Old Pupils Of Manakau School Gather To Celebrate 60 Years Of Progress In Education

Chronicle (Levin), 10 May 1948, Page 4

Old Pupils Of Manakau School Gather To Celebrate 60 Years Of Progress In Education

O.ver 400 paat pupiis of Manakau School, representing iVe decades, were present .at the sdhool's diamond jubilee celeorations- tbis weekend. ■ '■ ' The celebra'tions bega'n- on Saturday in perfect weather with a get-together and roll call, preceded by ,a rparch from the centre of the township to the .school grounds, When past and present pupils were led by the/ Otaki Brass Band assisted by member-s of the Levin Mtifiicipal band. _ As the pa^ade approached the entrance to the school, which was gaily bedecked with bunting, a party* of elderly Maori women welcomed the old pupils back to theiy old school in traditional fashion., , Many were the joyous scenes of re-union as s'ome of the first pupils met old class-mates f or the first time for many long years. In the evening a dinner was field in the Regent Hall, Levin, and on the Sunday a special service was held. in the Manakau Halfi confiucfed by the Rev. Temuera? of Otaki. Today a social was held an4 tonight the celebrations will conclude with a ball. •

/ Opening the procedings on Saturday afternoon, the president of the fubilee committee, Mr. Alf. Atkins, , extended .a warm welcome to the gathering. He was pleased to see in attendance so many of the old pupils, teachers, and committee. men. Since the last gathering, ten years ag ow|ien the school commemorated ist golden jubilee, there. had ben many changes. Some had passed away and others -were unable to attend that day because of sickness, to the latter he would send the kindest thoughts, and the memory of the former ''-^■''ould fifwliys be held dear.'He was particularly pleased to welcome the wfie of the school's first head teacher, Mrs. Bethune. She had come to Manakau as a bride 60 years ' agc nad had shared willingly block school teacher's hpsband. Speaking first in Maori, Mr. "Bunny" Carkeek addressed the gathering on behalf of tlie Maori race, and eongratulated those iresponsible for the ' excellent jarrangements. He was followed by ia past teacher Mr. R. French, and Inow headmaster at Okaihau. His seven years in Manakau were the happiest he had ever spent, said Mr. French. He wouM always reitain pleasant memorie^ of his life |in the district and his association |\(7ith the school. He had been jvery tempted to come back when the position at Manakau had been advertised as vacant, but that had not been possible. It was possible, however, that" before * thg next jubilee both he and his wife would ,be back among the people of Manakau. The chairman of the Manakau School Committee, Mr. R. L. Robinson, apologise'd for the absenee of Mr. J. J. Maher, M.P., who had been unable to attepd the 'first part of the function. Referring to the past pupils, he eongratulated all those who had been able- to come along, particularly those who had travelled long^ distances to attend. One early pupil of the school had reareh a family of 15 and all of these, the Wallace family, were present. He was not suggesting that the younger generation should follow that. exanjple, said Mr. Robinson *with a laqgh, but it was certainly a fine thing and he had little doubt,- a record for New Zealand. The wife of Mr. 'Atkins then stepped forward and presented Mrs. Bethune, the wife of the school's first head teacher, with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. She was very touched with the gesture .and would always remember the happy time she had spent in Manakau, said Mrs. TJethune. Those days certainly had their hardships, she continue'd, and she can recall how they had to use an old^ lantern to walk at nights on the mud "and slush that eonstituted the roads- of those days. Her dear husband would haye greatly like-d being present today; said Mrs. Bethune, but she was sure that he would be with them in ispirit. The calling of the roll provided some amusing incidents as veterans of past days answered to their nanies with a proud and clear "present sir," or "here miss." Unfortunately there were many g&ps, The roll for the first decade was called by the first pupil teacher, Mr. W. Bennett. The present headmaster, Mr. F, H. Mayman, called the roll foif the sebond decade, Mrs. Winter for the third, Mrs. Mc-

Leavey the fourth and Mr. French , the fifth. " "■ ; The proceedings conclude d witn a presentation to the present school , master, Mr. Mayman, and Mrs. Mayman, of a substantial* cheque on behalf of the people of Manakau With the -celebration of the diamond jubilee, Mr. Mayman concludes liis term at Manakau. He leaves shortly on promotion to the Porirua school. , , .it was hard to say thank you for such a gesture, .said Mr. Mayman. His f our. years' stay . at Manakau had been too- short, He had come to love Manakau, its people and its children, His term. as headmaster there had been the happiest period in his teaching career. On behalf. of his wife and family, he wished( to thank. the... people for their many kindnessgs and the affection he had received from the children. The rest of the afternoon was taken up in friendly conversation and happy reminiscing and afterafternoon tea had . been served | many of the, old pupils wandered around the sQhool grounds and i class rooms, recalling the days when they w.ere . children there. Later group • photographs wefei taken in the groun'ds, in' order of decades. It was pleasing to note that 31 veterans of the first ten years were present. A highlight of the afternoon's celebrations was the singing by the senior pupils of the present school of two songs appropriate to the occasion. Anniversary Dinner On Saturday night the Regent Hall, Levin, was filled to capacity! for one of the highlights of the day, the anniversary dinner. Mr. Alf. Atkins presided and _also present was Mr. J. J. Maher* M.P. and the chairman of the Horowhenua Couhty Council, Mr. A. M. Colquhoun, and Mrs. Colquhoun. The function opened with the toast, "The King" .and ended with a toast to "Absent Pupils," proposed by Mr. Carkeek. The toast list was as follows: — "Old Settlers," proposed by Mr. J. Nicholson, responded to by Mr. Ernest Saint; "Past and Present Teachers," Mr, Hector McBain— Mr. W. I>. Bennett; "Old Pupils," Mr. R. French — Mr. Phillip Milne; "School Committees," Mr. F. Mayman — Mr. R. L. Robinson; "Local Bodies," Mr. L. Barkla — Mr. A. M. Colquhoun; "Edueational Authorities," Mr. J. J. Maher— Mr. D. K. Guy; "The Ladies," Mr. Jim Horn— Mr. Horace Cottle. Speaking to the toast, ' "Old Settlers," Mr. Nicholson spoke of the old families whose people had come into the district to carve homes for themselves out of the virgin bush. They had not had the amenities available today and had worked seven days a week to clear the land and settle it. Liying to-

_ » v-u .. flay was* like being in paradise. Responding, Mr. Saint spoke of the early days in Manakau as he remembered them in his boyhood. He recalled old identities and incidents of those early years. Teachers had a tremendous responsibility in training their pupils during their early days, commented Mr. French when speaking to thg toast "Old Pupils." The greatest tribute which could have been paid to the school was the gathering of old pupils at' the dinner, he said. On behalf of the old pupils, Mr. Milne sincerely thanked the committee and Mr. French for the tributes paid to them. Education was the most essential part of one's life, said Mr. Maher when propqsing the toast "Edueational Authorities." . He wished particularly when proposing the toast to make reference to the work done for education by the early pioneers. -He; was sorry his wife had been unable to attend the function but she had been. prevented from accompanying hira because of illness. As one of the pioneer family in his side of the district, she. would have. liked verj much to meet the pioneer women of Manakau. "I hope," said Mr Maher in conclusion, "that we wil live to see you all again on your next jubilee in 15 years time. j Replying to the toast, Mr. D. K (Guy, on behalf of the Educatior jDepartment referred to the higl (Standard of the Manakau, school stating that it gave the departmenl jvery little trouble, a^d was a mode of tidiness. He also complimentec the schoolmaster on his foresighi and patience, and the manner ir which he controlled and kept th( school and its grounds, In conclusion he appealed to all present t( get behind the school committee; and give them all the backing the: could. During the evening som enjoyable items were forthcoming. Led by Weno Tahiwi, Deans jJohnson and Adeiaide Gray founc immediate favour'- with poi dances aceompanied on the piano b: Henrietta' Gray- and with impromptu vocal support from Dar Rikihana. There followed tyro de lightfui vocal numbers by Miss M Black, a popular teacher at th( school. A duet by "Bunny" Car keek and Dan Rikihana then fol lowed. Later in the evening the; favoured the audience witi another popular item, followed b: a spirited action song by "Bunny' Carkeek. Another delightful iten was a so'ng by Miss Weno Tahiwi of Otaki, and later Miss Tahiwi' troupe pleased with a furthe: selection of Maori songs. A grouj of songs by three of the Bevar girls, was another highlight of th programme. A special 'feature of the evenini was the cutting of a large an beautifully iced cake by Mrs. Win stone, one of the oldest- pupils, an Mrs. Bethune. The cake which wa . made by Mrs. R/ Guthrie of Feild ing, caused much favourable com ment. At the close of the function, th toastmaster, Mr. Atkins, thankei all for attending, and made par ticular reference to the help rend ered by the Otaki Brass Band, ara thb school's Maori friends fron Ot&ki. «