Raetihi centennial plans prompt carnival memories

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 13, Issue 622, 6 February 1996, Page 5

Raetihi centennial plans prompt carnival memories

Plans for the Raetihi School Centennial Easter celebrations focused on the for malities of the opening ceremony, in particular the powhiri, at the committee's last meeting. Maori elders attended the meeting and following discussions it was agreed to hold a meeting with as many of those Maori interested at the Marae and then come back to the main committee with an outline of the format. The committee is still keen to hear from anyone who has photos that they are willing to lend, which will be photocopied and returned. Registrations are coming in daily and the committee urges anyone who has not yet registered to do so soon. "I remember..." The meeting took on a light note when Maggie Rawiri was asked to identify some people in a photo taken during the school's 50th jubilee celebrations, which led to some reminiscing:

"I remember when I started at Raetihi School, it was February 1921,1 was nine — before that I was at Umumuri for two years. Mr Pike's boarding house was where the school first started but when I started at Raetihi, the school had moved to the top end of Ward Street, near to where Emily and Biddy Haitana live. "When the school was built in Grey Street there were four class rooms, three senior and one primmer room. There was a place in the corridor to hang hats and coats and hand basins to wash hands, but the toilets were outside. "Without a doubt (my most memorable) time was when the school was involved in raising funds to build a hospital. They decided to have a carnival. The girls were all called into the headmasters' office, followed by the senior boys. They were asked who they thought were the best girls for the Princess Carnival . Edna Dobson represented Standard 1 and 2, Valerie Keucke Std 3 and 4, Joyce

Irwin Std 5 and 6, Della Patterson represented Primers 1 and 2, and I represented the Maori pupils in the school." "There were flags made in different colours and every Monday the flags were flown. Every girl was given a ribbon to match the flag colours. How high each flag would fly depended on how much that girl had raised for the week. Mine was alway s at the bottom, because our people didn't have much money, but one day the boys went over to Karioi and collected a hat full of money which was good because my flag went up a bit higher then." "We all had to practise our steps and curtsies ready for the coronation. Joyce Irwin was the winning princess. How beautiful she looked in white wearing a long train and a beautiful tiara." "Vivian Barakat was my partner. My dress was red and had a red velvet collar with red velvet sleeves. I wore a Maori cloak and my mother sewed a taniko band around the bottom of it. I also

wore a taniko head band to match." "Those were my happiest memories of school days."