OHAUPO JUBILEE

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20888, 21 August 1939, Page 9

OHAUPO JUBILEE

“SEVENTY YEARS ON”

RECORD CROWD ATTENDS HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL FUNCTION In ideal spring weather, those responsible for promoting the Jubilee celebrations of the Ohaupo School had their expectations more than realised when the largest crowd ever seen in the Ohaupo district assembled on Saturday to renew old associations and revisit the scenes of their schooldays for a few hours. Several people had arrived before 10 a.m., the hour scheduled for the beginning of the function, and by 1.30 p.m. more than 12 00 men, women and children were congregated round the school buildings. Thanks to the efficient efforts of the local committee and a band of voluntary helpers, the proceedings ran on throughout the day without a hitch, and the general opinion of those present was one of satisfaction at having been able to attend one of the best organised jubilee functions ever held in the Waikato. Adequate Arrangements Tables were laid in the two biggest rooms of the school and tastefully decorated with spring flowers and the school colours, black, royal blue and silver. Continuous supplies of tea and light refreshments were available from 11 a.m. onwards, and the improvised buffet was kept busy until the late afternoon. A public address system kept all present informed of the course of events, and besides a picnic and sports gathering for the children, there were exhibitions ot trick cycling on the school tennis courts, and the Te Awamutu Band was in attendance during the afternoon. The large number of motor vehicles might have constituted a parking problem but for the capable efforts of two officials from the Transport Department. Old Photographs A feature of the day’s festivities was a display of old photographs fully annotated and tastefully arranged in one of the classrooms in the main building. Lent by private owners, the photographs, some ol' them nearly as old as the school itself, provided almost a continuous pictorial record of pupils from the earliest times. In the same room biographical sketches, with photographs of those ex-pupils who had been decorated during the Great War, were displayed to the best advantage. These included details of the military and civil careers of Sergeant-Major J. G. Grant, V.G., who was present at the gathering, the late Malcolm McGregor, M.G., D.F.C. (with bar), the late Major J. N. Baxter, M.C., and Private George Bartels, M.M. Original Pupils Of the fourteen pupils who at-, tended the first school in 1869, six are still living and of these six four were present —Mr Andrew Karl and Mr Julius Bukowsky, of Ohaupo, Mr Arthur Kusobs, of Auckland, and Mrs E. Haeusler (nee Emily Krippner), ol Auckland, who was also the flrst assistant mistress at the school in the ’Bo’s. Apologies for absence'were received from the other two firs pupils, Mr Rudolph Krippner of Adelaide, and Mrs G. Mansfield (nee Carrie Heerdegen), of Rotorua. Several members of the present and past school committees attended, the oldest betas Mr H. J. Greenslade of Hamilton, who while living at Ohaupo, was Liberal Member of Parliament for the Waikato electorate from 1900 to 1911 and chairman of the Ohaupo School Committee in 1903. The morning was devoted to children’s sports and informal meetings of old pupils, many of whom had not seen one another for years, the remark, “Do you remember?” being frequently overheard. The more formal part of the day’s activities began with the ringing of the school bell by the school's first pupil, Mr Andrew Karl who carries his 78 years very wrell. Ex-pupils were marshalled in rows according to the decade in which they had attended the school. Speakers’ Addresses In opening the proceedings Mr George Tarr, chairman of the school committee welcomed the visitors and paid a tribute to the present headmaster, Mr Allen Fletcher. “Unfortunately the secretary of the school committee, Mr Robert Boyd,, lias been laid up as the result of an accident some weeks ago and has only just rejoined us. Thus the bulk of the work has fallen on Mr Fletcher and without his able assistance and that of Mrs Fletcher this large gathering would not have been passible,” he said. Mr Tarr read a number of apologies for unavoidable absence, including messages from the Minister of Education, the Hon. Peter Fraser, the M.P. for Waikato, Mr W. S. Goosman, and others. Distinguished Soldiers Mr Tarr said that the school had a record of which it could be justifiably proud, particularly in its war record, for two of its ex-pupils had gained the highest awards in the Army and Air Force respectively for gallant conduct on active service. "1 refer to Sergeant-Major Grant, who won the Victoria Cross, and SquadronLeader McGregor, who won the Distinguished Flying Cross with Bar," said Mr Tarr amid applause. He congratulated the four original pupils present and expressed the wish that they would be spared for many years vet." He also recorded his pleasure at the presence of Mr J. Primrose, of the Auckland Education Board, who was on the platform with Sergeant-Major Grant. Tribute By Mr Primrose Mr Primrose began by apologising for the absence of two other members of the Auckland Education Board. Messrs W. I. Bowyer and Campbell, both of whom regretted their inability to be present. He- congratulated the large gathering, which was a tribute to the lively interest of the people in the welfare of their own district. ••I should like to pay a tribute not only to the ex-pupils of ohaupo School but also to their fathers and mothers, those pioneers who began this school and to whom its opening must have been a red-letter day, quite as important to them as this is to us," he said. Mr Primrose also eulogised the members of the various school committees both past and present for their self-sacrifice in the cause of education. "I knew Ohaupo in days gone by and can remember driving livestock iong distances in the mud and rain

when this was the principal saleyard centre in the province. I congratulate the school and the district on its wonderful progress since then,” concluded Mr Primrose. “A Wonderful Thrill” Speakinig on behalf of the old pupils, Mr E. \Y. Sage thanked the organisers of the gathering for “a wonderful thrill which they were all sharing.” lie would like to pay a tribute to those many old pupils who could not be present but had sent in not only their good wishes but also financial contributions. “This is what they think of their old school,” said Mr Sage, holding up a large pile of correspondence, extracts from which he read aloud. The response to the organisers' appeal had come in from as far away as New Guinea as well as from all parts of the Dominion. Mr Grant’s Eulogy Mr J. G. Grant, V.C., who was loudly applauded when he rose to speak, expressed his pleasure at renewing old acquaintanceships and said his visit was only the second since he had left the school in 1902. He assured his hearers that because he had won the Victoria Cross he was in no wise different from themselves. “I want to say that those men who stayed at home and kept the farms and industries going so that the troops could be supplied with food and other essentials were every bit as important as those who, like me, went overseas. in Ohaupo here, which is a food-producing centre, essential national work was carried on and I honour the local people for it as they have honoured me,” he said, and concluded with a feeling reference to the record of the late SquadronLeader McGregor. Mr Andrew Karl, speaking as the first pupil of the school, expressed surprise and gratification at the large attendance on the first fine day after so much bad weather. He thanked the committee for their satisfactory arrangements. First Pupil Teacher Mrs E. Haeusler, another original student and the first pupil teacher in Ohaupo, paid a tribute to Mrs Kusabs, who had been the first teacher at the school and had brought her young children, mere infants, to school with her every day that the work might not be interrupted. “I remember that, during the Maori Wars, the women and children had to be collected and taken to Krippner’s house every night while the men kept loaded firearms by them ail the time. Schoolbooks were scarce and I knew my first one off my heart before i got my second,” she said. She concluded with her personal thanks to the committee for their unsparing efforts to make the function the success it undoubtedly was. Roll Call and Birthday Cake The roll of all those ex-pupils who were present was then called, a procedure which took several minutes, well-known local characters being loudly applauded. The present pupils, under the baton of the headmaster, gave a pleasing rendering of the song, "Forty Years un,” and followed it up by displays of folk dancing. The large birthday cake, two-tiered and some two feet in diameter, was then produced and Mrs M. O’Connor (nee Annie Empen), who had attended the school in its second year, lit the 70 candles after which, amid applause, Mrs Haeusler cut the cake, to the strains of “A Happy Birthday To You,” followed by “Auld Lang Syne.” Afternoon tea and the photographing of ex-pupils in their respective decades concluded the formal activities in the daytime, though many of those present lingered on until sunset obviously loth to bring their collective enjoyment to an end. The celebrations were continued in the evening at a dance held in the Ohaupo llall, which was so largely attended that not more than half the floor space was available for the dancers. Altogether Uhaupo’s School .Jubilee was an outstanding success.