HIGH SCHOOL OLD BOYS.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 February 1926, Page 9

HIGH SCHOOL OLD BOYS.

A SOCIAL CLUE FORMED. ROOMS TO BE FITTED OUT. ANNUAL FUNCTION DATES FIXED. At a fully attended meeting of the executive of the New Plymouth High School Old Boys’ Association last night, it was unanimously decided to establish S social club in New Plymouth chiefly as a meeting place for old boys when in town with a few minutes to spare, and also to serve as a place of recreation, for reading, and for instruction in various branches of sport. Membership of the club will be restricted to old boys of any recognised secondary school in New Zealand, the whole object of the institution being to keep the young men off the streets in their idle time and provide them with facilities for wholesome social enjoyment and improvement of mind and body in one way or another.

Mr. A. J. Papps, chairman of the executive, presided, other members present being Messrs. R. G. Howell, H. W. Brown, P. Pope, G- Roberts, W. Morey, C. D. Collins, C. Drader, C. Smart, and L. Lovell and J. H. Boon (joint hon. secretaries). After a short discussion, it was resolved to amalgamate all the sports clubs operating under the auspices of the association for the purpose of obtaining a club house or suite of rooms, in which it is hoped to include a billiard room, reading room, card room and supper room, It was pointed out that the club would serve as a general meeting place for all committees controlling the various sports bodies, and -particularly as a place for blackboard lectures on football and for indoor practice in boxing and other forms of sport. The opinion was expressed that absolute prohibition of alcoholic liquors should be one of the fundamental principles of the conduct of the club. The annual subscription was fixed at £l, and each committeeman was appointed to obtain at least fifteen members and to solicit donations from well-wishers of the school towards purchasing a billiard table and securing and fitting out the rooms. Mr. Papps was appointed to make inquiries about a billiard table, and Messrs. Smart, Boon and Lovell a committee to make enquiries regarding a suitable building to rent in the centre of the town. An immediate start is to be made with the work of securing rooms and collecting funds, and progress will be reported at a special meeting .of the executive on April 24. It was resolved to notify' old boys that gifts in the way of chairs and other furnishings will be appreciated, and to stage one or two public displays such as football matches as soon as the time is suitable, in order to gain funds. The only other business dealt with by the executive was the fixing of dates for the annual functions. Owing to the fact that an old boys’ football team will be going to Gisborne at Easter, it was decided to abandon the custom of the last few years and to hold the annual smoke concert and dinner on the evening of school sports day, about the beginning of November. The function will not be held at the school, but at rooms in town. The ball was fixed to take place on the evining of Monday, May 24, if suitable as far as the school holidays are concerned. It was resolved to reduce the subscriptions for both the ball and the dinner to a bare minimum in order to draw as many old boys to the functions as possible.