"VESTIGIA NULLA RETRORSUM."

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXVI, Issue 13353, 18 April 1911, Page 5

"VESTIGIA NULLA RETRORSUM."

THE NEW WANGANUI COLLEGE. OFFICIALLY OPENED TO-DAY. A Sketch of the School’s History. Beginning in a very humble way indeed, in what was then an isolated and obscure village, in a land torn by rebellion and. troubled by constant alarms of war, it was not surprising that the first few years of the history of the Wanganui Collegiate School should have nothing but a modest record to show. Its now splendid endowment was then of little benefit to it owing to lack of population to utilise it, and the same reason militated against the growth of the school itself. But all things must have a beginning, and all things must make growth. Its early vicissitudes past, the school never looked, back, and now it has a reputation that is a national one, and might almost be called Australasian. The history of the school down to-day may be broadly divided into three eras. Its genesis was in 1852, when the then Governor, Sir George Grey, granted a piece of land as an endowment fur a school at Wanganui, leaving it in charge of Bishop Selwyn. The endowment consisted of 250 acres, but anyone viewing it in its then state might almost have wondered whether its gift were not a joke. It was mostly swamp, whose chief growth was raupo and toi-toi. What was not swamp was sandhill. But half a century’s drainage, and stocking, and cultivation, have effected a wonderful change. The soil is now fixed, grazing paddocks have in large part given’' way to residential sections, houses nave been and are being built in all directions over it, and as a necessary consequence the revenue is steadily and rapidly increasing. When Bishop Selwyn left New Zealand he conveyed the land to the General Synod of the Anglican Church in trust. As is well known, doubt exists in the minds of very many as to whether the original intention of the trust has been adhered to, but as that is a matter outside the scope of to-day’s memorable occasion it is unnecessary to further remark upon it. In 1854 the first school was opened under the headmastership of the Rev. C. H. S. Nicholls, the school building and . the headmaster’s house being erected out of funds provided by the church. In 1858 a fir€ destroyed them, but they were soon re-built, the church again providing the funds. . Mr Nicholls directed the school for 13 years, and in 1865 was succeeded by Mr Godwin, a man of remarkable scholarship, who remained at the helm till 1877, a period of 12 years. Mr 'Godwin was succeeded by Mr (afterwards Dr.) -O. R. Saunders, a Cambridge man. 'ln addition to his scholarly ability, Dr.- Saunders was a keen athlete, and was very successful in imparting his love of manly exercises to the boys under him. To him belongs the credit of laying the foundation of that athletic efficiency which has ever since distinguished the school. Dr. Saunders retired in 1882, which date may be said to close the first epoch in the school’s history. The selection of a successor was a matter which caused considerable thought to the trustees, who were at that time presided over by the Right Rev. Dr. Hadfleld, the then Bishop of Wellington. It was recognised that the school was entering upon a new phase in its development, and the question was to find a man who would be equal to the task of launching it , upon the second bra. The Choice of the trustees fell upon the Rev. B. W. Harvey, vicar of St. Paul’s, Wellington, also a graduate of Cambridge, upon whom, three years later, the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred by the Archbishop of Canterbury, at the unanimous request of all the Anglican bishops of New Zealand, in recognition of the magnificent work he had done in building up the school. Dr. Harvey waa a scholar of' wonderful parts. He was, so to speak, positively saturated with the classics, and knew them by heart. His old boys relate that, no matter what subject the class he was taking was npou, whether any book of Caesar or Horace, whether Virgil's Aencio, or even Homer’s Iliad, fie never used a book; yet wrong reading or. faulty construing was corrected at once. His prowess in mathematics was equally great; he was positively brilliant in all branches of the sciences. He had a thorough working acquaintance with modern science, and was a perfect master of English language and literature. But he not only believed in developing a sound mind; a sound body was equally his aim. School cricket and football were greatly advanced, by him. Under hia regime the school Cadet corps was .started. He built the school gymnasium and the school workshop, and gave a start to school tennis. '■

In addition to all this. Dr. Harvey had a quite remarkable power of organisation and administration', and a keen insight into the possibilities of the future. He saw clearly what was ahead of the school if the situation were only gripped and held. And he was the man to do it. He found the school attended by a bare 40 boys, and with only one schoolroom to put them in. Funds for extension were scarce; he advanced enough from his own means to supplement what the trustees could provide. Additional classrooms and boarding accommodation were built, and in a few months the capacity of the school was trebled. Under the attraction of Dr. Harvey’s mana the roll increased rapidly, and five years after he took over the headmastership it contained the names of some 120 boys, of whom half were boarders from all parts of the North Island, while not a few were from the South.

Dr Harvey had set his heart upon a school chapel, and when he set his heart on anything he P-enerally realised his ambition. Funds were raised hy a bazaar and by other means, the pretty little church which has for so long been such a conspicuous feature of the college buildings was built, and in it the daily services, which had hitherto been held in the big schoolroom, were thereafter held. The mere work of directing the school would have been quite enough for .most men, but when one considers the amount of time, trouble, and anxiety entailed in the additional labour of development, extension, preparation for the future, and the daily conduct of the financial business of the school, it is not surprising that the reverend doctor’s health gave way under his strenuous exertions. Towards the end of 1887 he broke down, and on January 26, 1888, he passed away, in practically the prime of his life. Measured by years, his term was not a long one. But it was full of fruits, and measured by results it is well within the mark to say that its influence will be unceasing. He "made" the college; it was during his term that it ceased to be called the Wanganui “Endowed" School, and became known a# the Wanganui Collegiate School; under him it advanced at a bound to a foremost position among the secondary schools of New Zealand; and it is no exaggeration to. say that, but for Dr Haryey*s noble work, his ability, energy, businesslike capacity, and foresight, Wanganui might not to-day possess,, l&ft.splendid educational institution >t is so proud of. . Naturally the matter of appointing a man to adequately, continue Dr Harvey’s strong grasp of the helm’ was 'one which gave the trustees the gravest concern. An

unfortunate choice would have wrecked everything, and a man of exceptional attainments had to be found. Fortunately, he was near at hand. Mr Walter Empson. an Oxford man, was appointed, and no better choice could have been made. For four years he had been-Dr Harvey’s first lieutenant, Hfe had been identified with the second era of the school’s history almost from its start, knew what was wanted to be done, and knew the way to do it. During the 21' years, from 1886 to 1909, that he guided the destinies of the school, it never looked back. Believed to a great extent, but by now means wholly so, of the anxieties of his predecessor in the providing of material wings, 'he was able to turn his atention to internal organisation. He set his heart on creating in a New Zealand school a, replica of that atmosphere and spirit which distinguishes the great public schools of England. It might ‘ be considered to savour of flattery to compare Winter Empsn with Arnold of Rugby, but he aimed at Arnold’s objective, used much the same methods as that great headmaster, and achieved a success that was very striking in awakening that high sense of personal honour which is the finest ornament any man can have. He put his boys on their honour, and but rarely punished for a breach of faith; he let that carry its own punishment. A boy might think, and some did think’, that that gave an easv way of escaping the pentUty of wrong-doing, and might err once, or twice, or even thrice. But the inevitable result was that he felt more ashamed of himself each time, and generally ended by “going straight,” which meant a far greater effect on future conduct and character than any immediate punishment could ever have. Mr Empson took no single Home school as a model to be slavishly imitated; he grafted the best of each into the life of the Wanganui College. To say that he achieved a perfect success would not be true, 'for to do that is given to no man. But he succeeded to a very great degree. The Eton boy’s love of the school, his sense of honour, and scorn of what is low and mean; the manly robustness and rigid moral fibre of Loretto; the democratic, vigorous honesty and general “straightness” of Rugby; the sound and simple directness and sincerity which actuates Winchester—all these, and all that was best of English school life, he strove to impress on his boys. One striking, but rare, gift, he had; that of attracting those under him to himself, and. bv his own magnetism, imbuing them with that wholesome spirit’ by which he also was actuated. The result was that he was invariably held by his boys in an affectionate esteem whose influence prompted them to follow his example, not only during their school life, but after.

Mr Empson’s retirement (wo years ago may oe said to close the wuind chapter m the school’s history. Fui some time it had been recognised that changes were necessary if efficiency of administration were to. bo maintained. The school roll had growir to 200, and it was becoming impossible to take more because of insufficiency of accommodation. Plainly more was wanted, hut the site of the school did not lend itself to an extension <if the buildings, and it was evident that an entirely new establishment would have to be provided. Then, again. 160 of these 200 boys were boarders, and the providing of their material comfort and daily welfare meant such unremitting work as to seriously encroach upon the time the headmaster required to devote to their education. Work that could previously be done by one man had outgrown one man’s - strength, and it became natent that, if the headmaster and the housemasters were to give the requisite time to educational and moral training, it would be necessary to relieve them of the task of seeing to tjie bov’s creature comfort as well. Pur- 4 thcr, the board' of trustees had undergone considerable changes. Local members were appointed, and the old boys were represented, while the headquarters of the Board were removed from Wellington to Wanganui. Naturally the local members had a keener interest in matters pertaining to the school than could reasonably be expected of 9usy professional and business men in Wellington. The : endowment was increasing in value, and wanted more vigorous and business-like management. In short, the old order had served its purpose. It had served it well in its day and generation, but new times were upon the school, and a new order of things had to be instituted.

It was j fortunate that, at such a time, when new buildings haid to be provided, a new policy instituted in the financial side of the trustees’ operations, and a new headmaster chosen, the board of trustees should have as chairman a man of exceptional business ability and high technical skill like Mr A. O. Bignell, who has been the* heart and soul of the' new scheme which came to fruition to-day.' The business capacity and professional attainments of Messrs T. Allison and €l. Marshall, who are associated with Mr Bigueil on the executive served to make up a combination which could hardly do anything else but, achieve good results, and they now have their-reward in seeing the school start out upon the third era of Its career equipped as no other school in New Zealand or Australia is at the present time. They did not do all the work) of course; the other members of the Board—the Bishop of Wellington, and Messrs W. F. Jacob and E. L. Levin—were equally keen and interested, but the three men first named, the local executive, did the--lion's share, and therefore ai*e justly entitled to the greatest ctcdit. The first thing to do was to appoint a new headmaster, and the Rev. J.. LI. Dove was chosen. Sometime scholar of Cambridge, he had spent several strenuous years in New Zealand as a country clergyman, including a term in the fiunterville district, near Wanganui. Returning to England some seven or eight years ago, Mr Dove became headmaster of Denstone College, Staffordshire, and then second in command of Durham School. It was felt that his New Zealand experience, together with his recent and first-hand knowledge of English public school life, marked him out as a fitting man to succeed Mr Empson. He took up his charge about two years ago, and how well he has acquitted himself since, both ps admirable headmaster and worthy citisen, 'is so well known that it need be no further remarked upon. Sulli, ■ it to say that Mr Dove .has demonstrated vharly that the school is safe in his h-ij.-iiu;.' Before proceeding to ’build the college, the very necessary process of ‘‘raising thq wind” had first to be gone through. Permission was obtained from the Supreme Court to mortgage tho endowment, on which the A.M.P. advanced- the sum of £45,000. The site was then prepared, and finally, at Easter, 1909, two years -ago, the foundation-stone of the new college was laid by Lord Flunket, then Governor of New Zealand.

The contract for the erection of the buildings was let to Mr N. Meuli, of Wanganui, a builder, noted for doing thorough, conscientious, and faithful work, and how well he has'sustained his reputation is everywhere in evidence in the magnificent range of buildings which, in a few days' time, he will hand over* to the trustees. The lay-out of these buildings has been more than onoe described in our columns, and need not be repeated. In their arrangement the quadrangle system, hitherto so characteristic of great public schools, has been abandoned, and the new college has been arranged on a combination oNthe hostel and separate boardinghouse systems. The school block is complete in itself, and will serve purely educational purposes and nothing else. When

work k oyer lor the lay the boye mil retire to their boardinghouses—three w number, and e fourth to be built. ' The most striking deprtnre from eld custom lies in the establishment ei a eeparate hostel, combining servants’ quarters, culinary offices, and dining hall. Xhie block is in charge of a capable steward, appointed by the trustees, who will taka over the entire responsibility of the providoring, which hitherto the head and hows masters have bad to undertake in addition to their other duties.

In the drawing up of these plana a tremendous amount of trouble and thought had to be expended. Every detail waa carefully considered by the trustees, aided by the headmaster and the architects, Messrs Atkins hud Bacon, of Wellington. No one who has not seen the plans can conceive of the immensity of the labours which Messrs Atkins and Bacon, and Mr A. F. Roberts, who watched their interests in Wanganui, have put themselves to. The amount of detail which had to be considered was prodigious, but so well did the architects do their work that, from the outset of building, everything proceeded witli perfect smoothness, part fitted to part with unfailing fidelity, and the result is a noble pile, “perfect in all its parts, and honourable to the build? l *-’’ With the official opening of the new college to-day by Lord Islington, the : present Governor of New Zealand, the * ' Wanganui Collegiate School has been launched upon the full tide of the third chapter of its history, of which the past two years may be considered the prologue. May its.progress be as steady and its success as striking in the future as in the past; may it continue to be. not only a seat of learning, but a place for tbs inculcation of clean and manly virtue; and may both school and scholars ever continue to abide by and act upon the school’s fine motto.

“VESTIGIA NULLA RETHORSUII!”