STUDENTS FAREWELLED

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21144, 20 June 1940, Page 10

STUDENTS FAREWELLED

CEREMONY AT RUAKURA CERTIFICATES PRESENTED The officials and instructors at the Ruakura Farm of Instruction yesterday gave a farewell to the students at the college, as the regular training of students in agriculture is to be suspended at the farm. The hall was decorated with yellow and black streamers for the ceremony. The farm manager, Mr T. E. Rodda, who presided, said he regretted the college was closing, as he thought the school was well worth while. He referred to the keenness of the majority of the students who had received tuition at the school, many of whom now owned farms of their own. These men, he said, admitted that their success as farmers was due to the excellent tuition they received at Ruakura. He also remarked that since the school was opened in 1923, 473 students had passed through, and of this number 135 had received certificates. Presentations Made The presentation of certificates was made to the following successful students: Messrs W. P. Barugh, S. R. Crockett, A. C. Crombie, J. A. Goggin, J. T. Maxwell, P. McGinty, L. T. Stewart, F. Turner and J. P. Wright. The Shell Prize, a medal valued at £6 10s, and also a cash donation, which is awarded to the pupil who gains the highest marks, was presented to Mr S. R. Crockett. Cash donations were also made to the second and third pupils, Messrs J. T. Maxwell and W. P. Barugh. The name of the pupil who gains the highest marks in practical work is each year placed on a shield. This year’s successful student was J. T. Maxwell. Continue Farming Mr P. W. Smallfield, superintendent of the Ruakura Animal Research Station, who has been associated with the college since its inception, delivered an address in which he endorsed Mr Rodda’s remarks about the students’ keenness, and urged them to continue with farming. Mr Smallfield wished the students the best of luck for the future. The president of the Students’ Association briefly replied, thanking the instructors and staff.