WANGANUI COLLEGE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1105, 19 April 1911, Page 6

WANGANUI COLLEGE.

* NEW BUILDINGS. SPEECH BY LORD ISLINGTON, PUBLIC SCHOOL LIFE. (By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.! Wanganui, April IS. To-day was a memorable occasion . in ihe history of the. Wanganui Collegiate School, when the new buildings, were officially opened by his Excellency the Governor (Lord Islington). Broadly speaking, the • history of the school may be divided into three eras. In 1852 Sir Georgo Grey, then Governor, gave into the charge of Bishop Selwyn an endowment of 250 acres of laud nt'Wanganui, for tho founding of a school in that town for the education of "poor and destitute children in the islands of the Pacific Ocean." When Bishop Selwyn left New Zealand, shortly after, he conveyed the laud to the General Synod of the Anglican Church in trust. In 185-t tho first school was opened, the Church finding the money for the buildings. The Kev. C. H. S. Nicholls was appointed to take charge of it, retaining tho position till 1805, when he was succeeded by Mr. W. Godwin, who held the post till 1887. Dr. G. R. Sauuders succeeded him, resigning in 1882. This may bo said to close the first era in tho school's history. It was evident that a new phase in its development was at hand, and the Rev. B. W. Harvey,. Vicar of St..Paul's, Wellington, was appointed headmaster. Mr. Harvey was not only a scholar of wonderful parts, but possessed remarkable organising and administrative powers. Seeing the possibilities ahead, lie advanced money from his own private means, which, supplemented by the trustees, .enabled buildings to 'bo erected which trebled the school's capacity. The roll increased rapidly,, and the school advanced at a bound to a foremost place among New Zealand secondary educational institutions. In recognition of his splendid work, Mr. Harvey was given the degree of Doctor of Divinity by the Archbishop of Canterbury, at the unanimous request of tho Bishops of New Zealand. His strenuous labours broke him down, however, and he died in 18SG, in the prime of his life, leaving behind him a splendid monument, but the work is still unfinished. Tho trustees chose Mr. Walter Empson to succeed him/and he justified the choice. During his term, which lasted from 1888 to 1309, ho aimed chiefly at turning out manly boys with a high sense of personal honour. He grafted tho best features of English school life on to his school, and sacceeded in a large degree in creating a replica of that atmosphere which is so distinctive of English public schools. Modern Developments. With his retirement, the third era of the school's history began. It had been recognised for some time that changes were necessary. The buildings were unable to accommodato all the boys offering, and it was " evident that a new .college was needed. Ihe work of providing for tho boys' creature comforts had grown to such an extent as to seriously encroach on tho tinio the headmaster needed- to devote to their education. The endowment had become very valuable, and wanted move business-like management. The headquarters of the trustees have been shifted irom \\ cllington to Wangnnui, and a local executive, with Mr. A. G. Bignell as chairman of the board, was appointed. The first step of tho new phase in the school's history was the appointment of a successor to Mr. Einpson. Tho choice of the rustees fell on the Kev. J. L. Dove, who has in every' way justified his appointment. The A.M.P. 'Society advanced J.lo 000 on the security of tho endowment, and Messrs. Atkins and Bacon, of Wellington, wore thereupon instructed to prepare plans. On Easter Monday two years ago Lord Plunkot laid the 'foundationstone of the new college, and the contract was thon let to Mr. N. Meuli, of Wanganui.who will in a few days hand over to the trustees a range of buildings whoso design and faithful construction reflect tho highest credit on architects and builders alike. • Tho now buildings constitute a complete departure from old custom, being a combination of the hostel and separate bonrdimrhousc systems. Tho school block is tor educational purposes only, and when school is over for tho day the boys will retire to their -houses, of which at present there are three, holding 50 each. All meals will be taken in a separate block, under the charge of a steward appointed by the trustees, to take entire control of this department. Everything about tho new college has been designed on the most up-to-dato lines. > The Ceremony. To-day's ceremony was-rjerforiued in the presence of a large gathering of old boys, friends, and prominent neople, there being about 1000 persons " present in' the noble assembly hall, or seated in tho galleries overlooking the same, nis Excellency the Governor arrived at 3 o'clock, and was received by a guard of honour of the College Cadets, and then conducted by tho headmaster and' trustees to the hall, where a short service was held, beginning with the sincinp of Psalm 121. The service over, Mr. Bignell, chairman of the trustees, spoke briefly, welcoming his Excellency to tho college, and then sketching tho history of the college and the various stons taken in th? new building scheme. He theii presented his Excellency with a silver key as a souvenir of the occasion, anil asked him to declare the buildings open. His Excellency's Speech. Lord -Islington, who received a vociferous welcome from the boys, thanked the trustees for the invitation and expressed the pleasiire'ho felt in accepting it. Wanganui College was, he said, known to him by repute as an institution which achieved great distinction among the schools of New Zealand, and he required no greater evidence of its success than (ho affection iu which it was held by its old boys, who evidently valued the training they received in it and tho associations connected with it. Parenthetically remarking that, ho and his two predecessors, LordPlunket and Lord Ranfurly, were old boys of Harrow, ho remarked on tho frequent pilgrimages paid by old Harrovians to their school. Ono place they never missed visiting was tho fourth-form room, which for 350 years had been sacred to those inystcrious interviews between headmaster and recalcitrant boys, which usually caused the latter much apprehension and great tribulation. (Laughter.) Ho did not know if such a room was provided in this new college, but those visits of old boys to tho places of their schooldays showed that old associations remained with them in after life. Many old associations of Wanganui College would disiippenr with the removal from the old buildings to the now, but there was something which would remain—old standards and old traditions, which have grown up round the school's name.

Public School Life. . Public school life had no written constitution, but its laws were none the less real and effective. The five or six years which a boy spent at a public school had an influence on his character which must lust a life-time, and the older he became ilit more convinced lie was Hint a parent who, having the power, failed to give his child the advantage of si public school training, was inflicting on him an irreparable injury. Among many other benefits, there were two which seemed to him to stand out. One was the spurring of individual ambition, and the other was the encouragement of corporate ambition. Striving after the corporate ambition, tho welfare and honour of the school, led a man in after years to strive for the wider corporate welfare of the nation. Ho wished the new AVaiißanni College every prosperity in the future, and he was sure its influence had a marked effect on the social and educational advancement of the Dominion, and, through the hitter, on the Empire.

His Excellency Entertained. With the conclusion of Lord Islington's speech, which was punctuated with frequent applause, the ceremony came to an end. His Excellency was afterwards entertained at afternoon tea in the new (lining-hall, and shown ever the college, with which he expressed himself much pleased. The Easter programme of the- school is being brought to a clcse to-night by the old lioy.-' annual ball, which is being held in tho Assembly Hall of (ho new college, and which is very largely attended-