Principal of Te Aute College Retires This Year

Te Ao Hou, December 1965, Page 41

Principal of Te Aute College Retires This Year The Principal of Te Aute College, Mr R. G. Webb M.A., Dip.Ed., is to retire at the end of this year. Mr Webb has been principal of the college since 1951. Before this he taught for many years at Rotorua High School. He has a distinguished record of service in World War II, being made commander of the 24th Battalion in 1942. Subsequently he spent three years as a prisoner of war in Germany. For many years Mr Webb was active in sporting administration, and he has also given much service to the Returned Servicemen's Association. Full and Rewarding Years Mr Webb's 14 years at Te Aute have, he says, been ‘very full and rewarding ones.’ ‘I see Maoris going into wider fields today and there is a growing awareness among them of the importance of education,’ he says. ‘If we are ever going to have anything in the nature of a so-called colour bar in New Zealand it won't be based on colour but on social and economic grounds. It will be based on the principle that the young Maori has not been prepared to fit himself for the better classes of occupations and so has committed himself to a second class existence.’ About five years ago the roll of Te Aute College had dropped to 74 pupils, and the future of this historic school seemed uncertain. But the tide has now turned and this year the roll has reached 115. This includes 17 Pakeha pupils.