CELEBRATION OF JUBILEE

Southland Times, Issue 23741, 13 February 1939, Page 8

CELEBRATION OF JUBILEE

Early Days At South School Recalled

BANQUET ATTENDED BY 500 GUESTS

WORK OF COMMITTEES PRAISED Early days at South school, head masters, forbidden orchards and schoolboy escapades were recalled by speakers at the South school’s diamond jubilee banquet held in Smith’s Country Club on Saturday night. There was an attendance of about 500, and the function was presided over by Mr E. W. Wright. Mr Wright, in extending a welcome to those present, paid a tribute to the work of the committee in organizing the jubilee, and mentioned several of the old teachers of the school. The toast of the school was proposed by Mr J. Forrester, who said that the first school was begun in 1878 and was opened on February 10, 1879., under Mr W. G. Mehaffey, with 147 pupils. At the end of the year there were 369 pupils on the roll, and the roll and stair had increased year by year In 1911 there were 1087 pupils and the school was the largest byt one in the Dominion. The opening of the St. George school took about 250 pupils from the South school but he thought the school was still the largest but one in the Dominion. When this toast had been honoured the candles on the jubilee cake, presented by Mr Wright, were lit by Mrs G. M. Chapman, and the cake was then cut by Mrs Wright. Mr E. R. Wilson in reply said he joined the school in 1884. “I was the bad boy of the family, he said, “and it was felt that a strict master would do me good.” Mr Wilson described several escapades of his school days, and mentioned that one boy was fond of lighting fires and had lit one fire under the school. Mr H. Ritchie in proposing the toast of first-year pupils, said that 60 years was a long span—a life time to many—but he was glad to see that there were so many first-year pupils present at the roll call that afternoon. He referred to the tranquil days of 60 years ago, unclouded by thoughts of the Great War and turmoil to come, and added that he was forced to the conclusion that life was better in those days than it was today. 1 Mr A. H. Fenn, in reply, expressed his gratification at"' seeing so many of his old fellow-pupils. .

INCREASED ATTENDANCES The toast of the head master and ; staff was proposed by Mr C. E. Borne, ' who said that in the present head master they had a man of outstanding ability The attendance had gone up and the : time had come when they would need a new building. The success of the school, he thought, was due to the enthusiasm of all concerned —the committee, the staff, and even the pupils. “Shakespeare was wrong,” he said, “when he spoke of the school boy creeping unwillingly to school. The children today run to school, and so for that matter did we in 1879. We ran over the tussocks.” Mr C. N. Lawless (head master of the South school) in reply said there had been only four head masters at the South school, from which one could deduce that they must have been very happy in their positions. Of course there was a certain amount of prestige in being head of such a big school, but he did not think prestige alone would be sufficient inducement to keep a teacher in one place for a very long time. There had always been a strong I school spirit at the South school. He referred to the co-operation of the parents, the work of the committees and the keen band of assistants the school had always had. The roll at the end of each year was now about 840. It fell after the opening of the St. George school, but was rising again because of the closer settlement. There had been a fine spirit shown in organizing the jubilee, and it was that spirit which had actuated the people of the district. He thanked them all for making his position such a happy and pleasant one. Mr George Agnew also replied to the toast, saying that at present they had ' one of the most retiring head masters that had ever been on the staff of a school. They as a staff were attempting to carry on the traditions of the school as established by the teachers of the past. Mr M. M. Macdonald, in proposing the toast of the Invercargill City Council, described some of the experiences of the Invercargill Town Council in the sixties, and said that on one occasion the Town Council’s revenue for the city was £2O and its expenditure £250. The bank had refused to honour the town’s cheques, but the council had got over this difficulty simply by transferring its business to another bank. From small beginnings, he added, Invercargill had grown to be the fifth city in New Zealand. It was appropriate that they should toast those who gave up their time in the interests of the city. The Invercargill City Council . was a link in the chain of local government throughout the Dominion. The growth of the city brought its problems, but it also added to the importance of the city.

The Mayor (Mr J. R. Hanan), reply-

ing, said that the council in its ordinary capacity was not concerned with the maintainance or control of schools, but it provided baths and playing areas, and in that way came in contact with the children. The passing of the Physical Welfare Act was going to bring the City Council into much closer contact with the schools. The town clerk (Mr W. F. Sturman) returned thanks for the toast, “proposed,” he said with a smile, “in the mouth in which you are going to pay your rates, I hope.” There was no local body in New Zealand with more commercial and other undertakings than the Invercargill City Council, Mr Sturman added. Here the city had everything under its control—even the abattoirs and the cemetery. Mr R. N. Todd proposed the toast of Parliament. The Dominion • was fortunate he said, in having a Parliament that was free from corruption and graft, and they were glad to bid welcome to Mr W. M. C. Denham, M.P., whose honesty of purpose could not be ques-

tioned. Mr Denham, in reply, thanked Mr Todd for his reference to his honesty of purpose, saying that he had frequently been told that honest politicians were “as scarce as hen’s teeth.” Parliamentarians today, he added, were faced with serious problems, and one of the chief of these was defence, which the Labour Party had been discussing m caucus during the last few days. He congratulated the school on the success of its jubilee functions. Mr J. Hargest, M.P., said he knew of no school in this country that had a higher tone than the South school, which had been the subject of enthusiastic comment by every Cabinet Minister who had visited it. He believed also that Mr Lawless was one of the finest head masters in New Zealand. Parliament, he added, had lost most ot its mystery. The radio had killed that, and Parliament was no longer a sanctuary. Parliament could not make a country wealthy, but it could set the stage for prosperity, and it could, also, by taxation and legislation, ruin a coun - try. The price of the present system of democratic government in this and other countries, with all its difficulties and all its dilatoriness, was eternal vigilance. The toast of the Southland Education Board was proposed by Mr J. A. .3. Walker who said that education methods in Southland were equal to any others in New Zealand. CHANGE IN METHODS Mr S. Rice (chairman of the Southland Education Board) replied. He congratulated those responsible for tne gathering that night and discussed briefly the value of such functions. Times had changed, he said, and theirs was a type of education suited to the age in which they were born. Today different methods were necessary to meet the greater demands of a very I much more difficult life. For that reason they endeavoured to encourage ' initiative and self-reliance in the children, and gave them greater scope for self expression. Teachers of the calibre I of Mr Lawless, although they granted I their pupils greater liberty, watched ■ that that liberty did not become licence. • The object of the education system was i to develop honest and intelligent citi- ; zens who would view the problems ot i life with a cultivated mind and make . decisions for the country’s welfare > Messrs J. W. McLean and AW. Jones . proposed the toast of the school coms mittee, which was replied to by Mr L. I S Alsweiler, and the toast of the Press 5 and the performers was proposed by i Mr J. S. Henderson. During the evening recitations were i given by Misses Joan Parfitt and Ismay f Fenn and songs by Misses Grace Hunter and Myra Patton and Mr John Steven--5 son.

CHURCH PARADE The jubilee celebrations yesterday took the form of a church parade at Rugby Park. There was an attendance of more than 800, and the service was conducted by the Rev. C. J. Tocker, assisted by the Rev. G. B. Hinton. FIRST GATHERING AT SCHOOL The jubilee celebrations opened on Saturday afternoon at the school, where there was a very big gathering of former pupils. It was particularly noticeable that the earlier decades, of the pupils were more strongly represented