, Robert Huie, John Wilson (appointed m 1885) and from 1895 Mr Wilson had as assistants successively Miss E. White, Miss J. L. Hopcraft Miss J. A. Paterson, Miss (F. L, Hopcraft, Miss E. L. Fraser, Miss Kathleen M. Armour (1912) In 1913 the school was reduced to a sole-teacher school, Mr Wilson being succeeded by Mr John Buchan ; then followed successively Mr B. F. Simmonsen, Miss Emily P. Ayson, Mr Les.ie A. Harris, the present teacher being Mr George H. Mitchell. The maximum attendance was reached in 1901 when the average attendance was 63, and that figure was maintained until 1906. A falling off began in 1907, and m 1916 the attendance was as . low as 17. There has been a gradual improvement since, and the roll number is now 56 According to the first report of the Warepa School, dated December 31, 1858, the attendance totalled for the third quarter .10 boys and 3 girls, their ages being from 7 to 18 years. In the fourth quarter there was an attendance of 11 boys and 4 girls. . , The first school was surrounded by virgin bush overlooking what is now a beautiful vale, dotted with smiling homesteads, but was then a swampy, flaxcovered flat, whose future as farming land only the rose-coloured spectacles of the hardy adventurers who had journeyed so far to found a new nation could desire. REUNION OF EX-PUPILS. On Saturday afternoon, in beautiful weather, there was a notable gathering of ex-pupils at the school, where the President of the Celebration Committee (Mr John Christie) extended a hearty welcome to all. In the course of his remarks he said that the site of the original Warepa School, on the edge of the beautiful native bush, must have been a veritable paradise on earth. The spot was a great resort for native birds, whose song could b e heard from morning to night. Now, alas! these feathered songsters had vanished, together with so many of the happy bands of children who had attended school in the early days, but it gave the committee genuine pleasure to see the gathering that day. including as it did e x-pupi]s of Warepa School from all over the Dominion. The afternoon was pleasantly spent in talking over old times, signing the roll of the 1 ex-pupils, afternoon tea, and getting the various groups photographed The president was assisted by an energetic committee, of which Mr J. F. Ayson was secretary. Mr J. P. Mitchell treasurer, and the Rev. W. R. Hume vice-president. THE BANQUET. In the evening there was a grand ban-

quet in the Warepa Hall for ex-pupils. The attendance numbered 150, and the function, which was marked by a spirit of great sociability, passed off with great eclat. Air John Christie presided, and had on his right Air J. Wallace (chairman of the Education Board), Mr A. S. .Malcolm, AI.L.C., Mr J. B. Waters (Dunedin), and Air W. S. Thomson (chairman Ciutha County Council). On the chairman’s left were seated the Rev. W. R. Hurne, Mr D. T. Fleming. M.L.C., Air 1 1 . Waite, M.P. The Chairman, in his opening remarks, referred to the splendid response on the part of old pupils to do honour to the old school which deserved all the honour that could be heaped on it. The speaker eulogised the methods of the old - teachers, who were firm believers in the maxim “ Kpare the rod and spoil the child. After th e usual loyal toast, Mr D. T. Fleming proposed “ Ex-pupils of Warepa School, and in doing so said the success of the gathering must be most gratitying to the committee and also to those who were present to renew old acquaintance with Warepa. This had been the first place to have a school on this side of the Alolyneux River, and had also led the way in religion for the whole Ciutha district. The late Mr Peter Ayson was the first settler in the district, and the late Mr Matthew Alarshall had been the first white man to go through the district. That was early in 1853, when there was not a single white man near, except at th e Popotunoa Hills. When Mr Alarshall came hack a few months afterwards lie found Mr Ayson at Warepa. “ Sandy ” Gordon was another old shopnerd of those early days, and he had the distinction of having built the first hut at Warepa. The idea that dominated those early settlers of that portion of the Ciutha hact been first the church and then the school. Dr Bannerman, the first minister in the district, began his ministrations in 1854, and -his territory extended from south of Milton and was bounded on the south-east and west by the Pacific Ocean. The first precentor was the late Mr James Ayson. The speaker proceeded to give some facts concerning the private school established at Warepa in 1855, and also read a short history of the establishment of the first public school, which was the eighth to be established in Otago outside of Dunedin. There were outstanding men at Warepa in the early days, the speaker said, and - gave as examples Messrs W. P. Street, D. Borrie, Sir John Richardson, and others, who, if not actually living in Warepa, were in nearby districts. Pupils who had gone through the school and afterwards distinguished themselves were Dr W. L. Christie (the first New Zealand student to obtain an Al.B. degree), Mr Peter Hay (who became chief Government engineer), Mr E. D. Alosley, S.M., Messrs Donald Munro (a brilliant student), J. B. Waters (Dunedin), and the late Air James Christie. Reference was also made ‘to the Aysons, the Crawfords, the AlacNeils, and other old families of the Warepa district. The speaker concluded by quoting the late Mr James Alacandrew’s description of Warepa as “ a veritable Paradise, a Garden of Eden.” The toast was responded to by Air dames APNeil, of Invercargill, who said that h© was one of four ex-pupils present that day who had attended Mr Waite’s school at Warepa. Mr Lake Ayson was the first white child born in the district, and he (Air APNeil) had been born six months later. That was 73 years ago. H© recalled several happy incidents of the early days, and said that on one occasion th© school had been blown down and the children had a long holiday until another school was erected. Mr J. B. Waters, a pupil of the ’seventies, paid a glowing tribute to the ability of the late Mr William Waddell as a teacher. Mr Waddell had sent children from the primary school straight to the university, which was a thing the teachers of to-day could not do. The settlers of those days had their ideals, and they had handed them on, but he often wondered what the third generation of the native-born would be like in Now Zealand, and whether they would hold to that reverence for church and school which the first settlers brought with them. Air H. Meeking (a son of one of the early teachers at ' Warepa) also spoke. At this stage Mr John Ayson read a number of apologies from ex-pupils, who had been unable to attend. These included letters from Air E- D. Mosley, S.AI. (Christchurch) and Detective Sweeney (Wellington). Miss Emily Ayson read apologies from absent teachers. Air Alexander Renton proposed ‘ Absent Pupils,” 89 per cent, of whom, he was sure, were with them in spirit that night. Tlio toast was, accorded musical honours, and Mr Allan Christie said a few words on behalf of those who were unable to be present. Mr Gilbert Stewart proposed Teachers of Warepa School, Past and Present. Mr J. G. Alitcholl (the present teacher), in responding, said it was a singular fact that there was only one other male teacher of Warepa School besides himself who was alive now. The present-day system of education had been called experimenting,” but it should always be remembered that while experimenting they were also progressing. The speaker also made sympathetic reference to the late Air John Wilson, who had been teacher of Warepa School for a period of toast, that of “ The School Committee,” was proposed by Mr Charles Dabinett, and responded to by Air E. Edwards and Air J. F, Ayson. Mr Ayson proposed' “ The Otago Education Board,” and Mr J. Wallace ui the course of his reply, said that in educating the young to-day they were lookin" for results, and the results were such that the education authorities had no reason to be ashamed of them. When they heard our boys and girls decried educationally people should remember that as educationi-sts New Zealanders were only beginners, while older countries had been a great many years on th Mr°D Munro (Balclutha) referred to the old school days at Warepa and the church in which school was held tor soni«? years. . . , t Mr W. D. Thomson, in proposing ine Parliament of New Zealand,” an interesting sketch of the early history of parliamentary government in New Zealand. _ „ , , Air A. S. Malcolm. M.L.C., m responding, warmly congratulated the people of the district on the success of the gathering, which revived so many thoughts of old’ days long pone bye. . . Air F Waite, M.P., dwelt on the significance of Warepa to the old Maoris. The name meant Maori settlement, and it was undoubted that many Alaoris in the days before the advent of the white man had used the place as a camp, and the traveller seeing the valley for the first time could not help exclaiming, “ What a beautiful prospect! ” Air George Dabinett (Milton) proposed the toast of “ The Church,” and recalled that in Warepa the church was built two years before the school. Religious service was first held in the house of Mr “ Sandy ” Gordon, who, the speaker said, built the first house in the district, and was the first white man to settle there. The Rev. W. R. Hume, in responding, said this was an evening for the school and not for the church, which had celebrated its diamond jubilee at Warepa two years ago. In Scotland the church and the school had always gone together, and if in the present day there was, as one speaker had said, a slackness of interest in the church, the people would not at heart be less religious, but merely were lacking in the outward manifestation of ir. There had been seven ministers at Warepa, and they were all alive yet except the first two. so that if fatal for the teachers it had not been that way with the parsons.—(Laughter.) Other toasts were: “ The Agricultural and Pastoral Interests,” proposed by Mr Alexander Alnrray, and responded to by Messrs G. P. Stewart and Mr J. A. I’laikie iGorc); " The Ladies,” proposed by Air Robert Christie, and responded to he Air W. R. Cameron (Dunedin); “The Press,” proposed by Mr William Crawford ; “ The Chairman,” proposed by Mr D. G. Algic, and responded to by Alr .T. Christie, who tendered thanks on behalf of the committee, to all who had worked and made the function a success.

Mrs Newson (Balclutha) catered very satisfactorily. The following contributed to an enjoyable musical programme ; —Miss Ayson, Mrs John Low, Mrs R. Hutton, jun., Messrs D. Munro, P. Waite, M.P. (songs), Misses Alice and Olive Somerville (violin solo, with piano accompaniment). The singim: of “ Auld Lang Syne ’* Drought the function to a close before midnight. On Sunday there was a church parade and a memorial service in the Warepa Church, conducted by the Rev. W. R. Humo, while Monday’s celebrations took the form of a picnic, with a concert and dance in the hall at night.