MUNIFICENT GESTURE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 33, 9 February 1939, Page 3

MUNIFICENT GESTURE

OUTSTANDING SCHOOL PROPERTY HANDED OVER TO TRUSTEES ST. PETER’S, CAMBRIDGE [ Per Press Ascociation.] AUCKLAND, Feb. 7. In order to perpetuate his idea and the ideal of a first-class preparatory school for boys in New Zealand, Mr. A. F. B. Broadhurst has handed over to a board of four private trustees the whole of his interest in St. Peter’s School, Cambridge. The property consists of 264 acres of land, school buildings and equipment and the gift represents over £lOO,OOO. The first trustees are: Mr. Broadhurst, Mr. T. A. H. Oliphant (solicitor, of Auckland), Mr. N. M. P. Gibson (headmaster of Dilworth School, Auckland), and Professor W. Riddet, of Massey College, Palmerston North. Under the deed of trust and subject to reasonable conditions, each trustee has the right to nominate his successor. During his lifetime or until he retires, Mr. Broadhurst will continue to be headmaster.

Terms of the trust provide for the maintenance of the school as founded and at present carried on by Mr. Broadhurst for the education of boys up to 14 years of age and in special cases, up to 15 years. Scholars are to obtain a sound intellectual, classical, mathematical, manual, physical and general education of a junior nature. Provision is also made for non-sec-tarian religious instruction for all scholars subject, however, to special arrangements for religious instructions in accordance with the teaching of the Church of England. Full facilities are, and will be, granted for scholars of other denominations to attend their respective places of worship. The official opening of the school in February, 1936, by the Minister of Education, Hon. P. Fraser, was regarded as the completion of one of the most ambitious projects ever embarked upon in the Dominion. It also represented the fruits of the enthusiasm of Mr. Broadhurst who, 14 years ago, while a director of the Manchester firm of Tootal, Broadhurst and Lee, Ltd., began to interest himself in the education of boys. As a result he resigned his directorship and took up teaching. After eight years on the staffs of various English preparatory schools, Mr. Broadhurst determined to found a school of his own, selecting New Zealand as the ideal place for his scheme. He finally chose the site of Gwynnelands, near Cambridge, as the location for his school. The property was purchased in 1934. A start was made in 1935 in the construction of the most modern block of educational buildings in the Dominion. Surrounded by a wealth of old trees, on an elevated site, the main block is arranged in the form of a horeshoe enclosing a quadrange, and this group is flanked by a chapel on one side and a gymnasium on the other. Cloisters in the rear of the main building lead to other essential blocks. A handsome cricket pavilion looks across a natural sports ground of eight acres, and a full-size swimming bath built on the most modern principles is also provided. In its design, equipment and curriculum, St. Peter’s is regarded as one of the outstanding preparatory schools of the Empire. For this reason, Mr. Broadhurst’s decision to perpetuate his ideals in the form of a trust is regarded as a munificent gesture to New Zealand education.