MASTERTON NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 869, 16 July 1910, Page 3

MASTERTON NOTES.

. ! 1 LETTER FROM THE ARGENTINE.. OLD WAIRARAPA SCHOOLS. (From Oar Sneclol OorresDondent? Masterton, July 15. Nominations for officers of the Masterton A. and P. Association closed yes- ■ terday. Mr. TV. Perry was elected president without opposition, Messrs. Hugh . - Morrison and W. J. Welch vice-prest-dents, and Mr. J. B. Moodie treasurer. Thirty-four nominations were received tor tho tnirty neats on tho general com- . mittee. The ballot will take place on July 29. Swollen Rivers. •The continuous heavy rain which hasfallen during the last two or three days has caused many of the rivers and streams in the district to overflow their ?--. banks. The Maungatarere "stream -has inundated a large area of land at Dalefield..Tho Ruainahunga River has overflowed its banks at various parts, and is across the road at Martinborough. A number of sheep'are reported to have ■' been lost in.the forty-Mile Bush. At the time of. writing_ there are indications of the weather' clearing. About forty couples attended the Hibernian Society's dance in the Drill Hall last evening, and a most'enjoyable time was spent. Music was provided by Mr. F. M'Kenzie. A competition in connection with the Morris Tabs Club, which was held last evening, resulted in W. Bannister J. Allan, and T. TJ. Wellington obtaining) a "leg-in" each in the A class, and J. LCnlloty in tho B class. The scores also counted for Mr. M'lntosh's trophy, and} resulted in W. Bannister winning in the : A class, and J. Culloty the class trophy: | 111 the hockey matches played yesterday, Kiwi beat Ramblers.by 3 goals to 11; Hinhmoa defeated High School by 1; goal to nil; Kia Toa won against Huia; by default. All the junior menV matches wore postponed. • Mr. R. 0. Jarrctt,' of Masterton, has. been appointed judgo in the utility class, at the South Wairarapa Poultry Show, which is to be held nest week. ■ - Laintwig has already commenced in some parts of the Wairarapa, and- will be general in the course of two or l three weeks. The prospects are considered good this year for the' lamb market, and it; is hoped that' tho percentage will be well ud to the average. ' Evolution of Wairarapa. Schools, ' Apropos of the presentation made'thia week to Mr. TV. • H., Jackson, of the ' Masterton District High School, it may be interesting to say something of-the' ' earlier scholastic institutions or the' .' district. In the sixties a private school was conducted by the late Mr. Crane. Early in the seventies Mr. Skipper had a school in a small building, which now forms part of the hall near the Borough Council, Chamber. This stood on an allotment near the present Town. Hall, and was attended by the • sons! of- old identities—the Bannisters, Tones, Mutries, Colways, Viles, etc. In those days free and compulsory education was unknown, and parents were '•' called upon to pay school- fees/. ' Thai ' next school.was-conducted in the Town: Hall by a Mr. Gordon, and when the. ' Education Act of 1877 was passed,.and education wsb made free, a new tohool - was erected on the site t of the present Technical School. This was successively in '.charge of: Messrs. Lillington, J. J.' Pilkington (now of Porirua School), and ' •TV. T. ..Grundy (of Clyde Quay). About twenty-five years ago, after a strenuous agitation, a new school was provided on the' present site at the Kurupuni end. This school has been m charge of Mr. Grundy.and Mr. W\ H. , Jackson (the present master) only. It was somewhere. in the nineties that, the School Committee (of. which A/ H. Vile was then chairman) discovered that there was power givcife • under the Education Act for the establishment, of District High Schools. The, Chief Inspector and Secretary for Education visited the town, and they found that'the necessary, number of pupils for secondary classes being forthcoming,' they had no option but to establish the District High School. Thiswas the first District High School to bo established in the North Island, and immediately afterwards Palmerstoa' North, Wellington, Dannevirke, Wa- ■ nganui, and other centres followed the. example set by Masterton. The District High Schools are now features of-' the education system of the Dominion» The Masterton Schopl has been exceptionally well placed, for it has had the advantages of annual monetary grants* from tho Trust La-nds Trust, an institution founded by the pioneers of the town, when, school fees had to be paid, for the assistance of those who could ill afford to pay for : the education of their children. • Tho Masterton District High School, with its agricultural plots, its extensive | sports ground, its museum (founded, by tho way, by Mr; Richard Brown),, its , swimming-baths, 'etc., and'its excellent staff, is now one of the best-equipped; scholastic institutions'in tho Dominion. An Interesting Letter. ' Mr. W. Coulter, a resident of Masterton, has received a letter from his - ■ brother, Mr: John Coulter; who is at present engaged in farming operations in the Argentine, in which it is stated that a "fearful drought' has been experienced in that country for the past . throe years. Ho'states that stock is in a very low condition, and ho had disposed of 2000 sheep'at ss. each, and was glad to gut that price. ' Wool hadbeen ,at low prices because,, coming from starved sheep, it was of very little value. The drought, broke in March, and heavy rain had fallen which had done extensive damage. "As to going back to New Zealand," says tho writer, "land there is so' awfully expensive,and labourers .so very unreliable and so very dear, that I am a little afraid I cannot manage it. ... .'-. I feel-in-clined to go back to Africa—sunny South Africa. . . . Land, is cheap there, and labour is reliable and cheap. . Tho best and most "comfortable living I. ever made was in thai country. ... Risks are too great here. One's flocks are either decimated by drought or | smothered in snow." Other Topics. Mr. TV. B. Chcnnells, who has been, auditor for some years for the Masterton Permanent Investment and Building Society, has resigned his position inorder to seek election to' the. directdrate of that institution, vicc : tho lato Mr, . Joseph Paytoti. The local Post and Telegraph hockey team will journey to Palmcrston North ' on Saturday to play the Post and Tele- \'.V graph hockey team there. • Tho Rev. Dr; Gibb, of Wellington, will give a lecture hi Knox Church this ovonhi-g,' entitled,' "Impressions of Church Life aiid Work .at Home,'with Local Applications."