Tokomaru School Jubilee

Chronicle (Levin), 4 May 1948, Page 3

Tokomaru School Jubilee

The usually , qufet township of Tokomaru has auririg the past few aays oeen the centre of activity for one. celebrations of its school i juoilee: Ex-pupils from as far clisoant- as .Whangarei and- Dunedin wcre present for par.t at ieast of; the celebrations. Commencing on Friday . moriiing, a parade of pupiis was heid' prior ■ co the sports meeting at the Tokomaru sportfcground dunng the afoernoon. A grand ball jfn . the evening was a fitting climax to thefirst aay. Saturday's activities began with the ringing oi the scnxd bell by Mr. S. A. Liggins, oldest 'first day pupil of the school. The roll was called by Messrs. J. SWebb, W. H. Philips and W. . A. Bond. Following the roll call, Mr. M. Griffiths presented the school with a radio on behalf of the jubilee cornmittee, Mr. R. W. Guy replying ' on behalf of the school cornmittee. Photographs were taken and the gathering adjourned to the hall, which had to be. temporarily 'enlarged for the banquet feast. Mr. L. Wilton opened proceedings, by welcoming those present. During the afternoon a numcer oi toasts were honoured. They were as follows: The King (Mr. Liggins); the Wellington Education Board (Mr, R. W. G,uy, chairman of the school cornmittee),. This toast was replied to by Mr. Guy (of the Education Board), who gave sonie interesting information concerning . the , ' board's future plans for the school. . Mention was 'made of the numerous letter s and jtelegrams received, including three 'from old pupiis in Australia. j A popular toast to the early settlers was proposed by Mr. L. Gardener and replied to by two of the earliest settlers, Messrs. Whyte and Rowe. Mr. Whyte, who came to the district first in 1893, gave some interesting sidelights on life and conditions in'eajrly Tokomaru. Mr. Rowe who was in Tokomaru before Mr. Whyte, and who has not been in the district for 45 years, remembers planting the familiar tree wnich overshadows the blacksmith's shop. Several of the first aay pupiis. earried out the cake-ciitting ceremony and were ac'corded musical honours. In pr.oposing the toast to present and past pupiis, Mr.: L. M. Clapham paid tribute , to the. generous support given the school • by the public of Tokomaru. Tlie reply by Mr. E. Griffiths and the Rev. A. P. Dorrian was studded with memoirs of schoolday pranks. Mr. Liggins, iii proposing the .toast to the teachers, must have aroused many happy and unhappy thoughts in the minds of those present. In, reply Messrs. J. S. Webb (past) and W. Bond (present) expressed their thanks for the support and good fellowship, which were: always a virtue • of Tokomaru scho.ol pupiis. In reply to the toast to the jubilee cornmittee /Mr. R. Kelly), Mr. L. Wilton paid tribute to the untiring work of his cornmittee. The toast list and afternoon's proceedings closed with the toast to absent friends (Mr. R. Wilton). Celebrations concluded wlth a combined church service and tour of the district yesterdav.