SOLWAY COLLEGE, MASTERTON

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2896, 7 October 1916, Page 7

SOLWAY COLLEGE, MASTERTON

.. (Contributed.) To turn off the dusty main road between Mastcrton and Carterton into a long shady avenue of fragrant fir trees is a welcome experience to any traveller, and the" satisfaction. is enhanced when, after a short walk, one arrives at a large gate opening into what reminds one of an old English park. The winding motor drive leading from the gate is soon lost to view in the beautiful ornamental trees in stately rows along either side. Many of them at this tNie of the year are' gorgeously lovely and sweetly fragrant with bloom and from tho mysterious beyond .thero floats out upon the breeze, scent-laden, tho fascinating music of children's laughter. Aa one advances, he catches through' tho trees on tho right glimpses of an orchard, the snow-white blossom of' which gives promise of still better days to come; while on the left, through an open glade, the vision stretches over spacious lawns, parts of which aro laid down as courts for lawn tennis, croquet, and other games. , Breaking tho monotony of the verduro are to lie seen, reclining at ease under the shade of numerous trees,'or darting hither and thither like flashes of light, many white-robed happy figures. Oil the extreme left, partially under tho shade of a huge willow, is to be seen a largo enclosure, ■ tho externals of which are being rapidly elothed with a thick decoration of sweet pea. Th.s, on closer investigation, is found to conceal from view a spacious cement swimming bath, supplied with pellucid water from a neighbouring spring. Overlooking tho whole happy scene from a .natural.elevation stands a stately.mansion house, the forefront arid; verandahs of -which- are-made-delightful by many and various flowers.' ..Such is Solway College.

It would bo difficult to imagine any place inore/magnificently situated for its purposes as a college for girls, and it says much for the wisdom and foresight of the Presbyter*t n Church of New Zealand that it should secure for the education of the young, homes of such idyllic beauty. .. The part which environment plays in the development ot character is being more and more recognised as thi years go by,, and, if beauty and goodness have nn integral connection, as may wise people maintain, then surely no choicer spot than this could be utilised for such noble ends. The interior of the houw is in keeping with it? surroundings; the dormitories are large and airy, and each pupil is provided \vith a cabinet of ample proportions for the safeguarding of Her treasured possessions.

Everything has an air of neatness and orderliness which seems to,be preserved without in any way suppressing the individuality of any girl. The drawingroom is elegantly and tastefully furnished. and the classrooms, which are separated i .""i the main building, are large, well ir ited, and well ventilated, and arc, moreover, provided with the latest pattern of individual desks. Tlio girls seem to„ be of the happiest type of irrepressible, fun-loving,- ronipin"-* girlhood. , • _'Lhe success of such an institution is ;of course, always" to be credited,. t(T a very , large .extent, at anyrate, to the principal, and. with -Mrs. Lawrence .Thompson, 51.A., at the head of things, the highest success of Sblway College seems assured. She is a devoted and cultured Christian lady, with the highest and deepest interests of her girls at heart; but there is nothing of that Ttfirrowness or intolerance of'spirit which would repress the. natural buoyancy of youth and would tend to develop an anaemic and self-conscious goodness, in. v a - sano au( ' all-round Christian- . abh' supported in her splendid work, by her husband, the Bev. L lhompson, if.A., aud a staff of resident and visiting teachers. Behgions instruc.on lla s an important placo on the curriculum, but anything that would make tor a narrow or bigoted sectarianism is carefully avoided.

it is little wonder that the accommoda. tion ot Soljvay College is taxed to its u.most limits, and that the governors are kept busy planning f qr the future. A great and ever-increasing measure or success and usefulness should be the portion of tliis institution.