TE ARO SCHOOL

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 30, 5 February 1932, Page 11

TE ARO SCHOOL

THE NEW BUILDING

OPENED BY MINISTER

After many years of agitation, the old Willis street school has been replaced by a new structure on the site of the Terrace gaol. The new school was officially opened yesterday afternoon by the Minister of Education (the Hon. R. Masters) in the presence of a large gathering of educationists, parents, ex-pupils, and present-day pupils.

Those present included two former Ministers of Education, Mr. R. A. Wright and Mr. H. Atmore, both of whom were concerned with the negotiations for the new school. Others present included Mr. P. Fraser, .' '.P., Mr. C. H. Chapman, M.P., Mr. F.'Bennett, Mr. A. McKenzie, and Mr. R. Darroch (three former headmasters of the school), Mr. T. Forsyth and Mr. F. S. Hylton (chairman and secretary of the Wellington Education Board), Mr. G. L. Stewart (a former secretary of the board), Councillor H. A. Huggins, and others.

The chairman of the.School Committee (Mr. L. Hennessy) presided. la recalling the many years which had elapsed since negotiations for tho new building were first commenced, Mr. Hennessy said that it was thirteen years since he met the then Minister of Education (Sir James Parr)j Mr. Forsyth,, and representatives of the Prisons Department to discuss the possibility of taking over the gaol site and using it for the construction of a new school." There were many difficulties in the way of that goal being reached, but persistent effort won the day, and now they were witnessing the result of those efforts. (Applause.) Mr. Hennessy thanked all those who had assisted in securing the site. He wished to mention particularly Mr. 'B. A. Wright, M.P., the ex-Minister of Education (Mr. Atmore), the present Minister; Mr. Fraser, whose advocacy in Parliament of a new school had be'en of great assistance;. Mr. Forsyth and the members and staff of the Wellington Education Board; Mr. Powell, the architect; the City Council for making available portion of the Town Belt as a playground; and the school committee and Paren! -' Association. Mr. Hennessy expressed his pleasure at seeing present so many who had been identified with t1 c history of the school in past years. Remarking on the change from gaol to school, Mr. Forsyth said it was a pleasure to see a'-school-of correction transformed into a school of instruction. It had been the policy of the Wellington Education Board to select sites for'new schools adjoining the Town Belt, so that there would be no difficulty so far as playground facilities were concerned. He wished the school and the district it served every 'success in the future.

Mr. Atmor&.also expressed the hope that the school would have a useful future. There had been some call for economies in the education system, but it should always be remembered that ignorance, with all its attendant evils, was more expensive • than education. Eyerv child should have the opportunity, of. developing those attributes with which he had been endowed by Nature. Mr. Atmore hoped that there would be no interference with the secondary school system, as the education received in the primary schools was not sufficient to meet tho. needs of tho day. .

The Minister of Education remarked that the present function, was the first he had attended in Wellington in connection with a school, and for.that reason his pleasure in being present was even greater than it would have been under ordinary circumstances. The Minister said tho school had cost £7794

and although constructed of wood he thought it would last for many years to come. Recently the Department winch he controlled had been the subject of some criticism on account of the necessity to economise, a necessity brought about by the times, but he wanted to assure them that so far as he was concerned the welfare of the children would not be affected. That would always be his first consideration, tieonomies were essential, and many nad already been put into operation, but they wei-i largely administrative. Before concluding the Minister asked the headmaster to grant the children a holiday to-da^ to mark the occasion. He then formal rffclared the school open. Visitors were later entertained at afternoon tea, and advantage was taken of the opportunity of inspecting the building.