RANGIORA HIGH SCHOOL.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20098, 29 November 1930, Page 4

RANGIORA HIGH SCHOOL.

FARM EXTENSION. OPENING BY GOVERNORGENERAL. Bangiora High School received its first visit from a Governor-General yesterdav, when Lord Bledisloe opened the extension to the school farm of 84 acres, which will be given over to practical instruction in agriculture. His Excellency could not have scon the school under better conditions for the weather was beautiful, and the pastures and crops looked thoir best beneath the summer sun. As Lord Bledisloo stepped from his car at eleven o'clock, the Guard of Honour, provided by the School cadets, came to the ''Present,'' his Excellency taking the Faluto while the girl students sang the National Anthem. He was then welcomed by Mr C. I. Jennings, chairman of the High School Bo £ r d, and by the Principal, Mr J. E. Straehan. Ciuurman's "Welcome. '• We are honoured to-day by y ol j r presence in Rangiora, and at this school" said Mr Jennings. The occasion is unique in more than one respect. This is the first time a representative of his Majesty the King has visited this school. It is significant that, on the occasion of the opening of the first school farm in the South Island, a Governor-General, whose interests are so closely associated with rural life and agricultural pursuits, should be present to perforin the ceremony. On behalf of the Board of Governors, therefore, may I extend to you a very cordial welcome, and express the hope that you will find pleasure m the function which you have so graciously consented to perform. "We are well aware of your interest in the young people of this Dominion, and of your anxiety to sec that they are well equipped and prepared to accept the responsibilities of life. We feel sure, therefore, that you will be interested in the strong and clear purpose that directs all tho work undertaken at this school. Our pupils here are practically all country-bom. We arc stnvinff to reveal to them the completeness and satisfaction of a life lived in close association with Nature, and to show them how the practical problems that face a producing country such as jfew Zealand may be met and solved.^ "The acquisition of the farm, which was made possible by a generous Government grant subsidising liberal donations by public-spirited individuals and local bodies, represents to us a very practical advance towards the attainment of our ideals, serving, as it will, the needs, not only of those of our students who are to be the farmers and farmers' wives of to-morrow, but also of all who, as future citizens of this Dominion, wish to understand the real meaning of its life and purpose. Scientific Instruction. "For several years past scientific instruction in agriculture has been a prominent feature of our school curricu- | lum, and experimental work of an important nature has. been carried on with marked success. From a small beginning on half an acre of leased land, We are now in possession of a freehold farm of 114 acres, which will be equipped and stocked to give the boys taking „jhe agricultural course a scientific and pfictieal training in all departments of farming. "I can assure yon, Sir, that the Board of Governors and teaching staff fully realise the great responsibility attached to tho handsome gift to ouj school, and it will be the earnest endeavour of all to make the very best use of it in the interests of rural education.'' Around the Farm. After briefly returning thanks, Lord Bledisloe proceeded on an inspection of the school building, where he was particularly interested to see the girl students undergoing instruction in cookery and in dressmaking and needlework. He then walked through the school farm, making a fairly long stop at the pig-pens. The cowshed came next, where the milking machines were working smoothly. The manurial and variety trials with wheat were explained, the Governor-General remarking that different manures used on plots in one area seemed to have made no apparent difference to the growth. He suggested that there might be something operating in the soil to neutralise the effect of the manures. Thence the party went to the school orchard and the cottage garden, neatly laid out in its vegetable and flower-plot, with the orchard at the back. It is designed to serve a» a guide to those students who may, one day, lay out a cottage garden of their own. Opening the Gate. A large crowd had gathered over on the boundary between the old farm and the new, the gate leading to which the Governor-General was to declare open. Representatives of agricultural interests and educational institutions from nearly all over Canterbury were present. As. his Excellency stepped up between the lines of students to unlock the gate and declare the farm open, he also opened the gate of a pen nearby, and let three halfbred hoggets—a present to the farm —pass through the gate. A Gift. Miss Jean Stevenson, president of the College Council, then stepped forward, and addressed-. Lord Bledisloe in these words: —"The emblem of our school is a lighthouse with the motto, 'Lux cum amore.' To us it signifies that wo arb learning the meaning of life in an atmosphere of leve and friendship. At the end of each year those of us who have held the office of president of the School Council receive a silver replica of this badge—an honour that wo prize very greatly. Our school has requested me to ask your Excellency whether you would graciously accept the emblem of our school as a mark of our high esteem and of the honour which your Excellency has conferred upon our school by visiting us to-day." She then pinned the gold badge bearing the school colours upon Lord Bledisloe.

His Excellency acknowledged the had been made. "It is a reward for merit I have not achieved," he remarked. "I congratulate you on your eloquent address. It is evident that in these mechanical days memorising is graceful way in which the presentation not a lost art. Thank you." KAIAPOI WOOLLEN MILL. VISIT BY LORD BLEDISLOE. The Kaiappi Woollen Manufacturing 8 at Kaiapoi, one of the largest in New Zealand, was inspected by the Governor-General (Lord Bledisioo) yesterday afternoon. Excellency was interested to nor. that the company employed ouaand ha «4a. that its that L^ # + \ over j 2150 ' 000 a year. ««a that five thousand were dependent