FOUNDING OF WAIMATAITAI SCHOOL.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18541, 11 April 1930, Page 6

FOUNDING OF WAIMATAITAI SCHOOL.

To the Editor of the *' Timaru Herald.” Sir, —I was recently shown a ‘‘Timaru Herald,” dated February sth, concerning the Jubilee of the Waimataitai School. As my name was mentioned concerning the matter, I though it would not be out of place if I had my say on the subject. I think I can fairly claim to be the founder of the school. I am not quite sure whether it was at the end of 1880 or the beginning of 1881 that I. with the assistance of Mr Herbert Hiskins (Mrs Luxmoore’s coachman), canvassed the district for signatures to a petition to the Education Board asking them for a school in our district. On presenting it I was very well received by the Board, but they very reluctantly turned us down as they had no money to build a school. The next year I again approached them with a petition, giving the names of all the children in the district, of school age, and the numbers of others to follow on. Before presenting it, I had an interview with some of the residents —I think it would be Messrs R. Bowie, J. Blaekmore and Thomas Pringle—and together we interviewed Mr Fonseca, who was the tenant in charge of school buildings recently vacated by the Rev. Mr Brown, a Church of England minister, who had used them as a boys’ school. (Mr Brown was the first Church of England minister in Geraldine.) Mr Fonseca we secured the offer of £he school at a satisfactory price. We thesj approached the Board with our petition, and offered if they w'ould grant us a school district with the usual privileges such as capitation, and that we would be prepared to pay the rent of the school. We were authorised to advertise a meeting of householders to elect a committee. I explained to the meeting how matters stood and called for nominations, with the result as stated in your paper. Messrs J. Lukey, R. Bowie, T. Pringle, J. Lewis, W. Hobbs, J. Blaekmore, and J. Barber were elected. We were very fortunate from the first in securing the services of Mr Walker as master and Miss Rowley as mistress. We also had a capital pupil teacher in Miss Donn. Everything went smoothly until the inspector came to examine the school, when he said that we had too many scholars and not enough room. Mr Bargefrede was never on the committee during my connection with the school. Mr Bowie was secretary and treasurer most of the time. Mr Bowie was chairman of the public meeting called to elect a committee, but was never chairman of the committee during my connection with the school. I held that position until Mr Woollcombe was elected to the committee. I still topped the poll, and was proposed as chairman, but declined, and proposed Mr Woollcombe, who was elected. I left the district shortly after, and gave in my resignation. Mr Woollcombe sent me a nice letter from the committee thanking me for past services. The committee that was elected at our first meeting of householders did all the business re financing the new school. The northern residents as mentioned in your report had nothing to do with it beyond the committee, who borrowed the money on their separate and collective promissory notes. We had a lot of wealthy landowners, magistrates, lawyers, etc., in our district, but our school was never benefited by them to the extent of one shilling. Your report says the committee had to deal with tenders and settle with the* contractor, architect, and so on. Well, nothing of the sort happened, as we had nothing to do with the building of the school, but only to find the money to pay for it. The building was the business of the Board. The title to the land in which the school was built was shown as lac. 2rds, 15per. purchased from Robert Heaton Rhodes and George Rhodes, July 9th, 1883. If the school was opened as shown in your report, by September, 1883, there was not much time lost over architects, contractors, etc. The only disagreement we had from start to finish was over the Sunday School question. The Church of England, Presbyterians, and Wesleyans all wanted the school for a Sunday School. We answered that if they could arrange a school open to all they could have it; but we would not give the school to any one church to the exclusion of all others. This caused a lot of feeling in the district with the result that we had a bumping house for the meeting of householders, but the only result was that Mr Hobbs was rejected and Mr Woollcombe was elected in his place.—l am, etc., J. LUKEY. 63 Salisbury Street, Christchurch, April 7, 1930. [The information given in the “Herald” of February sth, was accurate in every particular, and can be substantiated by reference to reports of the Board and the School Committee meetings of 1882 and 1883. Mr Lukey is correct in stating that he topped the poll at the second meeting of householders, and that he declined nomination for re-election as chairman. At that meeting Mr J. Bargfrede was fifth in the poll and was declared elected. Mr R. H. Bowie was elected chairman, on the motion of Messrs W. A. Hobbs and J. Lewis. Mr Woollcombe was not a member of the committee, and was not even a candidate. The temporary school was leased from Mr W. Rutherford. The statement that the committee had to deal with tenders and settle with the contractor was quite correct. The members of the committee who conducted the negotiations with the Board were Messrs Bowie and Lewis, who had to go back to report that the lowest tender exceeded the architect’s estimate by nearly £l5O. The terms on which the new school was built are set out in a resolution of the Board:—“That after the attainment of a suitable site, the services of the Board’s architect be granted for the preparation of a plan for the Waimataitai School, such plan to be submitted for the approval of the local Committee, the Committee to call for tenders and to see to the work being carried out, and to be responsible to the contractors for the payment of the cost as per their offer, the same to be refunded by the Board out of the building grant within two years from the completion of the building.” The new school was completed and opened within a few months, to be exact, on September 15th, 1883. The area of the site desired was stated to be 3* acres, and was offered to the Board by Ross and Sims.—Editor. “T.H.' J