DUVAUCHELLE'S BAY.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 677, 9 January 1883, Page 2

DUVAUCHELLE'S BAY.

• The annual school treat and distribution , of prizes was held in this Bay on Thurs- ' day last. At about one o'clock the children were assembled in the school to , receive their prizes, the office of present - * ing the books being kindly undertaken by the Rev. Mr Stack. In his opening speech, " before handing over the awards, the rev. t gentlemen told them that he was exceedingly grieved to see such a bad report, especially in reference to the work of the upper standards. He wished to impress J upon them this fact, that let their teacher ) be even tho very best that could be got j for them, still the welfare of the school, and the progress ibey made in their studies, mainly depended upon themselves; they must work, and that hard, before they ~ could expect to be successful; they must ' not be like Ihe Maori, who was Astonished that he did not know his lesson after he I had had his lesson book under his pillow P a!l night. Tha cleverest man in the world could not attiin to excellence without . working hard for it, and so must they, i He sincerely hoped that they would strive to do better nexl year, and do their utmost to help, instead of hinder, the efforts of . their teacher to get them on. To ensure that they must work hard and attend regularly. Tne children were.then ranked I up in line outside, and marched into ■ sciiool in an orderly manner to take their seats fur tei. Grace was then said and ■ the fight commenced, in real earnest. ' Ne rly a hundred c-bildien went to work to . demolish the heaps ot good things set ' before them, and without donbt they i worked wonders in a very short time, giving the lady waiters a hard time of it for the short time it lasted. After ( the elders had also had their wants sup- ' plied, old and young adjourned to a .pad- . dock kindly lent by Mrs Shadbolt to hold ' their sports in. A more interesting and lively scene than that which presented " itself to the beholder could hardly be imagined. A large sprinkling of the fair sex were present. Look where you would, all was fun and jollity. In one end you would see a number of youths hard at cricket ; turn ng.iri, and there were Mrs Bryant and Mr Pawson busily distributing lollies nnd nuts to all around ; in another corner might be seen our now friend, the Rev. Mr Davidson, helping to amuse the youngsters with his Praxinoscope views and galvanic battery. The Rev. Mr Stack and his lady might also be seen going through the groups with their kindly and cheering words to each and all. As of yore also, wo noticed our kind friend Mrs Shadbolt mingling with old and young, ' and doing her best to make all enjoy themselves. Last, though not least, we noticed the members of the committee, headed by the Chairman (Mr Barwick) striving to keep the fun going. These gentlemen wisely considered that before entering into running contests for the toys the children should be allowed at least an hour's rest after tea. At the expiration of that time, however, they were called together, a large selection of toys were brought forward, and the fun commenced. The results were as follows :— Boys under 12, 50 yds. 8 started—lst Harry Barwick, 2nd W. Murphy, 3rd John Wardlo. '^f Girls under 12, 50 yds—lst Jane Pawson, 2nd Valentine Libeau, 3rd Elizabeth Corser. Boys under 10, 50 yds—lst John Shadbolt, 2nd John Mcintosh, 3rd Frederick Shadbolt. Boys under 7, 50 yds—lst W. Jonathan Shadbolt, 2nd H. Chapman, 3rd A. Shadbolt. Girls under 7—-Ist Alice Pawson, 2nd Elizabeth Barwick, 3rd Mary Murphy. Girls undor 15, handicapped, 75 yds— Ist Lenora Libeau, 2nd Margaret Barwick, ' 3rd Edith Shadbolt. All ages, girls, 75 yds—lst Nolly Paw- , son, 2nd Louisa Everitr, 3rd Alice Pawson. All ages, boys, 100 yds—lst -George L Piper, 2nd Frederick Libeau, 3rd Piper. 1 Girls under 14, 75 yds—lst Anne Paw- I son, 2nd Jano Pawson, 3rd Margaret Bar- * wick. Young Men's race', 175 yds. Prizes, 8s and 4s 6d—lst George Bryant, 2nd Robert Pettigrew. Through, this race a private one between John Piper and George M Bryant came off for the .same distance,™ George Bryant coming in the winner. ■ This lad runs well, and if he were to ■ practise would no doubt soon be able to m compete with the best runners in the ™ district. '■.*.■' The races being concluded, and milking, time having arrived, the Chairman addressed those present in a congratulatory

speech, heartily thanking all those who had given their services so willingly, and calling for three cheers for Mesdames Piper, Shadbolt, Libeau, Pettigrew, Bryant, and Pawson, Misses Shadbolt and Vogans for their arduous Jr.hor* at tho tea table : and decorating the schoolroom. A like compliment was paid to Mr Montgomery for his generous gift, of three guineas, and to the Rev. Mv Davidson, tho Rev. Mr Stack, and Mr Spmr for their kind assistance in the field. The call was heartilyresponded to, and will' three final cheers for the Chairman himself, the meeting dispersed, each one going to their respective homes, evidently well pleased with the manner in which ihey had spent their day. After milking was over, a huge number of lads and lasses met again in the school, danced all night till broad daylight, and went home io milk in the morning.