FAMOUS NEW ZEALAND SCHOOLS

Ladies' Mirror, Volume 3, Issue 5, 1 November 1924, Page 16

FAMOUS NEW ZEALAND SCHOOLS

St. Mary’s Convent, Ponsonby, was founded in 1850 from the Convent of the same name in Ireland as the result of a chance visit by Bishop Pompallier, who had searched in vain all over France and the Netherlands for a community to teach his beloved exiles and their relatives, It is said that all the community, which was at the time very nourishing, tired by the eloquence and zeal of the saintly Missionary Bishop, volunteered. The Conventual records show that the Mother Superior of the time, Mother M. Ceceilia, volunteered and chose from the others the six pioneers. They sailed from Antwerp in the “Oceanic,” which, besides having accommodation for passengers, was also fitted out as a whaler and destined for the New Zealand Whale Fisheries in North Auckland, Auckland was a village of one street practically when they came. Their people were few in number and poor, but all the settlers joined in giving a hearty welcome to the brave band of Sisters who had come to live for them and their children. Then schools—the first in the Colony— opened and filled with pupils almost immediately. Gradually the work grow. New foundations were made and the ranks of the Sisterhood were aug-

ST. MARY’S CONVENT, PONSONBY, AUCKLAND

mented by volunteers from Auckland and in regular numbers from the old convent home in Ireland, which up to the present

ONE OF THE OLDEST SCHOOLS IN THE DOMINION

time Ims kept a warm place in its heart for the eldest daughter in Australasia. From the early days the Sisters specialised as teachers of music, and if particular attention were given to (his branch of the Arts it was solely because of the demand for it. It was, too, the chief means of support of the Sisters, and hand in hand with the perfect system of education evolved by these brave ladies was the perfect preparation for life by the cultivation of all the domestic arts. Needlework of the highest order and painting were encouraged, and when the days of democracy and certificates came the Sisters of Mercy were first in the field, with the pupils gaining first place in the examination held by the various examining bodies. Nor were the higher branches of education neglected. Looking over the school roll we see a long list of pupils who distinguished themselves in the matriculation and often University examinations. Year by year these Honour lists have grown, until we have a community carrying, but never flaunting, the highest teaching qualifications in the Colony.