EARLY EDUCATION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 444, 24 December 1908, Page 3

EARLY EDUCATION.

In the Rangitikei

Mr John Stevens Reminiscent.

Speaking at the prize-distribu-tion ceremony at the Bulls School, Mr John Stevens said he wished to indulge in a little ancient history in regard to Rangitikei when the pupils were uot always children, but adults. All people who knew this district and had been down country knew there were some trees on this side of Keiller’s gate. That was the situation of the first school in Rangitikei. It was a room in the house of the late Mr Campion, and the teacher’s name was Miss Perrin, who had high qualifications. She went out of teaching when she married and lived in Foxton for some years until her death some years ago. Her married name was Mrs Cummerfield and Mr Cummerfield, who is one of the most highly respected residents of the district, still lives in Foxton and her family are distributed through the district and in other parts of New Zealand. A proper school building was then erected about half a mile from where the first schoolhouse was in the early 50’s, and the school teacher was Charles Barker, a very excellent man, but not in good health. He not only assisted with school building, but he made bricks, with MrStevens’j assistance, to build the chimney. Then after Mr Job. Freeth, a most highly educated gentleman, came and taught school for a time and he was succeeded by a Mr McEenaghan, and so began school teaching in Bulls. Subsequently when the first school was erected by the Provincial Government at Bulls the unmarried male portion of the population had to pay £1 per head poll-tax for education purposes. Now no such thing happened, because the amounts were collected from the consolidated revenue, and the effect had been excellent. The Wanganui High School was a collegiate school then, than which there was none better in the Southern Hemisphere, and that local school was one of the very efficient schools established, and he mentioned A. D. Thomson, S.M., of Palmerston North, educated at Bulls and educated as a solicitor at Wanganui, as an example to be followed by the pupils.