ALBURY SCHOOL

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19273, 29 August 1932, Page 11

ALBURY SCHOOL

JUBILEE CELEBRATION COMMENCED LARGE GATHERING ON SATURDAY Fifty years of educational progress were fittingly commemorated at Albury on Saturday, when celebrations in connection with the jubilee of the School were commenced. Seldom has such an enthusiastic gathering assembled in the school grounds, which were beflagged and decorated to welcome about 500 ex-pupils and residents. The weather was beautifully fine in the morning, but towards afternoon a gusty nor’-wester made its presence felt. Expupils were present from as far away as Auckland and Invercargill, and many old 'friendships were renewed, and many new ones formed. Letters and telegrams of congratulation were received from many parts of the Dominion. For some weeks past an enthusiastic Jubilee Committee, headed by Mr P. Kidd (chairman), Miss D. Austin (secretary), and Mr R. Irving • treasurer), had been working hard to make the event a success, and it was generally agreed on Saturday that their objective had been gained. Mr Kidd directed proceedings throughout the day, ably assisted by the headmaster (Mr D. Dick) and members of the Jubilee Committee. Points in School’s History. On August 15th. 1881, a public meeting was held in the old stone hotel, then occupied by Mr Donalcf McLeod, when the first Albury School Commitee was constituted. The Committee consisted of Messrs J. S. Rutherford (chairman), S. Dixon. A. Smith, E. Richardson, R. Rutherford, F. Batchelor, and D. McLeod. As an outcome of this meeting, representation was made to the South Canterbury Education Board in regard to the erection of a school, and a one-roomed building was ready for occupation in the following year. Mr J. S. Rutherford called applications for a teacher at a salary of £IOO per annum, and from a number, the Committee selected Mr Charles I. Cook, and failing his acceptance, Mr John Maddison. The latter was subsequently appointed, Mr Cook having accepted a position at Rakaia. The School was opened on September 10th, 1882, with a roll of 15. Head teachers at the school after Mr Maddison were Mr Hamilton (1885-87). Mr A. Lindsay (1902-19), Miss Mullay, and the present headmaster (Mr David Dick, who has as assistantmistress Miss M. Fordyce. The present roll is 40, and at one time before other settlements sprung up at Mt. Nessing, Chamberlain, Cricklewood. Mona Vale and Te Ngawai, it reached as high as 120. Many residents gave faithful service on the Committee, the late Mr James Austin being a Committeeman for 18 years, acting as chairman for 11 years. The present Committee comprises: Messrs H. Liiscombe (chairman), W,. G. Fraser, J. Barton, F. Adams and I. H. Smith. Official Opening CeremonyThe chairman expressed gratification at seeing such a large gathering. There were some, he said, who had criticised their action in holding, a jubilee during the present hard times, but in his opinion there was a right and a wrong way of doing things, and the Albury people had chosen the right way. (Applause.) They had talked too much about the slump, and the Jubilee Committee hoped that ex-pupils and residents, by entering into the , jubilee with unbounded enthusiasm. would forget all about the depressing times they were passing through, and by so doing for three days, he was confident that they would all benefit both mentally and bodily. It was indeed a great gathering at Albury, and he thanked them all for their whole-hearted support. He felt sure that the participants would enrich their storehouse of memories, and would feel glad at being able to take part in the functions. He thanked the visitors and the visiting speakers for the interest they had taken. Education Board’s Congratulations.

Mr G. W. Armitage, * member for the district on the Canterbury Education Board, apologised for the absence of the chairman of the Board (Mr Bignell) and Mr J. W. Preen, a Timaru member. He said he was honoured to represent the Board on this historic occasion, and was pleased to render any assistance possible. The Education Beard had asked him to congratulate the Albury School on attaining their 50th birthday, and to express the wish that the School might hav£ another 50 years of progress and good work. He commended the Jubilee Committee on the time and thought they had given to the organisation of the function. Their work had been a labour of love, and the speaker felt sure that they would be amply rewarded by the pleasures they had given to so many people. Mr Armitage said that in searching the records of the Board he had found only a few references to the very early history of the Albury School. In the report of the South Canterbury Education Board for the year ended 1881. it was stated that a new school district had been proclaimed at Albury, but the residents were compelled to wait for another year, as no temporary buildings of any kind could be obtained. The Board said that the annual grant given by the Government for the erection of new school buildings was totally inadequate. Mr Burnett: “Without money.” Mr Armitage: “I believe there is an old proverb, ‘without money and without sense.’” (Laughter.) Continuing, he said that the complaint made fifty years ago was just as true to-day as it was then. The Board was at its wits' end to know how to keep its buildings in decent order and repair. They all knew that there must be economy, but it was false economy to allow buildings to deteriorate. The Board would like to see more economy in the overgrown Department of Education in Wellington. which was always striving to centralise everything into its own hands and reduce the power of the Boards and School Committees. The people of Albury 50 years ago were selfreliant and not to be daunted. Thev subscribed liberally to help the Board, and in 1882, the records showed, the School had been opened and the Board had spent £267 0s 6d on the building. Mr J. Madison was Albury’s first teacher at the princely remuneration of £l3O per annum. The average attendance was 32. whilst Fairlie Creek (as it was then called) had oply 35 puoils. Mr Talbot: “That was before we had the railway.” (Laughter.) Mr Armitage said he was glad to see so many of the old pupils who had journeyed long distances to pay honour to their old School, or as it was aptly expressed in Latin. “Kind Mother," “Little did the early pupils of this school dream in their innocence that they would live to see the tonsy-turvy world they had to-day, with its crushing burden of taxation, its heart-break-ing unemployment and its abnormally low prices for produce," said Mr Armitage. “It seems to me more than ever

imperative that the present generation should be less academically and more soundly educated —they should k*s imbued with the ideal of service, sacrifice. toleration and unselfishness.” • Applause.) The speaker added that he hoped that the celebrations would be profitable and pleasant, that friendships would be strengthened and new ones formed, and that in the years to come their lives would be brighter and happier through the pleasant recollections they had of the jubilee functions Tribute to Pioneers. Mr J. Bitchener. M.P. for the district. was introduced by the chairman, who said that a number of people still thought that Mr Burnett was their Member. Mr Burnett, however, had been pitched out of the Mackenzie, and was now on the plains amongst the “cows and cockies.” (Laughter.) Mr Bitchener said he was proud to be associated with the jubilee functions. and extended his congratulations to the people of Albury. He complimented the Jubilee Committee on the enthusiasm they had shown. He recalled the selection of South Canterbury schools in the early days, when a great deal had been done for education by the Rev. George Barclay, and said that they owed a great debt of gratiture to the pioneers for the pluck and initiative they had shown in blazing the educational trail, and for the solid foundations they had set for the succeeding generation. Their sacrifices had been an inspiration. Children had trudged miles to the different schools, and had taken full advantage of their learning. Now in South Canterbury they had some of the best schools in the Dominion, and in this directior the pioneers of the Albury district hac’ played their part nobly. He hoped that God’s richest blessing would descend on the people of Albury, and that they would be able to carry out the high traditions which had been established in the district during the last fifty years. It had often been wondered if the boys and girls of today took the best advantage of their heritage. Personally, he hoped that they would. The chairman had said that they should forget the depression. The bad times, however, were an aftermath of the good, and he felt confident that they would be the means of testing the mettle of the people. and would have a tendency to make them better men and women. Former Headmaster Speaks. Mr A. Lindsay, of Timaru. who was for many years headmaster of the Albury School, expressed pleasure at the opportunity of participating in the jubilee. It was nearly thirty years since he came to Albury, and during that time there had been many changes, chief amongst which was the disappearance of many' men and women, who were very diligent workers in the interests of the School and all its associations. To them, one owed a great deal, and as Mr Bitchener had said, they did not. fie thought, fully realise the debt they owed to the pioneers of Albury and other districts. The district had one of the finest memorials New Zealand possessed to devotion and filial piety, in the church at Cave. He knew of no finer memorial to the pioneers. Their memory -would never fade. “They lived by deeds, not words,” continued Mr Lindsay, “and they were linked with the Divine in their daily conversations and deeds, and every man’s search was to vaster issues. It may be said of them that not only in solitary resting places do their remains lie, for there is not a home in this widely-scattered district in which some memento of their work is not visible, and the influence of their lives is not apparent. These men and women passed down the stages of time, but their memories are moored in the safe harbour of eternity,” he said. Surely, continued Mr Lindsay, it was the desire of the pioneers that the present generation should carry on as they had done, and it was their duty to do so. At present they were facing a crisis in their career which the pioneers had to tackle. “They had to face even more difficulties than you.” he said, “and if you fail to do the duty expected, your loss will not be lessened territory and the like, but it shall be in the arraigning eyes of the unborn generation of New Zealand.” They should tackle the job in front of them with a spirit of enthusiasm and energy, extend their religious and educational system throughout civil life, and thus help the great Empire over which “the sun his successive journeys run.” Confidence In New Zealand. Introducing Mr T. D. Burnett (M.P. for Temuka), the chairman said that as their Member for many years Mr Burnett was well-known to them. Perhaps, when there was another reshuffle of boundaries, Mr Burnett would be re-instated as “Monarch of the Mountains and the Misty Gorges.” “You apparently have a lot to be thankful for.” said Mr Burnett, in addressing the gathering. “You are all well dressed and w'ell fed, whether at the cost of the mortgagee, Coalition Government, or the Labour Party. I 1 don’t know." The*chairman, he said, had set a high standard in his opening speech, and he desired to congratulate Mr Lindsay on k his fine remarks. The Government had suddeflly displayed interest in the North Island fowls, as compared with Canterbury and South Canterbury wheat-growers. The former were apparently over-worked, and the latter “over-droughted.” However, when Mr Bitchener and he reached Wellington, they would have a serious heart-to-heart talk with Mr George 1 Forbes on the matter.

Fifty years, said Mr Burnett, took them back to a changed state as compared with present times. New Zealand had been severely tested in the Great War, and very largely due to good parents and good teachers, they had come through with great credit. Now there was another test, and the mettle of the pastures would be seen in how the Dominion came through this depression. If, however, they were true to their parents and such masters as Mi- Alfex Lindsay and Mr D. Dick, the people of Albury would be a credit to the Dominion and to the Empire. Mr Burnett went on to speak of the early history of the district, stating that it reeked wih romance. The next fifty years, he was sure, would see many changes, but considering the stock they had sprung from he was confident that they would respond to hard conditions and that the whole of New Zealand would come through the fire of adversity. a finer, greater and better race. In this direction the school must play a prominent part. Mr Burnett wished the school every success in the next fifty years, and hoped that it would accomplish even greater things than in the past. Once Premier School. Referred to by the chairman as the local Prime Minister, and a man who had done as much as anyone in the interets of education in South Canterbury. Mr C. J. Talbot expressed the ouinion that haopiness should be the predominant note in any school jubilee. At one tuns Alburv had been the premier school in the county, but this honour now fell to Fairlie. and perhaps this was onlv right. As loyal Mackenzie neonle ho asked the best support for the Fairlie School. On behalf of all the schools in the district he thanked the Canterbury Education Board who had real’;’ made education a live thing in South Canterbury. In paying a tribute to the service of the pioneers. Mr Talbot said that the present generation had to build on top of what had been accomplished and finalise the good work that had been done. He felt that

the boys and girls coming on were just as capable, and just as keen to give the service that their forebears had given. Their parents and , grandparents had thought that they were going to the dogs, and although at present they had their characteristics, there was an underlying spirit, which had always been a feature of the grit and determination of the British race throughout history. Mr Talbot said that they all regretted that many of the old hands 1 were not present with them that day.' foremost amongst those who had passed o the Great Beyond being MrJ. S. Rutherford, a former chairman cf the South Canterbury Education Board, and Mr J. G. Gow, whom many of them would remember. As chairman of the county, Mr Talbot congratulated the Jubilee Committee on the great amount of work which had been accomplished in regard to the functions. Roll Call. The headmaster (Mr David Dick) then called the following roll of the pupils present on opening day: Janet Irving. Richard Irving, Robert Adamson, Marion Irving, Agnes Irving, William Adamson, Alice Batchelor, Charles Batchelor, Frederick Batchelor, Adam Adamson. Henry Batchelor, Jessie Couper, William Couper, Maggie McLean, Mary McLean. Robert McLean, Frank Smith, Winnie Smith. Raymond Smith. Ruth’ Smith, Harriet Thorn. James Thorn, May Dickson, and Margaret Dickson. “Present, sir.” was acknowledged by Janet Irving. Alice Batchelor, Charles Batchelor. Frank Smith. Winnie Smith, and Raymond Smith. Cheers were then heartily given for

the School, the speakers and for Mr Lindsay. Jubilee Cake Cut, The three-tiered jubilee cake, which carried 50 small blue candles, was a ■ source of much admiration. An interesting ceremony was the lighting of ten candles by a representative of each decade as follows: First decade. Mrs I. H. Smith; second. Miss H. Couper; |third, Miss G. O'Reilly; fourth, Miss M. i Besley; fifth. Miss S. Ross. | Mrs J. Barrett (nee Janet Irving), j the oldest ex-pupil, then cut the cake, this performance being greeted with prolonged cheering. The gathering proceeded to lunch in two sections, the arrangements being all that could be desired. Decade photographs were taken in the afternoon, also one of the whole gathering. Tree Planting Ceremony. An interested gathering witnessed the planting of two oaks as a commemoration of the jubilee. The chairman said that Miss D. Austin had been selected to plant the tree on behalf of girl ex-pupils, and it was fitting that she had been honoured. in view of the tremendous amount of work she had accomplished as secretary of the Jubilee Committee. Mr Lindsay, an ex-master had been appointed to plant the boys’ tree, and this also was a very happy choice. Cheers were given for Miss Austin and Mr Lindsay. On behalf of the School Mr Dick ; accepted the trees, and assured the gathering that the children would 1 always treasure them. Cheers were then given for Mr Dick

* Social Function. The events of the day were capped off by an enjoyable social evening, at which Mr Kidd presided. Individual items were given, the i singing of the present school children being a feature. Community singing was indulged in, and dancing was carried out in between the items, and several interesting reminiscent speeches by past pupils. The Committee excelled in the decoration of the hall. Yesterday’s Service. Yesterday afternoon a procession was held from the School to the war memorial, where a wreath was deposited. Two minutes' silence were observed and the "Last Post" was sounded. Later a service was conducted in the hall, by the Rev. J. Mann and the Rev. C. C. Oldham, a large congregation being present The prayers were led by Mr Mann, the scriptural reading and the address being given by Mr Oldham. The text for the address was taken from Psalm 103. verse 4. Appropriate hymns were sun' r’ ring the service.