SHADOW behind the blackboard

Tu Tangata, Issue 31, 1 August 1986, Page 40

SHADOW behind the blackboard

by Rayma Ritchie

Q NGA RA □ MUA

WE have never given proper recognition to the working wives of maori school headteachers, and their contribution to the service.

Seldom seeking the limelight but always important to the main actor’s performance, they played a vital role in New Zealand’s

education system.

One of these forgotten wives was Eliza Jane Woods, nee Leaf. Eliza was the ninth of 12 children born to John Leaf, seaman of England, and Te Rangahau, daughter of Taku Terewhare, chief of Whirinaki. After their marriage in 1834, John bartered with his father-in-law for a piece of land at Opara on the Hokianga Harbour. He brought up his large family there, earning his living by pit-sawing and timber-trading for the Auckland market, and stevedoring when required.

Eliza married George Edmond Woods, M.A. (OxonJ in 1872, and followed him and served with him in his various teaching posts, until their retirement at the end of 1912 to Ohaeawai in Bay of Islands County.

They taught together in Awanui West, and Pakia Maori Schools and then travelled to Fort Galatea in the Bay of Plenty. The story of that journey is told in George’s diary: 20 Jan 1881 S.S. Rowena barbound so stayed at Pakia Hotel 21 Jan Left at noon 22 Jan Arrived lp.m. - to Auckland by rail 26 Jan S.S. Glenelg for Tauranga 7 Feb Self and family had to sleep on the banks of river 25 Feb Self and family started for Galatea - arrived 6p.m. 26 Feb-Mar 3 Getting house ready for occupation - had been used for store 4& 5 Mar Gleaning school which had been used for stable 6& 7 Mar Mr Pope, Inspector, arrived At this time Eliza had four sons, the youngest being only 13 months old so that could not have been an easy journey. To have to entertain an inspector immediatley after travelling, cleaning and settling in, could well have been the last straw. But Eliza was made of sterner stuff. Nowhere in George’s copious diaries, logbooks and letters do we hear of Eliza cracking under the strain. There were tragedies in her life and these too are played down by Mr Woods. 8 Apr 1885 Child very bad through effect of sucking matches on Sunday last, went to see Doctor at Waimate 10 Apr Child died during night That child was their only daughter just two years old, Ada Wilhelmina. Years later their eldest son, George Henry,

named his daughter Ada Wilhelmina in memory of his sister.

The Woods family were now at Ohaeawai Maori School, where in later years another tragedy occurred:

28 Jan 1907 Did not reopen school on a/c my son Herbert being dangerously ill with Typhoid fever . ...

14 Feb Most grieved to have to record the death of my son Herbert. In the logbooks there are many references to tangi, wedding receptions and hui for other reasons. As her family had increased in number to seven lively boys, Eliza was probably pleased to enter into the activities of the community. Many of the people of the district were her

relatives. Mary ann, her eldest sister had married Grrahame Tanehe of old Ohaeawai, and another sister became Mrs Weaver. The Weaver children attended Ohaeawai Maori School, and a daughter, Sarah, became an assistant teacher to Mr Woods after Eliza retired in 1895.

On 18th June 1892 Louis Te Haara, son of the chief of the district married another Mary Ann Leaf who was the daughter of Eliza’s brother George. Mr Woods records; ‘Wife, self and family all attended wedding: I gave 10/- towards it, all I could afford.’

Times were hard in the early 1900’s. Whole families would leave Ohaeawai for weeks at a time to go gum-digging and as time passed they had to go farther away as new gum-fields were opened up. There are frequent references in the logbooks to the fact that the families and children were in difficulties.

26 Nov 1906 Several children away gum-

digging, in fact whole settlement are more or less starving, none of them have any potatoes to eat, they are living on bread and tea. 12 Nov 1907 Had meeting re bad attendance. The fact is the children are starving, the Maoris living on doughboys and watercress, children sneak away from Tawhera (Note - the edible flower of the Kiekie) In those hard times the Headteacher and his assistant must have suffered too. And the hardship was not always related to food. When the family arrived at Ohaeawai in 1885, they took possession of a school/residence combined. The previous teacher had been Mrs Wyatt-Wat-ling who lived most of the time alone.

Her husband was the Waimate Mission doctor and had his home at Waimate. Mrs Wyatt-Watling who had no children of her own would have found the residence more than adquate for her needs. However the Woods family was much more numerous and active. In 1890 the seventh son Benny was born. The walls of the tiny residence did not stretch accordingly and we can imagine the crowding.

The building had been erected in 1874. We have a floor plan of it only; the structure itself has long gone, travelling first to Ohaeawai where it became the residence for the Board School Headteacher, and then it was broken up and the timber used for repairs elsewhere.

There were three bedrooms, two being very tiny; there was a separate pantry off the kitchen, and one living room. There is no bathroom indicated so perhaps the washing and bathing arrangements were in a separate building.

We can imagine Mr Woods escaping to do most of his writing in the adjoining schoolroom.

For Eliza there was little opportunity for escape from bodies and noise. The teaching she did, mainly sewing for the girls, might have been some relaxation, but most of her time must have been spent in cooking, washing and cleaning, all of which meant hard physical work at that time.

One of Mr Woods first requests to the Department was for a pump to assist the water supply. It was not easy to get things done. Authorisation had to be sought before any money could be spent; letters back and forth took time.

Then there was the p roblem of transportation. Roads were few and very badly constructed. They were impassable in wet weather, and according to Mr Woods there seemed to be many wet days. Floods, deluges and continuous rain are frequently mentioned in his logbooks. Some families who had to walk or ride several miles to school were often absent, or in the case of rain occurring during the school day, were sent home early so they could safely cross the rising streams.

‘Leaking roof’ plagued the Woods family for months. In fact nothing was done by the Department to improve it because they had plans to build a new residence. To Eliza mopping up after a deluge those plans would have been of no Interest at all.

There was a store at old Ohaeawai which Eliza probably patronised in the early days. Later her son George became a storekeeper in Ohaeawai, the Corner, a settlement which stood at the junction of the roads from Kawakawa to Okaihau and North, and from Kawakawa to Kaikohe and the Hokianga. Her shopping would have been easier then with George’s transport available for delivery.

Although Eliza’s life was a busy one there were times for socialising. Visitors

to the school were a motley lot; we read of an organ-grinder and his monkey, a regular stream of Inspectors over the years, and politicians. A highlight was the visit of the Premier and is wife. On 29 February 1908 Mr Woods records: ‘Sir Joseph and Lady Ward called on their road to Kaikohe, when I showed them around the Church and interpreted the inscription on the Soldiers’ tombstone, and then we all went to Kaikohe, Sir Joseph and Lady Ward going on to the school to see the natives. On their return to the Hotel for lunch, Sir Joseph invited me to his table where I sat next to Lady Ward.’ Was Eliza present at this lunch? Mr Woods has the Victorian gentleman’s

habit of being unable to recognise the importance of a wife. Perhaps her presence at any function was taken for granted, so obvious that he did not need to make mention of it! Because old Ohaeawai (now known as Ngawha) was an isolated settlement the community organised its own entertainment. There were exciting race meetings on the local track, weddings and the accompanying feasts, dances and concerts. We can imagine Eliza totally involved in the preparations for various hui. She was a resident of the area being the Headteachers wife, but also she had blood links with many members of the

community. It is not surprising then that many still in the district can claim relationship with her. A direct descendant, Mr Jack Woods now lives in the house that George and Eliza built for their retirement. Eliza Jane Woods, nee Leaf, was a woman of her time, although a working wife. She, like many other wives of Headteachers in the Native School Service was always in the background, in the shadow behind the blackboard, but their influence was very great both in their own families and in the Maori communities in which they served. They deserve greater recognition as nationbuilders in their own right.