Gift of Library to Grammar School

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 739, 12 August 1929, Page 10

Gift of Library to Grammar School

OLD BOYS’ GENEROSITY TO COMMEMORATE JUBILEE To make permanent recognition of the Auckland Grammar School jubilee, the Old Boys' Association has decided to erect a school library to house the fine collection of books possessed by the school. This generous offer -seas referred to by the president of the Old Boys’ Association, Mr. A. St. Clair Brown, speaking at the meeting at the school on Saturday afternoon. On the platform were the Mayor, Mr. G. Baildon, Professor A. P. W. Thomas, chairman of the Board of Governors, who presided, the headmaster, Mr. H. J. IX Mahon, and members of the City Council, together with representatives of other schools.

A good library was already maintained by the Auckland Grammar School, thanks to the generosity of Mr, E. E. Vaile, said Mr. St. Clair Brown, but there was a decided need of an adequate building in which to house it. A list had been opened for a building fund by a number of old boys, and was headed by Mr. Eliot Davis with £250, Sir James Gunson, Messrs. C. Rhodes, O. Nicholson and C. V. Houghton with £SO each, the sum in hand to date being £SOO.

Scenes of enthusiasm have marked the closing stages of the Grammar School jubilee celebrations. Over 2,000 people inspected the school in Mountain Road on Saturday afternoon and there was a large attendance of old hoys at the reunion supper in the evening, while yesterday morning SOO old boys and friends attended divine service* in the school assembly hall.

The Rev. Jasper Calder, an old boy, gave an address during the morning service in the assembly hall yesterday. He referred to the Grammar School as a great institution of democratic learning, in which the principle of free education had been adopted with great success. Education had been thus made possible for the son of the plough and for the wealthy. “Nothing is more tragic in life than the spectacle of a young man coming in for £20,000 without having earned it,” said Mr. Calder. “No one is worth a snap of the fingers unless he has been over the rocks.”

“Ragging” at school was valuable in forming character, he said, and a few hard knocks in early life were good for a youngster. Personally, he remembered thankfully the few hidings he received himself. He recalled vividly the dramatic stock phrase used by one grammar master: “First, I warfi you; second, I detain you; and third, I cane you.” He could hear that pronouncement now and would remember it when he was 100. Such things were splendid aids to the advancement of something in character that was very fine. The wise master, continued Mr. Calder, would combine tact, which was largely a gift, discipline and respect for himself with a genuine affection for his scholars. Without affection the other accomplishments were useless. The bullying type of master probably did not exist today, and the man who won the respect of his pupils was the man who joined firmness with strict fairness. The boy always got the benefit of the doubt at the Grammar School, he believed. Clean sportsmanship was more important than fine learning in building character and for that reason it was bad fortune if a boy landed the crown without first bearing the cross. It was impossible, referring to the school motto: “Per Augusta Ad Augusta,” to obtain the peaks without traversing the narrow paths first. A tribute to the board of governors was paid by Mr. Calder, who congratulated it on the great work accomplished in building the school to its present position of eminence, and to the headmaster, Mr. Mahon. “Except for the bishop. the Supreme Court judges and the magistrates. Mr. Mahon is the only man to whom we say ‘Sir,’ ” said Mr. Calder. “He has always had and still holds my greatest respect.” The lesson. Psalm 144, was read by the headmaster, while the Rev. A. J. Grigg, another old boy, read an exhortation, the concluding words of which ran: “Many with pride have seen themselves again at the desk or in the playground in the person of their sons, carrying on the finest traditions of their school. With hearts athrill on this happy occasion, let us thank God for the illustrious history of the Auckland Grammar School, for its fine, traditions and its splendid opportunities for moulding the boys of today into the men of tomorrow.”

On Saturday afternoon two football matches were played in the school grounds. A team of old boys first played the school’s second fifteen, the old boys winning by 6 points to 3. The second match, in which an old boys’ team played the school’s first fifteen, resulted in a draw with no score on either side. Mr. A M Nicholson was the referee.