May 2000
It's been and gone ... after months of preparation, the celebration for 60 years of the life of Horowhenua College has taken place.
What a weekend it was; blessed with fine weather and most things going off as we had planned. The pressure certainly built up as the weekend drew nearer; last minute decisions by past pupils to attend, changes in what people wanted to go to and so on, meaning a lot of extra work had to be done to update name cards etc. The erection of the marquees and the decorations at the AP& I hall all had to be done and at times it seemed like a military operation with all the planning and timing necessary. But in the final instance, we were all pleased with the results. The transformation of the AP& I hall from a stark building to a thing of beauty was absolutely wonderful and Noel Procter and his team together with Corbons Marquee and Hire are to be congratulated on the final results. Our team from the committee responsible for this area certainly should be proud of what was achieved; Alice Hood (Wonderland Garden Centre) also enhanced the building and entrance ways with plants and a water garden. I think Angela, in her email to me after the weekend, put it well when she said "I must admit I was dubious how the Saturday night function at the API Hall would go - I remember playing basketball there and roller skating however I was most impressed with the transformation not a basketball hoop in sight!
In brief, for those who were unable to attend the Reunion, a few observations . The collecting of the Registration Packs on the Friday afternoon was the start of it. As soon as people walked into the hall, they would see someone they recognised and then the talk would start. It seemed that the hall was filled with people most of the afternoon and Wendy Bartholomew's team were kept busy making cups of tea. Most packs were picked up on the Friday. Friday night's gathering at the AP&I hall was the most popular event held over the weekend, going by numbers, and it was great observing people making contact with people whom they had not seen for years. Remember that for those who started their college days when it opened in 1940, they may well have not seen their classmates for 60 years. The decade with the most attending was the 60's and for these past pupils, the time span could be up to 40 years. And didn't everyone look the same as they had then??
The Saturday lunch box seemed to go well even though there was a delay with the delivery of the bags but the idea of getting decade groups back together for lunch seemed to go well. Just great seeing groups on the front lawn under the trees or on the wall, places that we were not allowed on long ago, munching away at their roll or muffin. t might add that the committee were really pleased that it stayed fine for this!
The official Powhiri was carried out by Mr Hemi (Jim) Broughton supported by pupils from the college singing a waiata, and on behalf of the people gathered in the quad, Vance Whiley replied and led those present in a return waiata. Other speakers included the Mayor of the Horowhenua District, Mr Tom Robinson, who welcomed all back to the Horowhenua region, and a special welcome was made by the newly appointed Principal of the college, Mr Murray Lucas. The Chairperson of the organising Committee, Alan Smith, then took over proceedings in his past role of Deputy Principal, and he presented the Notice of the day, together with the issuing of detentions to past principals for previous Misdemeanours'. They were all called up to the front of the assembly as follows, Fraser Campbell and his Deputy, Arthur Chetwin, Gavin Kerr and the most recent past Principal, Denis Pyatt. Class photos were held in the hall and because of the large numbers, most decades had to be taken in two sections.
Saturday night dinner and dance, further chat although a bit more difficult once the group String of Pearls got going, but still, what a night. The tables looked great with the red table cloths and the banners around the walls recalled the "houses", Kowhai, Hinau, Rata and Ngaio and the Reunion Cake ready to be cut. Bruce Batten, the guest speaker, entertained us with his recollections of his days in Levin and anecdotes which brought smiles to faces throughout the hall. The "special guests" noted in the programme to be called out to cut the cake turned out to be two of the college's well remembered and respected teachers, Ailsa (Browning) Carrad (1940-53) and Max Smeed (1951-85)
Following a plentiful meal ( I understand that some people missed out with brandy snaps!) the rest of the evening was spent talking, dancing to the music of "String of Pearls" or just enjoying watching all that was going on in the hall.
The Sunday Service was held in the College Hall, led by past pupil Mark Pierson ('1964-671) and included participation by former pupils. The singing was accompanied by a small group of present day college students and this added to the involvement of past and present students. Following the service, a ploughman's lunch was available and it also continued with the high standard of meals that were available over the whole weekend.
By mid afternoon, the college had resumed its usual quiet state; outwardly little to show of what had occurred there over the weekend but I have no doubt that on their return to their homes, those who had made the Reunion were recalling to their family and friends what a tremendous weekend they had had.
Some final figures of Registrations by decades:
• 40's 255• 50's 255
• 60's 298
• 70's 179
• 80-90's 80
• Spouses 249
And of special interest, those registering from Overseas (not the South Island) numbered 70 and from Levin 408. It seems that it will always be a problem convincing the locals to attend; there obviously must be a large number of ex pupils still living in Levin after 60 years of the college being open!
And the question being asked by many on the final Sunday... When is the next one!
July 2000
Time for another update; it's been quite some time since I last let you know what has been happening since the Reunion.
Our committee has received a full set of all the decade photos and they have come out very well. A couple of friends of mine decided to name all who were in our photo...and then the fun began. We remembered quite a few, others we just had no idea who they were so we set about contacting others to see if we could get the full list of names. This we have nearly achieved but there are still gaps.
This led me to thinking that you may be trying to do the same, so I have set about trying to have a way for people to help each other. On the other site that I have where the names of those who registered are listed, (http://www.geocities.com/ian_nz/) I have now put copies of all the photos. In the first instance, you need to find the small picture that you are interested in and by clicking on it, the full sized photo will come up. This takes a bit of time because theses pictures are quite big. At the bottom of the BIG picture is the word NAMES and by clicking on it you will get the list of known people in that photo. At the present time there are many many gaps and this is where you can help. If you know names or there are errors to be corrected, just email me your ideas, sitting people by row, letter and position number eg Top Row = A, left end = 1
On receiving information, I will be able to build up a complete name list for each picture.
I have Dick Denton to thank for his work in obtaining the names of nearly all pupils in the First Day photo.
Even if you were unable to be at the Reunion, you might still recognise some of the people in the pictures.
I look forward to hearing from you with your 'names'.
Recently I received from Colyn Walker, known to all fellow pupils of the early 40's as 'Bunny', his collection of photos from that period. He was obviously a good cricketer and I have featured these photos on page 3. As well, Colyn sent us his copies of the Tararua magazines and these will be added to our collection. It was while looking through the 1946 edition that I found the answer to the question I had asked about a series of photos that I published in an earlier update. They were clearly taken of a show or production of some sort and I read in the magazine that it was part of the Annual Concert, staged for two nights, August 15-16.
Quoting from the magazine: "A varied programme was offered and the spectators readily appreciated all items which were very well presented. In order of performance these items were:
I "Spring's Retreat" (Strauss), by the Girl's Choir.
"The Threat" (Adkins), a play by the Boys Drama Group
"Manurere" - poi dance by Maori girls.
"Gymnastic Display and Pyramids," by the Gym club
II "Cathedral Steps," an historical pageant.
All items were excellently done. The highlight, however was the Pageant, in which very large numbers of pupils took part, and which occupied the second half of the programme. The actors were splendidly robed, the singing was of a very high standard, and the individual players acted their parts admirably. The pageant had an educational as well as an entertainment value, and every girl and boy who took part benefited from the experience. It was a co-operative effort and the School's best thanks are due to everyone who, in a particular way, helped to make the performance a memorable one."
This year the school's major production was "Happy Valley High", performed June 21-23. As reported in the College's Monthly Newsletter; "The story included high school young love, long lost love and a "prom" all set in the 1950's. The cast worked really hard learning lines, songs and dances. They were all really committed to doing their best by putting in hours of time for rehearsals. Once again it was a complete team effort from about 100 people."
It is interesting to think about the shows that have been produced over the years. What a variety and I wonder if you took part in any of them. Last year I saw a modern version of two Gilbert and Sullivan shows, ones that I took part in back in those early years, and it brought back memories of the fun times we had. Even though just a member of the chorus, we all had a great time and as well we were introduced,to a new type of music.
What else has been going on at the college since the Reunion:
Did you buy a raffle ticket from the Boys 1st XV rugby team? Over the holidays, the team made their trip to Australia and by all accounts, did very well. Also worthy of note is that the college has three ex students representing NZ at the Olympics in Sydney; Rob Helmstrom (rowing), Michelle Turner (hockey), and Dean Kent (swimming). And in the academic world five ex students achieved success at Victoria University when they were presented with their High Achiever Awards in Scholarships - Tim smith (Law), Daniel Beban (music), Lisa Manning (accounting), Dylan Prescott (architecture) and Ruth Dellabarca (biochemistry). David Corbett has also enjoyed success at Canterbury University.
Unfortunately, the college had a graffiti attack over the holidays. The culprit(s) must have climbed onto the roof and hung over the front and added their handiwork just above where the college name is sited. A crane had to be called in so that workers could get to the area and remove the paintwork. What a shame that society seems to be able to produce people who enjoys these sort of attacks on property.
I look forward to hearing from you, especially with regard to the naming of those appearing in the decade photos.