Mayfair School Golden Jubilee 1950-2000
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MAYFAIR SCHOOL JUBILEE 2000
CONTENTS
Editorial 2
Welcome Letters 3
“The Oak Tree” 5
Mayfair School 1950-2000 8
Remembrance and Reminiscence 33
Parents, Children and Grandchildren 47
Children’s Writing 48
Hall of Fame 51
Staff 57
School Committees and Boards of Trustees 60
Home and School Association Committees 61
The Golden Jubilee (including lists of registrations) 63
Some Final Messages 72
Mayfair School 1950
MAYFAIR SCHOOL JUBILEE 2000
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MAYFAIR SCHOOL JUBILEE 2000
EDITORIAL
The story of Mayfair can fairly be summed up as “success” in the truest meaning of the word. In looking back, the most outstanding feature of Mayfair’s development has been the harmony existing among all those who have worked together to create within the school a happy, relaxed and effective milieu – a place of true education where the children have been able to develop academically, socially, culturally, and yes, spiritually too. All groups associated with Mayfair School have been part of this – the parents and their School Committees and their Boards of Trustees, the Home and School Association, the staff (teaching and non – teaching), and the pupils themselves. The Hawke’s Bay Education Board and the Ministry of Education have played their parts as well.
As you read the following pages, it may seem as though the main role for the various committees and Boards of Trustees has been to raise funds and to perform other practical work associated with the care and development of the school, along with provision of equipment for teaching, but please do remember that these activities are only part of the story. Certainly they have been very important and have required much time and very hard work from the participants, but even more importantly, through the willing cooperation of everyone concerned, there has been engendered a wonderful spirit within the community which has become the real heart of Mayfair School, and which has overflowed into the wider local community as well. “Kind Thoughts and Good Deeds” – a well chosen motto indeed!
So, with pride and thanksgiving, we now celebrate Mayfair School’s fifty years.
May it be a very happy weekend for all who can meet for the Jubilee, and may Mayfair School be blessed throughout every year to come.
Mary Craven, Editor.
Middle Block 1993
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MAYFAIR SCHOOL JUBILEE 2000
WELCOME LETTERS
From the Principal
I don’t know the names of the people inspired enough to select either the site or the motto of this great school, but fifty years on we can truly sing their praises. Both selections have played a major role in helping create our history.
With the 50th Anniversary Organising Committee, I welcome you to this special occasion and to the reading of this book which celebrates a half-century of achievement at all levels, in all fields by so many children and families of Mayfair School.
Our visitors over the coming days will see a few new classrooms, a definitely new syllabus and style of teaching, but little else will have changed. You will still find a user-friendly site; user-friendly staff; visitor-friendly children and a motto that is the basis for life in these marvellous grounds so dominated by the Oak.
I join the committee in welcoming you to relive many happy memories.
Welcome indeed.
Arthur Curtis (Principal)
From the Chairman
As Chairman of the current Board of Trustees at Mayfair School, it is a privilege to write this introduction for the 50th Jubilee.
I recently read the jubilee book published for the Silver Jubilee in 1975 and was amazed by the changes at Mayfair School and in the surrounding community over the last 25 years. Many businesses that advertised in the Jubilee Book are no longer open and some of the major employers of the time such as the freezing works have long gone.
This has no doubt had an impact on the school and community as a whole, however it is great to be associated with a school that provides a constant nurturing presence in the community as Mayfair has done for the past 50 years.
The last decade has been a period of great change. 1989 saw the introduction of “Tomorrow’s Schools”, with the school community having a greater “governorship” role in the school. Information and technology advances ensure constant changes as staff prepare pupils for an ever changing education and work environment.
It was refreshing in 1999 to see the Technology Room open. Although this room is designed to be used for a diverse range of activities it can also be used for “cooking classes” – perhaps some link with past curriculum – even if the raw ingredients now come prepacked and are cooked in the microwave.
A positive report from the Education Review Office in 1999 shows Mayfair School is on track for many more good years with dedicated staff following in the footsteps of their predecessors.
Finally I take this opportunity to thank all those involved in the planning and preparation for this jubilee; your efforts are greatly appreciated.
Dave de Lange.
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On behalf of our Golden Jubilee Committee, to all past and present students, parents and committee members, staff members, wives, husbands and partners. I consider it a special privilege, on behalf of a very hardworking committee, to welcome you all to our celebration. Your presence here reinforces our belief in the ability of Mayfair School’s motto “Kind Thoughts and Good Deeds” to bring back memories of the school, with teachers and fellow pupils to the fore. Our wish is that our Jubilee weekend will be a fun time for you all – meeting people who have become forgotten with the passing years, renewing friendships and leaving the reunion looking forward to the next one in the year 2025. To all those who have travelled from other areas in New Zealand or from overseas, our special thanks. We hope you have a great time and a safe return home. Special thanks too, to our own committee and to school staff members who have willingly given their time to make this weekend a memorable one. The amount of work done by so few people in producing a booklet of this calibre is an example of the dedication of our committee. I have enjoyed working with you all. May Mayfair School prosper in the future, producing citizens we can be proud of. May happy memories of the school stay with them all.
Garry Kirk, Chairman, Mayfair School Golden Jubilee Committee
From the Mayor
It is my pleasure to warmly welcome you all to the 50th reunion of Mayfair School, Hastings.
I have enjoyed many school reunions during my term as Mayor, not just because the occasions are significant for the local community, (and so I pay them their due civic respect), but, on a very personal note, as a former trained teacher and educator, they have real added meaning.
I’m a former pupil too, and I attend my school reunions when they come up.
The renewal of acquaintance; the bond of friendships; the stirring of memory; lots of laughter – recaptured or in hindsight; and the deep, enjoyable reflection and appreciation that is possible for all of this: for teachers, school days and experiences of all variety, makes this time unique.
As Hastings’ mayor, I value my frequent links with local schooling at all levels, and the contact this has continued to give me with toddlers, children and youth. Mayfair School has been a place I have quite frequently visited, and I know its reputation as a quality local school is well merited!
Enjoy your school reunion. Enjoy the Hastings and Hawke’s Bay experience, as well.
Yours sincerely,
Jeremy Dwyer, Mayor
The Second School Committee
Back row: E. Boese, A. Ross, R. Kirk, J. Kite
Front row: J. Ramsay, R. Williams, S. Rouse (Chair), R. Smith, H. Walker
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MAYFAIR SCHOOL JUBILEE 2000
THE OAK TREE
A cow quietly ambled across a widespread paddock in a luscious green backblocks area of a small district of Hawke’s Bay. Its relieving pat fell, warm and nutritious, onto a soft swell of rich grass.
In the pat, an undigested acorn lay, comfortable and pleasantly sustained. It sank through the pat into rich, fertile soil and expanded. It put down feelers into the dark welcoming earth. It put up welcomed feelers into the warm Hawke’s Bay sun.
It stretched and grew; slowly, steadily; slowly, firmly; slowly, surely. As the seasons passed cattle nibbled at and nurtured it with their droppings; they scratched themselves free of lice by rubbing at its toughening bark; birds began visiting for afternoon chats in its strengthening branches; all sorts of creepy-crawlies used it as home and it watched generations of all creatures come and go in their season. It listened to their chatter and though rooted to a single spot, it knew of the happenings of the world it grew in. Another war? A WORLD war? It groaned and its leaves drooped. “These humans must be really mad creatures; not like the other creatures who visit me.” It seemed such a short time before the fluttering birds announced another world war. “They are mad,” it decided, “I hope I have nothing to do with them.”
Four summers after the war the cattle were moved out; a fence was built; humans came and moved under its shade as they talked and pointed and measured. The oak was a little fearful at this first meeting, but they didn’t appear to be as insane as it had presumed. They were now talking sense. The now maturing oak heard talk of buildings, asphalt, concrete, and heard one human say “The old oak should stay and be the centre point of the grounds of the new Willowpark School.” It was delighted, but then thought, “Old Me? I’m still a sapling!”
It oversaw with interest the erection of a new set of buildings and was aware of the change of name to ‘Mayfair School’. It was interested to note that the humans were positive, happy and worked well together. It couldn’t understand why they were so warlike as the birds had suggested.
As it watched silently, coming from winter to spring uniform, it approved of this, disagreed with that, but was impressed overall with the fact that the site was open, healthy and it was indeed to be the centrepiece. It commanded the property and was able to observe first the builders and their noisy equipment, then the teaching staff running from room to room cheerfully in their holidays.
Then the little humans, whom the oak had seen watching quizzically as the buildings took shape, attended opening day all scrubbed and smartly dressed. The oak itself was dressed in
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imposing full summer regalia.
At the opening ceremony it listened to various speakers outside the junior block. “…the most modern. ” “….the best design…” Then its leaves pricked up and blushed a beautiful deep green. Its roots scritched deep into the earth in pleasure as it heard that it, “ME! ” was to be on the school’s crest, with the most beautiful words wrapping its roots – “Kind Thoughts, Good Deeds.” “I can’t think of a better aim for children, or even adults. These people couldn’t, wouldn’t make war.”
The only question in its mind now was “Will the children accept a big hulking tree in the middle of their school and its playground? I’m young but pretty bulky.” They did, with pride and delight.
As the roll grew, so more and more children ate their lunches under its huge expanse of shade; chased and played their games around its girth; made it giggle as they did bark rubbings for their art; collected its leaves for science, studied its strength and shape for their poems and made it supremely happy as they collected its annual donation of acorns to plant at home and feed the ducks. “I came in a cow pat and now my youngsters are spreading around Hawke’s Bay’s gardens and the ducks will drop them even further afar. ” Its boughs lifted and stretched with pride.
The seasons passed delightfully for the oak. It watched generations of birds, insects and children grow and leave for other pastures as it never could expect through its acorns. It became totally accustomed to cries of laughter from friendly play, cries of pain from scratched knees or torn muscles; cries of delight as a child’s bark-rubbing was achieved. It listened to children’s worries (“My mum says I can’t invite more than ten to my party. She is a meanie.”). It listened to children’s delight (“My mum says I can invite ten kids to my party. Isn’t she neat?”). It began to realise that these humans were strange creatures indeed.
“Is it really fifty leaf changes since the cows moved out?” the oak mused. It had overheard some children chatting about their fiftieth anniversary celebrations and that they were to include a grandparents’ day. It thought back over those fifty years and even beyond that to the first time it had hosted the birds and listened to their gossip about what those crazy humans were up to. It smiled to itself as it realised that its most recent fifty years had been far happier and more interesting because of the little humans who raced around it daily. It even chuckled, which sent the birds hovering for a moment, at remembering one of the principals telling children that “If they knocked me over, they would have the job of standing me up again.” Some of them laughed but some looked horrified.
April 2000 arrived, the property overflowed with people. All toured the school, listened to the children’s singing, admired their work and a surprising number wandered around the “old oak”.
“These humans! ” it muttered to itself “They judge age in their own terms. I’m still a young-un.” But it was a pleasure to hear such warm comments about it as older humans wandered nostalgically round it as they remembered how once they had raced many years ago.
A small group approached the oak and sat in its shade on the recently built seating around its girth. “What was it like on your first day here, Gran?
“Well it wasn’t just my first day. It was the school’s first day, January 1950. We were all very nervous but then so were the teachers. Everything was so new, but I just loved this place.”
“So do we Gran,” answered the boy. “Were you on television?” The oak groaned, “To these little humans everything has been here since Adam was a boy.”Gran was more polite. “No dear, television came to New Zealand when I was a teenager.” The boy’s mouth opened in amazement and the other children began tossing questions at the adults. They were equally
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stunned to hear of how recently invented were items they took so readily for granted. Medicines, life-saving drugs, much skinnier needles in the “Murder House”, ghetto blasters, transistor radios, computers, play-stations, calculators, plastic (“plastic! what were toys made of”), ball point pens, photocopiers (“what did teachers use before them?” they laughed), microwave ovens, instant cameras, cash machines, felt pens, dishwashers, washing machines. The children were stunned. The oak listened with interest but with growing irritation.
“When will these little humans ask the really important question?” Its leaves drooped, but that could have been because it was April and soon they would begin to fall anyway.
The excited and animated children were breathless with the thought of such change in such a short time until one little girl, in a pause of the heated, often humorous interplay said something that stilled the cross- talking. The oak sighed; the birds fluttered; the creepy-crawlies stopped creeping. “At last,” the oak breathed. The older humans sat silently and thought. The younger humans sat silently with no fidgeting, wishing that they had asked that all-important question.
“Is there anything the same?” was the simple question.
The older humans looked at each other. Their minds flicked back through the years. So much change in the world; some for the better, some not so good, some downright awful, but change is unchangeable. Or is it?
An old man lifted himself from the painted seat under the stretching boughs, leant forward onto his walking cane and turned his head to look into the eyes of each of the humans seated around him. He paused, took a breath and spoke quietly, so quietly that the humans and the oak strained to hear. The birds dropped to lower limbs to listen.
“I brought my son to this school on his and the school’s first day. In time he brought his daughter to this school on her first day; she brought her children to this school on their first days.” He raised his stick in the air as emphasis. “The school staff made a two-way bargain with each of the “Kind Thoughts, Good Deeds”. He lowered the stick and rested on it for a moment.
“They have always kept their side of the bargain. Therefore nothing of importance has changed. I am well satisfied.”
The group stood, looked silently at each other. Enough has been said. They touched the oak quietly, tenderly and walked away. Some things never change. The oak felt its roots stretching again into the loving Hawke’s Bay soil. “There is hope for these humans yet.”
Dedicated to all staff – teaching and support – over the years, by an Old Boy.
Joy Chappell, Les Tocher and S.1., 1950
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MAYFAIR SCHOOL JUBILEE 2000
MAYFAIR SCHOOL 1950 – 2000
The site upon which Mayfair School now stands was once orchard and farmland, with very few houses along Grove Road. To quote from the 1975 Jubilee book – ‘An old wooden homestead occupied part of what is now school playground. An oak tree had been planted on one side of the house, with two walnut trees on the other. When Mr L. Sutton bought the property, he built his milking shed near the walnut trees.
As he was milking one morning, he noticed a number of ducks flying from Karamu Creek towards the Windsor Park Stream. Whenever the sky was overcast and ducks were flying low, Mr Sutton used to keep his shotgun in the shed. Immediately a duck appeared, he would drop his milking bucket and reach for his gun. Sometimes he was able to shoot two or three ducks in the early part of the day.
One morning, Mr Sutton looked at the oak tree growing in the middle of the paddock. As the branches looked thin and straggly he decided to take his axe and chop the tree down. However, after a little persuasion, he changed his mind. Instead, he pruned back the branches to half their length. As a result we have today a beautifully shaped oak tree growing in the school grounds’.
THE EARLIEST DAYS
Because of overcrowding at Mahora, Central and Parkvale Schools, a new school, named in the planning stages as Willowpark, was built by the H.B. Education Board. Mayfair School opened its doors to its first pupils on February 6th, 1950, with an opening roll of 264, with more pupils expected from the schools mentioned. Initially it was intended to cater for children from Primer 1 to Standard 4 level. A zoning scheme was in place, which designated the Mayfair area as being St Aubyn Street to the railway line, the eastern side of the railway to Ellwood Road, southward to include those areas now served by Riverslea School, and back to St Aubyn Street where it meets Sylvan Road. St Aubyn Street was, however, very early removed from the Mayfair zone by the Education Board.
On opening day, Mayfair had 6 classrooms, a library, and a staff of 7 teachers. Mr L. Burke was Headmaster and teacher of Standard 4; Miss Y.G. Hay, (Infant Mistress), had a class of P1-2 pupils, Mr T. J. Dymond (Relieving A3 First Assistant), taught S3, Miss J.A. Chappell, (the A3 Senior Assistant Mistress) taught SI, Mr R. Sivewright, S2, and Miss M.M. Esler (later Mrs Bartlett) and Mr L.G. Tocher P3-4. (Mr Ian Talbot began duties as First Assistant in April 1950)
School Staff 1954
Back row: Delcie Williams, Nurse Eberhard, Mrs Middleton, (Clerical Asst.)
Middle row: Isabel Izatt, Peggy Dysart, Tom Kenyon, Alison Rathie, Lew Bowen, Mabel Bartlett, Irene Boyd
Front row: Bill Coutts, Gwen Hay, Paddy Burke, Maire Thomson, Jack Chadwick
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On that first day, a school assembly was held, and motion pictures taken. On that day too, an application was made to the Education Board for a clerical assistant.
February 7th was the day when Mr Harry Dove began his twenty year period as caretaker and general handyman at Mayfair School – an appointment of great significance for Mayfair. Mr Dove was to become a key staff member who made a tremendous contribution to the life of the school as a whole, and one who was respected and loved by both pupils and staff.
On February 7th, too, Mr Sivewright, Education Board Chairman, accompanied by Mr & Mrs Tobin, Mrs Smith and Mrs Cousens, visited the school, and Messrs S. Rouse, H.B. Tobin and A. H. Croucher were appointed Commissioners for Mayfair until school committee elections would be held in April.
Mayfair School was officially opened on March 13, 1950 by the Mayor of Hastings, Mr R.D. Brown, at a function attended by a large number of parents and children and presided over by Mr Rouse, who thanked all who had worked so hard to bring the school to a reality. He also paid tribute to the help given by other local schools. Other speakers at the assembly were Mr L.R. Lewis, Senior Inspector for the H.B. Education Board, Mr A.B [H]. Sivewright, Board Chairman, Mr C.G.E. Harker, representing the Minister of Education the Hon. R.M. Algie, and Mr L. Burke, Headmaster.
According to a Herald Tribune report, Mr Burke described the school as “the forerunner of better schools throughout the Dominion” and, as an example of its modern trends, he stated that “…It was planned to make education as easy as it was possible to make it. It had bright airy classrooms that were thermostatically heated; easy access and sun bays for each classroom; plenty of storage space; cloak rooms and drying cupboards, and a dental clinic and clerical assistant’s room. We are almost a self-contained unit, even to a library and a staffroom which actually accommodates the staff,” he said.
Although the school was now “open for business” there were many things still to be completed, and life there must have been difficult for some time. A Herald Tribune report gives a mixed picture of conditions in the first days. ‘Floors are still bare, but there is nothing austere about Hastings’ new “super-school” opened at Willowpark on February 6th. From its outer coat of turquoise paint to the rubber-shod chairs and tables, Mayfair sets a precedent. Things were topsey-turvey, fun for the children, hard work for the teachers. Tradesmen still worked, paint had to be applied, flooring laid, lights fitted, and a thousand and one small jobs completed. The workmen are still there, but the children have peeked and poked into every place in which it is possible to peek and poke and are now ready to settle down to work.
A tour of the school starts with “The Blue Room.” This is the Dental Clinic – a glossy pastel-tinted room, in which surroundings, the Headmaster says, “the children should not object to having their teeth seen to.”
Out in the big, far stretching grounds, there is much layout work to be done. Here too, Mayfair will be different. For, as the headmaster explains, “the lawns will grow walk-on grass, not the keep-off variety.”
(Editor’s note – We take so much for granted now, but in 1950, the new school did represent a great step forward in school building. Most
School Staff 1960’s
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schools then were of pre-war construction, and their design was well out-dated).
Unfortunately, the lawns and other playing areas were soon to present a problem. Persistent rain for several days left the grounds in such bad condition, that from February 10th the children had to be sent home more than once, and school did not resume continuously until February 15th.
Two larger and more on-going problems, problems common to all schools, became apparent very early in Mayfair’s first year. The first was the perennial need to provide extra funds for extra school equipment and resources, and the second was the need for the provision of more accommodation for a rapidly growing school roll. These matters will be covered in more detail in later parts of this account.
Other notable events in Mayfair’s early days were the opening in April 1950 of the Dental Clinic (Nurse C. Eberhard first nurse, and Ngaire Kirk first patient); the choice of the school motto, “Kind thoughts. Good deeds”; the choice of the school colours, navy and sky blue; and a grounds’ planting day in July 1950 when 100 trees and shrubs and 26 roses (all donated), were planted by parents and children.
The gardens and grounds of the school have always been particularly attractive, and the efforts of donors, successive school caretakers and volunteer workers have been rewarded from time to time by recognition from various quarters. In its very first year, Mayfair was awarded an Environmental Certificate by the Education Board, (backed up by a half holiday!) and this was followed by the presentation of an Environmental Medallion in May 1952.
In February 1951, Mayfair held its first school picnic, at Westshore Beach. Most of the 500 parents and children travelled by special train, the weather was perfect, and the day was spent in sports and swimming – and eating! Ice- cream, fruit and fizzy drink were supplied, and also toys for the children. A very enjoyable day.
Another red letter day in 1951 was the showing of films with the new projector in July 1951. The “movies” at school were really something in 1951.
GROWING PAINS
Mayfair was opened just as the post-war “baby-boom” began to have its effect upon school rolls. By February 1951 the roll had increased to 309 pupils with a prefab erected to house Form 1. In another year, a second prefab was needed until the building of the fourth infant room (in 1952) and three rooms (for Std 1-3) in a new wing at the northern side of the school. In May 1954 Form 1 left the school to go to the new Hastings Intermediate and pressure on accommodation was relieved for a time, but only briefly. Towards the end of 1955 there were 515 children at Mayfair, and thereafter the roll reached a record peak for the beginning of a year, to 663 in February 1957. The school buildings and playgrounds were packed.
Even after the opening of Riverslea School, rolls remained high, and classes were bused to Mahora and Frimley from 1955-57, (by which time, the two rooms at the back of the school
Staff 1982
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had been built), and later to Riverslea. Prefabs came and went in the years after that, and have been used even in recent times.
Until the mid-seventies end-of-year rolls approached or exceeded the 500 mark. By this time the families of the original Mayfair residents had passed through the school, and numbers there declined slowly. An Education Board policy of a teacher/ pupil ratio of 1-35 however, led to more prefabs being set up near the oak tree.
Since the seventies, rolls have reached numbers usually between 300-400, and the school has enjoyed more stability, though occasional “capping” policies have been applied short term by the Board or the Ministry to keep classes to reasonable sizes. Capping policies have caused distress to some families as late as 1994 as they can mean that families may need to be “split” between schools.
THE SCHOOL BATHS:
Very early in 1950 the school’s parents and staff decided that a small swimming pool was a “must” for Mayfair, and after much fund-raising and hard physical work by Committee members, Home and School Association and others, the baths were useable at the beginning of 1952, though the official opening was not held until an afternoon in November 1952. The importance of the occasion was not overlooked, as the gathering included five Education Board members and the local M.P., Mr Jones.
Mr Carl Atkinson declared the baths open, and Mr Rouse broke the ice by swimming a length. Afterwards the primers played in the pool and the standards competed in races. Afternoon tea completed the afternoon.
The baths have since been maintained in excellent condition, again with major help from parents, who have painted, fenced and concreted where necessary. Recent improvements have been the enlargement of the dressing sheds and a fenced area beside the baths where visitors can sit in comfort to watch any special events there.
THE SCHOOL HALL:
In the early ’Sixties far-sighted parents and staff recognised the need for an assembly place for formal gatherings and for cultural activities. In February 1963, meetings were held to initiate plans for a special fundraising project, possibly with the hall in mind. Included in the project were a Gala, which raised 450 pounds, and a Queen Carnival (1802 pounds), large sums in those days. In October, parents and Committees resolved to use the funds for the building of a larger hall than the one that had been contemplated, and the Education Board was asked to draw up plans for the Committee’s approval.
Building began on 17.9.64 by the builder, Mr Charlie Trask. Once again, much work was done by volunteer labour, and the Assembly Hall was formally opened on 15-7-65 by Mr W. Smith, H.B. Education Board Chairman, after he had been handed the keys by Mr Trask. Other speakers were Mr W. Ormond, Ward Member of the Education Board, who acted as Master of Ceremonies, Mr Jim Osborne (School Committee Chairman), Mr Colin Waddell (Home and School Association Chairman), and Mr R.V. Giorgi, Mayor of Hastings. After the opening, about 250 parents, local residents and
School Staff 1993
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friends filed into the hall to be entertained by the children of the school.
At first, the hall lacked a comprehensive heating system, but quickly-activated infra-red heaters were installed in 1966, and very comfortable they were. The children contributed very considerably to the installation of the heaters by holding a Shop Day and by other fund-raising.
As expected, the hall has been an invaluable asset. For the children, it has provided a roomy, safe environment for assemblies, phys-ed and gymnastics, choir practice, drama, combining of classes, film showing, viewing of visiting “shows”, socials and its upstairs room has provided a settled place for the library long-term. For the adults of the community the hall has been a grand place for meeting socially and a venue for formal gatherings. End of year concerts no longer depend on the weather as they did in the days when they were held outdoors.
Other groups, not necessarily directly associated with the school, have been able to use the hall too. Over the years it has been used for Sunday School, Primary School Principals’ Conferences, Teachers’ In-Service Training, Indoor Bowls and other sports, Highland Games Piping Championships and as a Polling Booth, to name just some of the activities it has housed.
THE ADMINISTRATION BLOCK:
From June to August 1977 Education Board carpenters made alterations to the administration block. Room 5, the first classroom in the middle school block, was converted into offices and storerooms, giving the Principal and Clerical Assistant more reasonable space in which to work. The Clerical Assistant in particular must have been especially pleased by the changes. How the office ladies who worked in that first small dark cubby-hole for so many years managed to work so efficiently is a mystery. The school had peak roll numbers then too.
By August, 1993, the school had finally risen to the top of the major deferred maintenance list of the Ministry of Education and a large grant of money was made available to Mayfair for refurbishment of the senior block, and for the update of the entire administration block. This was a very exciting time, while plans were being drawn, especially as the plans provided for a new and permanent library in the area. (For over forty years, the senior school and junior school libraries had been moved from place to place as more classroom space had been needed).
School holidays in January 1994 saw the senior block refurbished, and the gutting of the old library and administration areas. The hall was taken over as office, staffroom and library until June. (Note – The school has a photographic record of the building and of the opening of the new block).
July 1, 1994 was the very special day when Mr Jeremy Dwyer, Mayor, and Mr Rick Barker, M.P., joined the school staff and pupils and a large group of parents, ex-teachers and other well-wishers, and the new block was officially opened. It was a perfect sunny day, and a very happy occasion. The children sang, the Maori Culture group performed, Anna Meike Reihano
Alan Connor and his 1969 S.1.2. class
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read her own poem about the oak tree, which she presented to Mr Dwyer and Mr Barker. There were three short speeches, and the ceremony was over.
The school now has a large, attractive open-plan office, well equipped with the technological and other items needed, and a separate office for the principal. Both are easily accessible to visitors. The staffroom has been modernised and better catering facilities provided, and adjoining it is an improved office for the Associate Principal, whose particular charge is the Junior School. All the areas are now carpeted and more comfortable and contrast strongly with the very basic amenities of the school’s early days.
The new block too, provides small withdrawal rooms for teaching on a one-to-one or small group basis, a well equipped and practical sick bay next to the office, several storage areas, and separate work rooms for the library.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS:
Visitors will notice the concrete seating bays where the dividers have now been painted with striking and attractive art work.
Indoors, the toilets and corridors have been upgraded, and the latter have linoleum and carpet-covered walls.
The old bike sheds have been replaced by storage units, and bikes are now parked more safely under a covered way attached to a classroom. The most noticeable developments recently have been behind the third wing, where there are prefab classrooms, but prefabs with a difference. They now have proper entrance ramps, adequate cloakrooms and storage rooms, and plenty of display space in each classroom. Outside, there are seating bays surmounted by a shading framework which can be covered artificially, or, it is hoped, spreading plants. The old bays of the wooden wing have been removed, and a smoothly paved area for play has been set down. The window boxes are still bright with flowers.
Mayfair’s newest gain is the stand-alone Technology Room, also behind the third wing. This unit has been designed, and its construction supervised, by teachers Cherrie Schollum and Gaynor Cotching, who worked without any blueprint, as it is thought that the unit is likely to be the first technology room at a N.Z. Contributing School. ‘It has been set up to take in the full process of creating things – from research and design through to advertising and accounting. The room now caters for many aspects of technology that are essential parts of the curriculum – food technology, materials, electronics, mechanisms, wood and metalwork. (Hawkes Bay Today). Pupils set goals, and then must work by trial and error to produce satisfactory results. Their work involves reading and maths, the learning of safety skills, design work and inventive skills that require independent thought (and sometimes risk taking), and the practical use of tools and materials.
To allow for the continuity of a project, classes can book the room for a week, working at their special project for a double period each day.
Projects so far have included the making of mini-umbrellas for Jubilee guests to use as
School Choir 1982
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sunshades, the making of a variety of collapsible models, and the making of tablecloths together with the making of food and drink for a social occasion.
The Technology Room is already useful and a success, but on-going maintenance and equipment could be a problem, as Government funding so far has put some limits on its effectiveness. With Mayfair’s record in dealing with such problems, it seems that the use of the room will surely expand and strengthen, and long may it do so!
Past pupils, parents and teachers who haven’t visited Mayfair for some years will be pleased and proud to see the improvements made to the school buildings, special play areas, and grassed areas, and they will feel gratitude towards those who have worked so hard to bring about the changes. Mayfair has become more attractive and interesting through the years as an institution, and most importantly, as a place of learning.
CULTURAL:
The “3 R’s” and other core curriculum subjects have been taught conscientiously and well throughout Mayfair’s fifty year span, but education encompasses more. Culturally, the children have been exposed to a wide range of experiences, both as active performers and as witnesses to the creativity of others. It is not possible to record all activities, but heading any list must be the School Choir, which has functioned continuously since the school began, and the Maori Culture Group which has also been in existence for a very long time. The latter has been reinforced at times by occasional school Maori Language weeks. Both these groups have performed at interschool festivals, usually in the Municipal Theatre, and for some other groups, e. g. the residents of the Holy Family Home and Eversley.
For a time, there was a recorder group at Mayfair, and this has been reintroduced more recently.
In the ’sixties, Mr Paton and Mr Elton gave violin lessons out of school hours for anyone who would like to learn to play that instrument.
One of Mayfair’s earliest attempts in the dramatic field was a 1978 production of “Oliver” produced by Mrs Rhys Johns and teachers, with Upper Primer-Std. 1 children. It was a musical, described as “tuneful and of high standard.” It “ran” for a week at school and was then shown at the Holy Family Home.
A melodrama with a teacher cast, “Unhand Me, Villain” was a great success at a school concert in 1981. Since then, a drama group has gained considerable strength, and there have been musicals and plays produced regularly. Many children have taken part under the direction of Mrs Gaynor Cotching. (See Mrs Cotching’s notes).
Over the years, children have been taken to shows at the Municipal Theatre, or enjoyed them at school. In 1954, they heard the Vienna Boys’ Choir, followed by “The Trapp Family Singers” in 1955. They saw “Peter and the Wolf” (NZ. Ballet Company 1962) and the Ngati Kahungunu American Touring Party in 1972. Some pupils attended a National Orchestra Concert in 1983 and in 1986 Te Waka Takitimu Group performed the story of the Takitimu Canoe at school. There have also been visits by
Maori Cultural Group 1987
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story telling groups such as “Story Theatre” and “Theatre Corporate” who became regular visitors for several years.
The lovely Primer-Std. 1 flower shows will not be forgotten by the children and teachers who set them up, nor by those who came to view them. For many years, the shows have provided a very bright spot in the school’s programme.
Gardens, too, have been given attention. In the early ’fifties, the school had a Garden Club guided by Mr Hurdsfield, Schools’ Science Adviser, who also judged the children’s home gardens and awarded certificates of merit. There have been garden projects since then too, and of course children have helped with plantings in the school grounds and are responsible for the colourful window boxes outside their own classrooms.
SPORTS:
28.4.50
Mayfair’s first entry in the interschool summer sports day – 3 girls gained certificates – Judith Leppien lst in 7-8yr girls race. (She set a new record). Dianne Leech was 2nd in her 9 yr old race, and Rae Estcourt was 3rd in the same race.
29.6.56
Springboks P.S. duToit (forward) and P.G. Johnston (3/4) visited the school.
May 1959
Messrs Risman and Mulcahy, (British Lions team) visited.
6.4.61
Mayfair’s first Activity Day. A remarkable day. 24 teams of 12 children took part, and pupils broke 12 H.B. Education Board contributing schools’ activity day records during the day, (i.e. schools from Wairoa to Dannevirke had held such activity days annually for the last 3 years, and the best results from each school were compared to determine the record holders). Mayfair at this stage held half the records for H.B. schools.
The outstanding performance of the day was in the 10 year cricket ball throw, when 9 year old Derek Lowe easily broke the record and won with a throw of 143 ft 4 in.
Parents (40-50) assisted as officials during the day, which could not have been so successful without their contribution.
Records broken were –
Long jump
girls Shona Jonson 11ft, 2in.
High jump
boys Brian Newrick 3ft, 5in.
50 yds
8 yr girls Lorraine Newrick 8 sec.
50 yds
9 yr boys John Harlen 7.5 sec (equals record).
75 yds
10yr girls Shona Jonson 10.7 sec.
Steeplechase
7yr Douglas Turner 48 sec,
8yr Laurie Urlich 47.5sec.
9yr Derek Lowe, 1min, 27.3 sec.
Softball Throw
10yr girls Lorraine Petrowski 90ft, 6½in.
Cricket Ball Throw
Derek Lowe 143ft, 4in.
A Gymnastics Group 1991
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7.8.70
Mr Daymond took Girls’ and Boys’ Gymnastics teams to the Festival, Napier. Mayfair came 5th in the competitions. This day has been held annually from 1970 on.
August 76
Annual Wintersports Tournament. Mayfair winners of all 3 rugby grades. 2 soccer grades, and netball players were runners-up in 2 grades.
November 77
Good sportsmanship shown by Saturday cricket teams. Good performances by G. Walker and J. Time (or Timu?)
23.3.78
Opening of Nelson Park’s all-weather track. Mayfair won the Primary Schools’ Relay and Trophy.
1.10.80
Interschool Cross Country Championships.
School Successes
Garth Page lst 10 yr boys
Boys Team lst 10 yr boys
Blair Taylor 2nd 8 yr boys
Girls Team 3rd 11yr girls
11.3.81
Interschool Swimming Sports. Mayfair gained 7 firsts, 6 seconds, 4 thirds. In relays, 2 firsts, 3 seconds, 3 thirds, 16 schools competed.
7.10.82
Interschool Cross Country Championships.
Wendy Paramore lst 11yr girls.
8.10.85
9 year old Shelley Coombe selected for the Hastings Team, H.B. Cross Country Championships.
27.2.86
School Swimming sports at Windsor Park. Children excelled themselves with their cooperation and enthusiastic participation. Very complimentary remarks from the baths’ custodian about organisation and pupil participation.
1.8.86
Junior rooms ran their own “Commonwealth Games”. Weight-lifting, the biggest attraction, using polystyrene “weights”. Judges made decisions based on the quality of grimace and “effort” that went into each lift!
7.10.86
Mayfair organised Interschool Cross Country day. All acquitted themselves well, two school teams taking first place, one second, and two third place.
15.7.87
The World Cup Rugby, recently won for the first time by New Zealand, was brought to Mayfair by the Post Office, and shown to each class.
7.10.88
A mini-Olympics afternoon was held with full pomp of march past, flags and official flame. A very pleasant afternoon
Photo captions –
No need for a caption for this picture!
The first oral polio vaccination was given in 1962. The pupils were pleasantly surprised. (Vaccinations had previously been given by injection). Christine Rawhiti downs her dose of Sabin vaccine like a veteran and Diane Shepherd appears to be looking forward to her turn. Dental Nurse Betty Graham is there to help if necessary.
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SOCIAL:
Social events at Mayfair have been many and varied. Here too, the “spirit of Mayfair” has been manifest, and gatherings have been lively and cheerful.
For some years after the school opened, there were annual picnic days at such places as Westshore, Te Awanga and Black Bridge, Haumoana. These days were always popular.
Social evenings, many involving the children of the school, were held sometimes in what was then St. Martin’s Hall, and later in our own school hall. Usually there was a farewell dance / social to farewell pupils leaving to go to Intermediate School. At least one of these was organised by Standard 3 pupils.
There have been many general get-togethers in the school hall, and parents have attended special school days such as “Pet Day”, “Top Hat Day” and “Wacky Wednesday on a Friday!” (when staff joined in, and parents were coerced?) These have provided a lot of fun.
School end-of-year break-up concerts were held outdoors between the junior school and the old administrative area until the hall was built. Usually, the weather was mild and those outdoor evenings were very pleasant, and well attended. There have been end-of-year barbecues and games evenings, too, out of doors in latter years.
Who will forget the fancy dress balls in the Assembly Hall, Hastings? Certainly not the teachers, and probably not the parents. For the teachers at least, the lead-up to the ball contained an element of “blood, sweat, (and hopefully, not too many) tears” as they strove to teach folk-dances and the intricacies of the Grand March to sometimes reluctant learners (e.g. boys who quailed at the idea of actually having to take their girl partners by the hand). Nevertheless the ball nights were always successful and much enjoyed – including the sudden quiet period when the children tucked into the very good suppers provided by their mothers!
One of Mayfair’s biggest social events was the April 1975 Silver Jubilee celebrations, held in response to many enquiries from ex-pupils and past members of parents’ committees. It was attended by some 300 ex-pupils, many of
Photo captions –
Betty Porter
Les Morgan 1989
“If you want to get ahead get a hat”
Mayfair School Silver Jubilee, Foundation Pupils.
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whom were still younger than thirty years old, ex-staff members, and ex-School Committee and Home and School Association members. A committee of twenty-two, headed by Mr Brian Davey organised the celebratory events and produced a book that recorded Mayfair’s story. The highlight of the jubilee weekend was the Saturday evening social hour and formal dinner held at the Tomoana Showgrounds, but the whole weekend was a very happy one.
FUNDRAISING:
Mayfair School would not be as it is today were it not for the efforts of parents, children and staff to raise extra funds for the school and to supply volunteer labour. Parents in particular have worked long and hard, often for many years, to benefit the school, and must be regarded as our “unsung heroes.” To all who have helped, we would like you to know that your work has earned deep appreciation and gratitude.
Fundraising has taken many forms. There have been gala days, bottle drives, casino evenings, sausage sizzles, school mufti days, and pupil-organised bring and buy days. Occasionally there have been “walkathons” involving many children, and staged by the Home and School Association.
A 1963 Queen Carnival (Maxine Boag, Queen, and Penny Beaven and Shirley Paul, Princesses), boosted funds for the hall building, and in 1984 a “Parade of Hats” was supported by a huge number of school “friends”. A “Spring Fashion Show” at Mayfair Hotel in 1986 also drew a large number of onlookers.
On a smaller scale, Home and School parents even catered for the end-of-year staff luncheon of 1998. No doubt it was the best such luncheon ever, and hopefully, a very profitable one for the school’s treasury.
Not all the fundraising has been for the school. The children, backed by their parents, have supported other good causes. The first of these was the sale of Health Stamps at school by parents, and this became an annual event. Children have collected for Red Cross and Save the Children through coin trails, (copper in the early days), sweet shops and other activities. (Mayfair has contributed books to Fijian children through Save the Children as well).
In July 1971 children gave money and many peggy-squares to the Red Cross for Pakistani refugees, and in 1977, the Standard 1-2 Syndicate raised money for the Children’s Ward, Memorial Hospital. Two appeals in 1993 saw substantial donations given to the St. John Ambulance Association and to the Napier Museum, and in 1997, through the holding of a School Read-a-thon, $2,200 was given to the Multiple Sclerosis Society
Many ex-pupils may have vivid memories of their involvement in World Vision 20 Hour Famine weekends. In 1997, the school was presented with a plaque from World Vision in recognition of the school’s raising at least $1000 a year for the eight years preceding the presentation. (In some years the amount raised approached $2000).
Overall, a record in which the school can take pride, and a very heartening record too.
Jim McDonald and the 1983 Road Patrol. Road Patrols have played an important part in school life, and the pupils who undertake this duty deserve much credit for reliability, for giving up their time and for their willingness to work in all weathers.
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Above: Netball A Team 1980. Coach, Harata McCracken.
Above right: Mayfair Netball Blue Team, 1991
Below: Mak Haerewa tries his hand at Weightlifting during the junior School “Commonwealth Games” 1986.
Above: The bays get a facelift, 1989.
Gaynor Cotching and some very young students, 1998
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HISTORICAL:
The death of King George VI on 7.2.52 was marked by the closure of the school for that day, and the flag flown at half-mast until a week later, the day of his funeral. On the day of the King’s funeral, a service was held at school, and that ceremony included a reading of a declaration by Sarah Lamberg. A similar service was held when Queen Mary died in 1953.
In May 1953, when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned, the school heard an address by Mr Burke, Headmaster, there was a “Salute the Flag” ceremony, and Meryl Hunt and Bruce Latton planted an Irish yew to mark the occasion.
The Queen Mother came to Hastings in February 1958, and the Mayfair children walked to Holt’s corner to see her. Can you remember this little lady smiling and waving as she went by on the back of a jeep.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip have visited Hastings in 1963, 1977 and in 1986 and Mayfair children have been there to greet them either along Karamu Road or at a park. After an official welcome at Nelson Park in 1986, a television news item showed Catherine Williams presenting flowers to Queen Elizabeth.
Governors General and their spouses since Lord Cobham’s visit in October 1950, have also been welcomed by Mayfair and other schools, usually at Nelson or Windsor Park, though the junior school children sometimes had their base near the Mayfair Hotel. On one occasion, a surprise phone call to the school resulted in all the children lining Grove Road ready to wave to Sir Paul and Lady Reeves as they drove by. To everyone’s delight, Sir Paul’s car stopped and he and Lady Reeves, with an A.D.C., walked the full length of the children’s line chatting happily to them.
Changing times have meant changes for Mayfair too. In the early ’fifties poliomyelitis epidemics were still a real threat until controlled by vaccination programmes introduced then. (In 1952, two children who had been in contact with a polio sufferer were temporarily suspended from school). Anti-rubella vaccinations were soon to follow.
New Zealand changed to decimal currency in 1967, so, in February of that year, decimal currency books were sent to the school, and 20 bags of plastic decimal coins arrived in April to allow the children to become familiar with “decimals”.
On 21.7.69, all lessons in classrooms ceased as everyone listened to the radio broadcast describing Armstrong’s and Aldrin’s first steps on the moon. This was real history!
Mayfair and other schools faced a big challenge in 1989 when the Government handed management of individual schools to their own locally elected representatives. So, Mayfair’s Board of Trustees came into being.
1992 – Mrs Megan Deacon helped with the planting of 6 shade trees. She also helped build the new playground structures near the school entrance.
Additions to the playground area 1991
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It was made up of 5 members elected by the community, the school Principal, and one member elected by the school staff. Four more members could be co-opted if necessary to ensure the ethnic and gender balance of the Board. The Ministry for Education was to be the funding authority, and was to retain surveillance of schools through its Education Review Office and NZ. Qualifications Authority.
April 3rd was the day of the last official meeting of the Mayfair School Committee. School committees disbanded quietly, and with little public acknowledgment of their very good record of service for more than a hundred years. The same could have been said of the Hawke’s Bay Education Board and its staff, whose 111 year term ended on 29.9.89.
The newly elected Board of Trustees met first on 25.5.89, and after an early training and settling-in period, new initiatives began to emerge, e.g. in September 1989 the school staff was given the opportunity to study and discuss the annual budget; more help could now be hired for children with special needs.
These management changes appear to have gone smoothly, and the Board of Trustees is now firmly established, and experienced. The changes have been beneficial – certainly the community has more freedom to determine the directions the school takes to achieve goals (and to determine the goals themselves), and Education Review Office audits from 1992 on have given confirmation of the school’s effectiveness socially and academically.
Two other noteworthy happenings have been the arrival of the computer age, (computers were being used throughout Mayfair by 1992, when some teachers voluntarily took a six month university course to advance their skills), and the national introduction of the four-term year for Primary Schools.
THIS AND THAT:
Dec. 1953
An inquiry was held into misbehaviour of several boys and three girls who had been “proceeding out of school hours to a rendezvous where kissing was carried on.” The matter was reported to the parents of the children and the consequences of such behaviour pointed out to the children. (Even in those days, they had their problems!)
June 1954
Mr Dove absent. Three of the Dove children took over the cleaning duties.
22.7.54
Very wet and stormy. 160 children out of 396 absent because of weather or flu.
29.9.55
An unauthorised collector soliciting funds for school. Collector apprehended, and Magistrate ordered restitution.
20.9.57
School patrols given white coats and rain capes by Transport Department.
20-22.10.59
One of the first school educational trips to Christchurch. (Standard 4 children and Mr & Mrs McMurray and Miss Craven). Bus to Wellington, ferry to Christchurch overnight, one day in Christchurch and back again. Very good trip, but some very tired children and staff on the bus home. The only casualty, the only pupil who declined to take a travel-sickness pill. At least two other Christchurch trips – Mr I. Chadwick with seniors in 1957 and Mr Wismeyer and 25 Standard 4 pupils in 1966.
7.7.60
The first mid-year parent-teacher interviews instead of reports. Attendance of parents, Junior School 96%, Senior School 97%. Parents and teachers found the interviews valuable.
By 1969, basketball had been replaced by the new seven-aside netball teams. Note the “bibs.”
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27.2.62
School Committee raised voluntary subscription to school to one pound per family.
23.7.62
School received a picture won at Hawke’s Bay and East Coast Art Society’s Annual Exhibition.
4.4.64
First Bottle Drive.
25.3.65
School broken into – the first of a series of “break-ins” which lasted until the installation of burglar alarms.
7.11.66
Three classes on a Nature Study trip visited Blowhard Bush, Taihape Road.
29.11.66
Two primer classes (R12 & 3) visited animal farm at Clive.
22.2.67
Room 11 Standard 4, visited the new Hastings Radio Station where there was a collection of antiques, including radios and gramophones.
3.8.67
Arbour Day. Native trees planted along Fenwick Street alleyway. Kauri, Kahikatea, Totara, Rimu, Manuka, Puriri, Tanekaha, Rewarewa, Marble Leaf and Lacebark.
22.9.69
Fire drill. Fire brigade brought two machines to demonstrate fire fighting and ladder rescue.
9.9.70
Emergency evacuation drill. Buildings cleared in 30 seconds.
15.12.70
Road patrol members had morning tea with the City Council. This became almost an annual event.
4.11.71
Rooms 10, 14 walked from Te Awanga to Kidnappers. Some of the youngest had a turn at being doubled by Mr Talbot on bicycle.
8.11.71
Mr Joseph Pell, Pharmacist, spoke to the Home and School Association on drug abuse. (As early as 1966 Nurse Shaw had shown a film to pupils warning of the dangers of smoking).
20.2.73
Mrs McNab took over repair of library books, which had been done for three years previously by Mrs Atkins.
30.5.73
Funeral and Tangi at Kohupatiki Marae for Mr Jack Te K. Chadwick, First Assistant, Mayfair 1951-59.
7.10.74
Miss Thompson took her Standard 3 pupils of Room 16 (and some from Room 14) to Rotorua to study thermal areas.
9.10.74
Claret ash donated by Mr Walker of Walker’s Nurseries planted next to Liquid Amber near Fenwick Street alleyway. Mr Walker had always been a generous helper with the school’s landscaping.
15.2.78
Parents took over school banking. Mrs Cameron the first convenor.
18.4.78
Pupil representatives attended City Council meeting to discuss Sports and Recreational needs for primary and intermediate school children.
29.4.78
A group of children took part in a Jaycee “Stiltathon” project. (Traffic Road Safety Education).
17.7.78
Death of Mr Ian Talbot, who had retired as Principal in 1974.
Standard 1, 1976, Teacher, Georgina Prebble.
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17.11.78
Touring Packer Cricket Team met members of school cricket teams at school.
7.4.79
Some 150 children, with parents and grandparents were involved during the weekend in filming a commercial series for TV. at Fantasyland. (TV. Silver Screens Productions – Griffin’s Biscuits advertisements). The Principal reported – “Often tiring, sometimes frustrating, but instructive and enjoyed by many of the children. Certainly an education in what is involved in film-making.” A member of the team later visited the school to thank those concerned and to make a donation to the school funds.
27.9.79
Funeral of Mr L. Sutton.
3.11.79
Home and School members erected playground equipment – multi-play unit, igloo climber, and playhouse.
30.6.81
Death of Mr L.J. Burke, first Head Teacher at Mayfair.
20 – 25.9.81
Messrs J. McDonald and A. Couston took 52 Standard 4 children to Wellington – a highly successful tour.
15 – 17.9.82
The first recorded school camp. Mrs Cotching and Mrs Bunny went with Standard 3 pupils from Rooms 12 & 13 to Riverbend at Havelock North.
9.3.83
R.A.P. with parent tutors commenced. 12 parents took part.
1 – 3.4.85
Interviews (parent-teacher) held in first term for the first time. Very well attended.
8.3.86
A major working bee was organised by parents. Tasks completed included – spraying, cutting and shaping of grass edges; the re-development of the Fenwick Street entrance way; cutting and trimming of all shrubs; digging and cultivating all classroom garden boxes; the cutting of firewood. The staff and each class have undertaken to plant and care for each garden plot outside their classroom. The Principal praised the caretaker (Mr Drinkwater) for his interest in the school grounds and for his work at school generally and said that the school now looked very well cared for and had attracted favourable comment.
11.4.86
Rooms 1,2,3 (Infants) trip to Napier to visit the Port (apple loading), the Airport (to see the Crash/ Fire crew in operation), the Napier Museum of Transport and Technology, and the Stables Waxwork Museum). The venture included 56 children, 18 adults and 14 cars.
Mr Doug Crofskey and Rugby A, 1981
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Some exhaustion at the end of the day, but a thoroughly rewarding day.
12.6.86
Ms Wendy McCorkindale and Mr A. Curtis (the newly appointed Principal) attended the inaugural meeting of the Children with Special Abilities Group. They spoke of the challenge of selection, and the problems involved in working with these children.
16.6.86
Wendy Colville visited to explain the new Itinerant Teacher of Maori System.
2.7.86
The school issued the first official Merit Awards at assembly.
7.8.86
Conservation week celebrated by planting two trees for each of the school houses – Rewa Rewa, Totara, Kauri, Rimu.
16.9.86
The Principal attended a two day course on computer use in schools.
18.11.86
Children from Rooms 1 – 4 welcomed with full Maori traditional welcome children from Havelock North, Anderson Park and Mahora Schools. Afterwards there were action songs, a shared lunch and the telling of the story of Te Mata.
27.4.87
Six year old Ceilidh Fairgrieve won a Merit Award in the 1986-87 Dominion School Art Exhibition on display at the Hastings Cultural Centre. The exhibition contained 228 items of art and craft from schools in the lower North Island.
27.11.87
A very successful Pet Day – 50 dogs, 6 cats, 1 goat, chickens, hens, ducklings, axolotls, goldfish, birds, a pet rat, an opossum and a pet stone! Also a section that included toy animals. Over 200 pieces on display.
To finish the day, a police dog handler showed some of his dog’s tricks and obedience tests.
For the pet entries there were 10 different categories, with award certificates for each of them.
4.12.87
17 Standard 4 children were involved in the filming of Fantasyland by T.V.N.Z. A hot, frantic, but exciting afternoon.
5.8.88
As the culmination of two weeks’ study of “Life in Our Grandparents’ Day”, an open afternoon for grandparents and older folk was held. It was well attended, with scores of display items – a very successful afternoon.
3.3.89
Visitors from our sister city, Guilin, visited Fantasyland at 2pm. Upon request, many willing Mayfair children “populated” the park for the occasion and had a lovely time free of charge.
School journals were also donated by the school to help middle school children in Guilin with their reading of English.
11.9.89
Mayfair School Patrols met the Mayor and Ministry of Transport officers at Fantasyland. Brian Coley and Jessica Aranui were photographed holding a shield awarded to the school for being the best school patrol in Hawke’s Bay last year. September 20th was a
Photo captions –
“School’s cool” The new sandpit.
Grandparents’ Day 1988
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free day at Fantasyland for all Hawke’s Bay School Patrol members.
Dec. 91
Home and School members redeveloped the main entrance area.
22.10.92
A story published by the Dominion, the Herald Tribune and TV3 featured Richard Barton’s bottle message which had reached Holland.
Nov. 95
As a maths exercise, Room 4 made a survey of traffic passing the school. It showed that of 200 persons counted in cars, 78 were not wearing seatbelts. Room 4 wrote a letter to the newspaper!
May 96
As part of a Junior School study about disability, the children were introduced to guide dog “Bailey” by George Tapin of Flaxmere.
June 96
A grand planting of native shrubs area. The plantings were wired in for safety, but a pair of clippers helped the removal of two tree ferns a little later. Changing times!
July 97
A study of families of Mayfair School:
Roll 350 Boys 174 (48%)
Girls 185 (52%)
(A reversal of the roll balance in 1992 census).
European children 241 (67%) Maori children 103 (29%), children of other ethnic groups 15 (4%).
2000
There has been much widening of the range of sports played within the school and at interschool level in the last few years. The basic swimming, cricket, softball and netball are still included in the programme, but there are also variations of some of these and some activities that are quite new to contributing schools. Sports and allied activities that have been featured alongside traditional games have been: New Image rugby; rugby 7s; soccer; Kiwi netball; hockey, Kiwi hockey; softball; Kiwi cricket; badminton; volleyball; T-ball; indoor bowls. Gymnastics, athletic days (for the standard classes), tabloid days, cross country runs and dancing still continue.
DRAMA
This article has been written by Gaynor Cotching, now Associate Principal at Mayfair: Gaynor has been a prime mover and “executive” in the dramatic productions mentioned, and their success, in significant measure, has been the result of her work. Editor.
Drama performed for the public at Mayfair began, as far as I can remember, in 1981. Doug Crofskey, the principal at the time, coerced the staff into performing a playette entitled
Mayfair Hockey Team 1991. Note the attractive uniforms, and that the team includes both boys and girls.
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“Unhand Me, Squire” as part of the annual school concert. It wasn’t until 1983, however, when the operetta “Gepetto and Friends” was staged that senior children were involved in a production. “Gepetto” was again performed in 1989, partly because time was limited and the staff involved already knew the production, but also because at that time, there were very few musicals available involving lots of children. In recent years the situation has much improved – with quite a variety now on the market.
1991 saw the introduction to the stage of younger children and also of Chris Green who, with the help of some talented pupils, painted a magnificent backdrop for “Noah’s Flood.” The caretaker, Ian Drinkwater, also spent many hours creating an ark that would withstand the rigours of “animals” clambering around it. More children were also involved by way of the percussion group which added another welcome dimension to the music.
In 1993, Chris Green once again painted the backdrop for “The Time Machine” but this time it was painted directly onto the back wall of the stage, providing a permanent mural of a New Zealand scene for the hall. “The Time Machine” also saw the involvement of teachers and children in the making of props and there were even a fire extinguisher and wonderful sound effects to create a suitable atmosphere. One performance was memorable for some unintended sound effects when Teresa Neilsen, acting as prompt, tumbled down the steps at the side of the stage during a particularly quiet moment.
“The Pine and the Pohutakawa” was the 1995 production. Fortunately the stage mural was an ideal setting as this musical was set in New Zealand. Lloyd Campbell helped add to the bush setting by helping children to create a forest all around the stage. When the colourful costumes, also made by the pupils, were added, it was a magnificent set.
“A Forest Tale” in 1998 has been the most recent offering and this continued the trend of the production becoming a whole school effort. Pupils designed and made props and costumes (including a particularly tricky weta outfit) and also did all the advertising. That year we also had a special performance for the families of the actors and singers. The evening was a great success with food, drink and brightly coloured tablecloths all made by the pupils as part of the new Technology Curriculum.
I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge “Thank you” to all who have been involved in our productions. Only they know how much blood sweat and tears go into the staging of these musicals. It is, however, well worth the effort as occasionally I see the names/ photos of ex Mayfair pupils featuring in choirs, bands and drama at Intermediate and High School and I guess their enthusiasm for the Arts began at Mayfair School.
RED CROSS
These days children at school have a large selection of after-school activities to fill their leisure time; however things were different in the 1950’s.
The technology room. A different approach to learning, 1999
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I was invited to join Red Cross and attended weekly meetings where our group of trainees was taught the mysteries of first aid and bandaging.
The Red Cross organisation has a proud record of service to the community and we as cadets were asked to serve by visiting the patients at the Memorial Hospital and taking orders for shopping which we then purchased from the hospital store. The ward shopping trolley hadn’t been thought of yet and we delivered many evening papers, cakes of soap and tubes of toothpaste.
Later, as we grew older, Saturdays were spent helping on the wards and I’m sure for many girls it was an introduction to nursing careers. Unfortunately when my turn came, I always seemed to spend very long days scrubbing bed pans and mopping floors. Although I didn’t pursue a nursing career I remember my Red Cross experiences fondly and can still apply a very neat bandage when the occasion arises.
Janice Finnimore (nee Kirk)
Maori Culture
In 1972 a new activity was introduced to Mayfair School in the form of Maori Culture, and participation in the Hastings and District Maori Culture Festivals followed. Few, if any, of the children had had anything much to do with things Maori, (even the Maori children), so it was something of a novelty.
For the three tutors who were coerced into giving their time, it must have been a daunting prospect but Betty Wattie, Beano Waitoa and Nora Swan were made of stern material and managed to shape a hoard of keen but unknowing 8-11 year olds – about 60 of them – to the point of confidently performing on stage at a packed Municipal Theatre with little sign of nerves. No piupius, no headbands, no mere, no taiaha – just a lot of enthusiasm.
Over the next few years the momentum was maintained. Distinctive uniforms were created and Mayfair School became more than a school that was just making up the numbers. They, the children, became a group with pride – pride in their performance, pride in their achievement and pride in their school. It was a real buzz watching the group performing over the years and to see the pleasure that they gave to their tutors, parents and staff – not to forget the oldies at the Little Sisters of the Poor over the road who were treated to the performance each year also.
As one of the people involved with the groups from inception until 1979 when I left Mayfair, I was privileged to see the huge difference it made to many in the various groups, and am proud to have been part of it.
Today Maori Culture is still alive and kicking at Mayfair School and obviously here to stay. Long may it remain.
Alistair Couston.
Maori Culture Group 1976. Teachers, Alistair Couston, Barry Milne.
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MAYFAIR SCHOOL JUBILEE 2000
REMEMBRANCE AND REMINISCENCE
HEADMASTERS
Mr L.J. Burke
1950 – 1955
Mr Burke was Mayfair School’s first headmaster, and to him must be given much of the credit for setting the school on a sound course for the years that followed.
Within a few days of the school’s opening, torrential rain forced its closure. The brand new buildings were surrounded by a sea of mud and water, and a contractor’s truck left at the main entrance sank up to its axles in mud! When things settled down, Mr Burke helped with some of the non-professional work associated with the school, as well as attending to his professional duties. In old clothes, kept at school for the purpose, he was one of those who carried metal from the Fenwick side of the property to wherever it was needed, sometimes with the help of “conscript labour.” (Collecting the equivalent of a bucket of metal after school was the penalty of the time for late arrival in the morning!) This activity Mr Burke later described as “a noble contribution, though savouring of the slave gang.” There were willing volunteers, though, when Mr Burke and Mr Dove sowed the lawns around the school buildings. There were tree plantings and rose-plantings, with parents too. Grounds formation and landscaping seem to have been carried out very much on a D.I.Y. basis then as now.
An early Gala provided 3000 pounds with which Mr Burke was able to enhance the range of teaching equipment. Early purchases included a film projector and two new pianos. The school baths were also built during his term as Headmaster.
While at Mayfair, Mr Burke saw the school roll grow from 264 to over 520. More rooms were built, but it still became necessary to send some classes to other schools for temporary accommodation.
In 1954 Mayfair’s first Headmaster left the school for a few months to become an Acting-Inspector with the H.B. Education Board. He returned to Mayfair, but finally left at the end of 1955 to become Headmaster of Nelson Park School, Napier.
Mr Burke died in 1981.
Mr McMurray
1956 – August 1961
The years when Mr Rob McMurray was Headmaster of Mayfair School were characterised by the smooth running of the school, and considerable development there materially and in teaching practice. Mr McMurray was a very good administrator, and he was also professionally aware of the needs of pupils and teachers and of the ways in which those needs could be met.
One of his strengths was his management of school funds. He could make every penny useful. A very strong and supportive School Committee, with other equally supportive and hard-working parents, allowed him to achieve his goals. (It was in the 1956-61 period that annual school galas possibly had their hey-day). Indeed they were needed, as Mayfair’s roll reached its peak of 663 pupils during that period. Some of Mayfair’s material gains at this time were:
new fencing along the Western Boundary,
a covered way to the two new rooms at the back of the school
improved paving of the main drive
the paving of the area in front of the junior school block.
After a particularly wet winter in 1956, when the area between the office and the Fenwick Street entrance was often a sheet of water, parents spent nine consecutive Saturdays concreting trouble spots around the school.
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Mr McMurray also made sure that up-to-date school equipment generally was available and put to good use. (Some teachers may remember the introduction of the two-way address system, with units in each classroom. It was accepted with mixed feelings by some staff members).
To help children to handle money wisely, Mr McMurray really made a feature of “School Banking” each week. Do you remember the weekly inter-class competition for the “Banking Shield?”
Other pupil-related innovations (for Mayfair), while Mr McMurray was at the helm included:
Mid-year talks with parents to replace the written mid-year reports.
The first “Art Week” and other weeks to highlight particular curriculum areas.
General sports “Activity Days” catering for children from a wide range of interest and ability groups.
Annual Fancy Dress Balls.
The first Christchurch Trips (by night ferry) for S.4. pupils.
Mr McMurray left Mayfair in August 1961.
Mr McMurray’s farewell entry in the School Log. August 1961.
“My last entry in the log book after five years and six months as Headmaster of this splendid school. It has been a very happy time, especially as I have seen a programme of all-round development of the children come into fruition. The School has had remarkable support and service from both teachers and parents. I pass to my successor a school that is sound academically, has a spirit and atmosphere of its own, and, too, has the full confidence of the parents and of the children.
I am grateful indeed to the many people who have assisted in bringing this about.
I do wish the school success and happiness for the future. Thank you Mayfair children, staff, Committee and district.”
Robin McMurray, H.M.
Mr F.H. Bacon
September 1961 – 1965
Mr Frank Bacon who became Headmaster in 1961, was young, energetic, and enthusiastic, and exactly the right appointee for the school at that time. The early ‘Sixties was a period of considerable change in both the curriculum and in teaching procedures, and professional wisdom and flexibility were needed to guide teachers through the changes and challenges they faced. The new headmaster had these qualities, and his enthusiasm was infectious, so that new programmes were introduced, accepted by teachers and children, and became effective – all without stress, and, indeed, with enjoyment and an element of excitement.
Mr Bacon had concern for individuals too – children, teachers and parents, and Mayfair, though still with roll numbers over the 500 mark at times, was a lively, happy school under his leadership.
Among other improvements, the School Hall stands as a reminder of the foresight, determination and hard work of Mr Bacon, School Committee members and so many parents who laboured long and hard to bring a dream to reality.
Let Mr Bacon tell his own story –
‘On the afternoon of the last day of the second term 1961, I was putting pupils on the school bus when the driver called out, “So you’re leaving Haumoana?”
“First I’ve heard of it”, said I.
“Oh yes,” he replied with authority, “You’ve got Mayfair”.
It was what I really wanted to hear but I was suspicious of the reliability of such a line of communication.
A phone call to the Education Board confirmed the appointment and I was indeed a very happy man. I knew little about the school but Rob McMurray, the retiring Head, had always spoken in glowing terms of its qualities. And the view from the road provided a very good impression.
I was due to start immediately after the holidays, so I had to move fast and get myself organised. It was a considerable step for me, moving from a five-room school to a position
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of non-teaching Head of a school with fourteen classrooms.
I had a session with Rob McMurray and got the impression that he was somewhat apprehensive about a ‘young buck’ taking over the reins.
I was enthusiastic and keen to put my own personal stamp on the place. I had ideas, but implementing them depended on the quality of the staff and I was yet to meet them. Naturally, I was a little apprehensive about it all.
I need not have worried. Staff members proved to be a fine group, conscientious and willing and a pleasure to work with.
The school committee came up trumps – a great team of men with a strong leader in Andy Ross, all devoted to the well-being of the school. The PTA was well established and parents were very supportive.
And the pupils were, overall, pleasant, well behaved and friendly.
How lucky could one be?
The three years and two terms that I spent at Mayfair School seemed to skip by so quickly.
It was a period in my career that was enjoyable and rewarding. There were very few hassles. There was strong commitment displayed by teachers and the team effort led to pleasing results.
I shall always be grateful for the support given to me at Mayfair by all concerned with the school and that includes the clerical assistant, Amy Healey, the Dental Nurse Betty Graham, and the caretaker, Harry Dove.
I am indeed proud to have played a part in the history of Mayfair School.’
In 1965 Mr Bacon began duties as Principal of Havelock North Primary School, and later became Principal of Havelock North Intermediate where he remained until his retirement. He now lives in Havelock North.
Mr Ian Talbot
1965 – 1969 and 1971 – 1974
No-one who was at Mayfair while Mr Talbot was Headmaster will forget him. He was a man large in stature and large in spirit, and his kindliness was extended to each staff member and to all the children, for whom he became a father-figure.
Mr Talbot was also a practical man, who focussed upon sound teaching practises and expected academic progress in keeping with individual ability. He made sure that school equipment and the school environment generally matched the needs of the children in his care.
He had several special interests. He wanted pupils to be aware of the things both around them and further afield, and he encouraged field trips to this end, sometimes taking part in trips e.g. to the bush or the seashore; he tried to imbue the children with pride in their country and love of it (do you remember the “Saluting the Flag” ceremonies in the hall at Friday assemblies?); he was involved in the planting of native trees in the school grounds; he loved music. Mr Talbot took particular interest in the school choir and in classroom singing, and for six years he was President of the Hastings Schools’ Music Festival Association. Mr Talbot had been Mayfair’s first First Assistant in 1950.
As Headmaster, he was at the school for nearly nine years, not including 1970, when he was at Havelock North Primary School as Acting Headmaster. Here was a man who did give valuable service to his country, first as a soldier in World War 2, and then as a teacher. Sadly his retirement years were to be few, as he died in July 1978.
Mr O. Benson
1975-76
Mr Ollie Benson’s term at Mayfair was shortened by the fact that there was a nationwide drop in school rolls in the mid-‘seventies, and Mayfair, like many other schools, was downgraded. Senior school staff positions were correspondingly downgraded, so a move for Mr Benson was necessary. He moved to a Taranaki School and now lives in retirement in New Plymouth.
While he was at Mayfair, the best features of the school were maintained and developed, so that, when he left, he could do so knowing that he was leaving the school in good heart.
Mr Benson was Headmaster at the time of the last School Jubilee, but he regrets that he will not be able to attend our fiftieth anniversary Jubilee. He sends his best wishes for a happy and successful weekend.
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Mr A. Kingston
1977 – 1979
Mr Alan Kingston also had a comparatively short time as Mayfair’s Headmaster. He will be remembered as a very pleasant man who adopted a “hands on” professional approach to the main business of the school, and one who earned the respect and affection of those with whom he worked. The school made good progress under his guidance, academically, culturally, and in the sports area – during his term of office there were visits to the school by story-telling and drama groups such as Theatre Corporate, visits by pupils to the Municipal Theatre to view performances by cultural groups such as the Aboriginal Culture Group, and there were perhaps the first real attempts to stage drama involving the school pupils themselves at Mayfair. Mr Kingston also took a keen interest in school music.
There were physical improvements at the school too. The interior of the school was painted, a new inter-com system installed, alterations to the administrative block saw Room 5 converted into new offices and storage rooms, and new fencing was erected on school boundaries, some of it with the help of P.D. workers, or workers from Government assisted labour schemes. Home and School members added new playground equipment, including a Multiplay unit, an igloo climber and a playhouse.
Mr Kingston left Mayfair to become Principal of an intermediate school in Marlborough. When ringing to invite him to our Jubilee, it was sad to learn that he had died a few months earlier.
Mr D. Crofskey
September 1980 – 84
Mr Doug Crofskey has been spoken of in the highest terms by both staff members and pupils who were at Mayfair while he was Principal. He was a man who expected high standards from the children and from his staff, and, of course, this was reflected in the tone and in the accomplishments of the school of his time. He has also been described as one who was energetic, caring, very competent professionally and, in short, a man with whom it was a privilege to work.
One of Mr Crofskey’s special interests at school and privately, was music, and during his time in Hastings he became a Trustee of Hawke’s Bay Opera.
Mr Crofskey is now retired, and living at Warkworth. He reports that he is generally fit and well, he is enjoying his retirement and is active in the management of indoor and outdoor bowls. His health is not perfect however, and he cannot therefore come to Mayfair’s Jubilee, although he would very much like to be part of it. Instead, he has sent the following account of his Mayfair days.
‘I started my service at Mayfair School at the beginning of Term 3 1980. I was most impressed with the grounds, especially the oak tree which dominated the main paddock, and the quality of the staff and pupils. I had come from Gisborne Central, a similarly-sized school, so I had plenty of grounds for comparison.
One of my unforgettable memories was the warm co-operation of the parent body. I immediately introduced parent assistance with reading, a scheme I had successfully inaugurated in Gisborne. Imagine my pleasure when mothers (some fathers) flocked to the school willing to assist. Not the least astonishing part of this was that most of the parents worked part-time or even full-time at their usual occupations. Here was one-to-one correspondence at its very best. One day I took a survey of the number of parents working in the school – there were upwards of twenty in any average day. This was put on a formal basis with the introduction of the Education Department’s “Reading Recovery” Scheme. Needless to say, there was no let-up as far as community help was concerned.
Previously I spoke of quality staff and pupils. I used to spend upwards of 12 hours weekly in the classroom with no interruption to the running of the school. This says a lot for the co-operation of the staff and their charges. I don’t want to single out any staff members. But I made up many excuses to visit Francie Bongard’s room. There was always something different going on and moreover her
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relationships with pupils was a joy to behold. And those relationships remained with her. We had frequent visits from old pupils and invariably they were looking for Mrs Bongard!
In the absence of “calf day” (a feature of country schools throughout the nation) we introduced a “hat day”. All of the children were busy on their creations beforehand and at 11 o’clock paraded their hats to the many parents gathered, to the accompaniment of martial music. On other days we held “kite day”, (which was a bit of a flop because no winds blew), and “pet day”. The latter occasioned many fights because some pupils brought their dogs along.
When I moved on to Heretaunga Intermediate School at the beginning of 1985, it marked the end of four years of vivid happy times at Mayfair School.
May I offer my congratulations at the fiftieth birthday of a fine school.’
Mr K. Edwards
May 1985 – December 1985
Mr Ken Edwards worked at Mayfair for two terms only before he left to join the H.B. Education Board’s Inspectorate.
Within the limited time available to him, he too, carried on the Mayfair tradition of good leadership and careful attention to the needs of its pupils and of its staff.
Mr Edwards now lives in retirement in Taradale, Napier.
At times, Mayfair Headmasters/Principals have been temporarily seconded to other duties by the Education Board, or they have been absent through illness. Their places have been filled in their absence by other staff members. Four long-term Acting Headmasters/Principals have been Mr Jack Chadwick, Mr Laurie Scott, Mr Barry Musson and Mr Les Morgan. These men carried out their duties ably and well, with the school running smoothly in their care.
Remembrance of long-term senior staff must also include mention of Miss Gwen Hay, a foundation staff member responsible for Junior Classes, and Mrs Molly Bark, who held the same position in the late ’Sixties and early ’Seventies. These ladies will long be remembered by the Mayfair community – they were respected for their ability and loved by those children and adults who worked with them.
Following are contributions from some of those who have been closely associated with Mayfair.
Mr Laurie Scott
Deputy Principal, 1964 – 1981
(Acting Principal whole of 1970 and for other shorter periods.)
The day before the Hastings Primary Schools’ Annual Athletic Sports, Paddy Burke and I used to meet at the Showgrounds to make the grandstand seating arrangements. “We’ll place Central at the western end, and St. Jo’s at the eastern end.” said Paddy. “Those two schools are always fighting with each other, so we’ll keep them well separated.” With a grin, Paddy continued, “You are at Havelock North and I am at Mayfair, so we’ll place them in the middle so they get the best view of the finishing line.”
In 1964 I started at Mayfair School where I stayed for seventeen happy years. The school assembly hall had just been finished at that time – a source of great pride and fulfilment after a wonderful fund raising campaign.
Mayfair had a library room but this was being used as a classroom until pupil numbers justified the building of another room. As a result, the upstairs room in the assembly hall was fitted out with bookshelves to house library books. There was a small gap where the shelves ended and here I placed a small door so that the area could be used as a store cupboard. Oh dear! The rumour began among some of the youngsters that ghosts lived in that cubby hole. One afternoon after school Ian Talbot and I went into the assembly hall and heard loud screams as three or four girls ran down the stairs because someone had said the ghost was after them!
Eventually extra rooms were added to the school allowing the library room to be used for its true purpose. What a difference!
One of the fund raising efforts for many years was the annual bottle drive. A Saturday was spent with cars and lorries bringing in bottles from all around the neighbourhood. These were then sorted into different types but with all the glassware there were breakages, making the playground near the front gate unfit for use for a few days.
As part of a fire safety demonstration, the Fire Brigade arrived at the school one day – siren and all – to show how a “victim” could be
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rescued from the library roof which was reached through French doors at one end of the staffroom. Unfortunately the fire engine had stopped on a grass patch shaded by the oak tree. The ground was rather soft following rain a day or so beforehand. When the fire engine started to move, the rear wheels dug into the ground making it immobile. Everyone in the vicinity tried to help by pushing it clear but nothing happened. A second vehicle had to be sent to the school to rescue the first one. By this time a number of parents had heard the fire engine’s siren and arrived at the school, hoping the school had not been burnt down.
Mayfair pupils were always keen on sports – netball, rugby, soccer, softball and cricket. It was a Wednesday afternoon and our soccer team had arrived at Mahora, which had a soccer team comprised of boys and girls. Our Mayfair players were finding some difficulty and when asked what was worrying them, one lad replied “We can’t shoulder the girls, sir. We might hurt them”.
The Mayfair School motto was well chosen – “Kind Thoughts, Good Deeds”. To all the past and present pupils, staff and committees, have a wonderful 50th jubilee.
Remember – “Ideals are like the stars, you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like the seafaring man in the desert of waters, you choose them as your guide and following them you reach your destiny.”
L.W. Scott.
Mr Barry Musson
Deputy Principal, February 1986 – 18.12.97
Acting Principal – lst Term 1986
There are a number of clear memories I have retained about Mayfair since my time there in the mid ’80s.
Firstly, I have always been struck by the number of people from all walks of life I have met who are ex-pupils of Mayfair. Mayfair was one of those schools which best represents all that was good from our egalitarian society. It was a suburb in a provincial city that truly represented the cross section of New Zealand society which was one of the school’s strengths. The local kids attended the local school. The kids, the parents and the teachers had a real sense of ownership which contributed to its success.
I remember that magnificent oak tree under which the kids played marbles, ate their lunch and could read in the cool on a hot Hawke’s Bay afternoon.
I remember the very focussed and appropriate school motto “Kind Thoughts. Good Deeds”. It was unequivocal and simple but could be used over and over again on an everyday basis to focus the behaviour of kids at the school. It fostered a sense of belonging to a place where lots of good things happened for lots of kids. I can’t recall ever working in a school where the school motto was so clearly at the heart of what was important.
I remember a Colts’ cricket team that I coached at Mayfair. I think we played in Kiwi ‘A’ and the boys were all from S.2. They were good! The opposition always thought so.
I remember the smelly toilets that linked the two blocks. They were a constant source of annoyance to Ian the caretaker. Despite his considerable efforts even he couldn’t overcome poor design.
I remember clearly how Betty (Porter) – the school’s “front person” knew everyone, every family, every contact, in fact every detail of what had happened, was happening or was going to happen. She was unbelievably helpful to me when I was at Mayfair. She had a big influence on much that happened. She could make things happen but I remember Betty didn’t suffer fools. She was the most up-front person of any school I’ve worked in.
I remember a painting contractor who, in his haste to paint the exterior of the school, painted over a door to a classroom that was ‘hooked back’. The next day when the door was closed there was a perfect silhouette on the wall where the door had been.
I remember working in the book room and reorganising it with Pat Watson. My sides ached the next day because Pat’s tales of schooling by the “nuns” were so funny.
I have happy memories of Mayfair. It was a good school and served its community well. It was a kids come first school. It wasn’t full of gimmicks. The teachers worked hard and focussed on the boys and girls, and attended well, not only to their learning in the classroom and their sporting participation and prowess, but also to their pastoral care and respect for each other.
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Congratulations to all involved in Mayfair over the 50 years. All associated with the school can look back, remembering much that has positively contributed to the suburb of Mayfair and Hastings City. The school, like the big oak, has made its mark on many lives.
Mr Colin Hardie who visited Mayfair as an Inspector for many years.
In 1965 when I was appointed to the Department of Education’s Inspectorate stationed in Napier, my senior officer made me Liaison Inspector to Mayfair School. For the next 18 years I carried out my duties on behalf of the Education Department which was directly responsible to the Government for the conduct of our schools.
The school was then under the benign leadership of headmaster Ian Talbot who was much respected by staff and pupils alike.
Under him were three staff members who became long serving stalwarts of Mayfair School – Mollie Bark, Laurie Scott and Mary Craven. I remember them with respect. Other teachers who served for lesser periods of time were much influenced by this trio of dedicated teachers.
Mayfair School remains for me, a quintessential example of the best of New Zealand’s primary schools. I salute it and wish past pupils and staff a happy reunion on its 50th anniversary.
Bill Coutts,
Teacher 1951 – 1957
Today’s teachers will note class sizes!
The time was around 1956 at Mayfair and the local returned servicemen were busily engaged in raising post-war families to such an extent that the school couldn’t cope. Andy Ross and his school committee were chasing the Education Board for more classrooms. I recall Jack Chadwick had a class of 56 pupils while Miss Chappell had a class of 60.
The school committee demanded that the Education Board and the Inspectorate visit the school and see the situation first hand.
The upshot was that Mayfair was to get two new classrooms that year. The immediate problem of class sizes was to be met by sending two classes by bus to two vacant prefabs at Mahora School.
The headmaster, Mr McMurray, easily found two young male teachers – Bill Coutts and Pat Lorck – to manage the shift to Mahora. Pat and I visited Mahora one afternoon after school, inspected the proposed sheds and made ourselves known to Mr Ivey, the Head. Our new abode looked as though the sheds had been used to store the school’s walnut crop.
We at once proposed to make the shift a fun experience and play down the conditions for all concerned.
Mahora made us as welcome as possible and we soon settled down into the usual lesson programme. We were a happy family and the pupils’ work did not suffer. We did however, look forward to the promise of the new rooms at Mayfair.
Bernard Flack
Teacher, 1958 – 1964
My most endearing memories of Mayfair are all related to people – a vibrant and forward looking staff that worked effectively as a team. Two outstanding principals, each very different in their style of management, but from whom I learned much, and great parental support through a very active school committee and PTA. Class sizes in those days often exceeded 40 but teaching remained very rewarding – a tribute to the children and their attitude to learning.
In the curriculum area there was plenty to challenge young teachers eager to get ahead. Pilot schemes in maths and social studies were trialled at the school and changes in the language and science syllabuses gave opportunities for innovation and fresh approaches. Mayfair probably led the way with art electives running over a week culminating in a display for parents, and in the development of parent interviews mid-year in lieu of reports. Traditions were also maintained such as the school ball in the assembly hall and socials for standard 4, where two rooms were opened out to allow the dancing to proceed. Children were taught the waltz and Gay Gordons. And of course there was, too, the end of year parents’ evening which often, because of the number of classes presenting items, went on and on but was all good fun. I remember one year the infant school did an elaborate maypole dance which ended with an intricate plaiting of the ribbons.
Sports exchanges with other schools were
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regular events every Wednesday afternoon. With less traffic around you could bike to most schools in Hastings so it was a common sight to see a crocodile of 15 or so children led by the teacher heading off to Mahora or Raureka. With 8 men on the staff there was no shortage of coaches. Another feature of the school at this time was the struggle to establish a library. The original plan shows the room at the eastern end of the administration area designated as a library, but to my knowledge it always had to be used as a classroom to accommodate increases in the roll. Two of us employed our carpentry skills to block off a corridor and convert a cloakroom into what became a reasonable library area, but alas, that, too, was doomed to become a temporary classroom for an additional teacher. It is wonderful to see the library now flourishing on a site that can’t be used for anything else.
The 16mm film projector was a useful teaching aid. An unused cloakroom was converted into a film room. Suitably blacked out and with enough seats for a class, it was used until replaced by today’s school hall. The National Film Library was an excellent service and gave the school access to an amazing variety of films right across the curriculum. That, along with the National Library Service, which allowed each class to have two large cartons of library books per term, and the Radio Broadcasts to schools – which were particularly useful for those teachers who struggled with music and singing – were great teaching resources for teachers in the 50’s and 60’s.
I look back on my time at Mayfair as one of the formative periods of my teaching career and how well it stood me in good stead for the future. As I write this I recall the most important part of the experience – the children I taught come to mind as they often do over the years and this makes it all a great experience.
Among my memories:
Walnuts drying on wire frames on the staffroom balcony to raise money for playground equipment.
Playing four square during lunch times, encouraged by the Principal who led the way and was quite good at it.
Ducks so full of acorns they couldn’t take off after running the whole length of the rugby field.
A respected teacher – Mrs Hingston – asked by a standard one pupil, “How old are you?” replied “How old do you think I am?” The child thought – glanced out the window and said “Well I bet you are a lot older than that oak tree.”
Nearly every teacher rode a bike to school and the caretaker owned the flashest car.
The great skills of caretaker Harry Dove, who fixed and manufactured all manner of things – e. g. ashtrays for the staffroom from car light reflectors and other bits and pieces – lasted for years and looked good too.
Male staff members’ padder tennis competition after school on Fridays.
Winning the framed picture of Queen Elizabeth for the most bankers that week.
Mr Harry Dove
Mr Dove (Harry) commenced as caretaker in 1950 when Mayfair School opened. He was required to do all cleaning, general maintenance and gardening both inside and outside the school property. This included the picking and cracking of the walnuts on the school trees – the money going towards school funds.
School holidays were no holiday for Harry as all the polished floors had to be re-oiled and windows cleaned both inside and outside. The roses were his pride and joy and many a bunch of flowers he took home romantically to his wife Mavis.
He was popular with both pupils and teachers and was well known as the ‘fix-it man’, the ‘repair man’ or the ‘gadget man’. He was thoughtful and patient and enjoyed working well on all his tasks.
Remember those terrible milk days??? Harry was the one who endeavoured to make the milk more palatable by throwing wet sacks over the milk to keep it cool.
Who was the original retriever of the tennis balls from off the roof? Yes, you guessed right, it was Harry.
Harry was pleased that his five children all attended the Mayfair School, some from the commencement. He retired after 20 plus happy years at the school finding the headmaster, staff and school board a pleasure to work with.
Stanley Dove, (Harry’s son)
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Miss Betty Graham
I remember with pleasure the thirteen years I spent at Mayfair School as the School Dental Nurse. Although there had been three nurses before me when I commenced duty in 1955, the original headmaster Mr Burke was still there.
Mayfair was a new school in a growing area and the staff grew from seven to fifteen in the first five years.
I found the headmasters McMurray, Bacon and Talbot all different but co-operative and easy to work with, as were the staff. We had some good times together.
The dental clinic was then in the middle of the administration block – right opposite the headmaster’s and school offices. I do hope we weren’t too noisy for them!
Mayfair School always has had lovely buildings and grounds. Especially beautiful was the oak tree which was in full view from the dental clinic window.
Mayfair parents were always co-operative, helpful and friendly and still are. I often chat with them in the street.
I often speak with ex-pupils now and they tell me that going to the clinic wasn’t their favourite pastime but they are still friendly and as nice as they always were – even if I don’t always recognise them. They have grown since then.
As a child I had experienced the fear of going to the school dental clinic so I know the feeling – even if stamps and snowmen were given for rewards.
I really enjoyed talking to the children in their classrooms. Fortunately teeth have improved and the pain has diminished thanks to the Fluoride Fairy and improved equipment.
Mr Andy Ross
Mr Ross became a member of the School Committee in 1953, and later, when the Chairman Mr Rouse became ill, he was asked to become the new Chairman. He held this position for many years. In his notes he is rather too modest about his own achievements. He was in fact, one of the “giants” of the school community, and the school owes a great deal to him and to the late Mrs Ross for their tireless work.
Mr Ross says: “Mr Burke was the first Headmaster, and a very good Headmaster he was.
From the beginning the school needed a swimming pool, so all the parents got stuck in. We dug the holes and put in the swimming pool, and that was a great asset for the school.
We used to have a garden in the centre of the bitumen area between the office and the infant rooms. Mr McMurray, the next Headmaster, decided that it would be better if it was all put down in bitumen. So, we started one of those fancy weekend working bees that we used to have. Jack Barden and Jim Osborne (both of them have died since), and I went to put the bitumen down, but the machine got blocked. I was looking at the end of it, and Jack Barden gave it a squirt. I got tar from my head to my tail, and got into quite a lot of trouble from my wife when I got home. The others thought it was a great joke, but I didn’t think much of it. Anyhow, we finally got the job done.
Mr McMurray was a great boy for two of everything. I think Mayfair must have been the best-set-up school in the country. It had two of everything. If it was a projector that was wanted, Mr McMurray wanted two.
We had the most marvellous gala days to raise money. The teachers worked jolly hard on these; one school day would be a potato day, and one would be an egg day, and one would be an onion day and so on until we had quite a supply of goods to sell. Those fantastic galas knitted the people together. All the parents were one big happy family, and there were no bludgers. They all worked hard.
Then there were, of course, Mr McMurray’s walnuts. The children must never touch those walnuts. They were dried, cracked and sold, and the money went into the kitty!
We had Vic Boag who used to come with his truck and his wheel to the galas. You’d pay out a shilling or whatever it was for a turn on the wheel, and you might win a chicken. Vic raised no end of money. Actually, the Boags were exceptional parents. They worked very, very hard for the school, and the school owes them a lot, and the Suttons too. The Suttons lived over the back fence, and Mr Sutton used to keep an eagle eye on that school. If anybody was there on Sunday, they got thrown out pretty quickly; he was a real stalwart.
On the School Committee, the Secretary was Florrie Burns, another hard worker and a wonderful person. Charlie Morgan was
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Treasurer and he used to say “No, you can’t have that amount of money. We haven’t got that in the kitty. You’ll have to go out and earn that somehow.” So Rob McMurray would think up something, and we’d have another “do” or a raffle, and the money would be there.
Then of course, we were one of the first schools to have an assembly hall. We all went down to school again and helped the builder, and did a lot of painting and paving and so on. It just goes to show how the parents supported the school in those days, and it was a wonderful effort when you think of it. But of course, if we hadn’t had the wonderful teachers who got behind us and helped us, we probably wouldn’t have worked as hard as we did.”
Mrs Florence Burn
I am Florence Burn and I was secretary of the Mayfair School Committee from 1954 until 1960. When I took on the position of secretary I was a parent of a child at Mayfair and someone knew that I had been a shorthand typist and I think that encouraged them to ask me if I would take on the position.
I remember during those years that I was secretary of the school committee, the great support that we had from parents. Mayfair was a newly opened up area with a state housing block out towards the east from the school, where previously there had been mainly farm and orchard land, and those families moving in had children then and later on, who became pupils of Mayfair.
There was a Home and School Committee which invited all parents who were interested to join in the activities mainly on the social line at the school, and this was a great help in fund raising as well as supplying a social activity for parents. One of those social activities was the annual gala day. That was essentially a money raising effort. It involved a great amount of work by the committee and the school staff and the parents who helped in many, many ways. They helped man the stalls, provide the goods that were needed for sale, and generally enter into what, on the day, turned out to be a quite fun event for both the children and the parents. At the gala days for two or three times, we had a baby show where the mums brought their babies along to be judged and it was quite an event. At the gala days also, the children were invited to come in fancy dress themselves or bring their dressed-up decorated bikes to be judged. That was fun for the children and prizes were given for those.
Another thing which involved the parents again, (very willing helpers), was after the school swimming pool was made, Miss Hay, who was the infant mistress at the time, invited mothers who had a few spare hours perhaps per week, to come on different days and help undress and dress the little ones for their time in the pool. That was before the dressing sheds were built so that the mothers would stand out very often in the hot sun and help to undress the littlies to get into the pool and again to dress them and dry them before they went back into their classroom.
Another event that was held for fund raising from time to time was the bottle drive. Now that again involved a lot of help from parents and the school staff and the committee of course. They would organise people willing to drive trucks or cars with trailers and have helpers on each vehicle to drive around all the streets in the school area. The helpers had wooden crates and they would usually run up the driveways of houses and ask, “Please have you any bottles for Mayfair School bottle drive?” It was amazing to see the collections that were brought back to the school grounds. It was always on a Saturday morning, but always spilled over into the afternoon before we were finished. There would be bottles of all shapes, sizes, colours and brands. Having got them back to the school, they were then sorted according to their labels and the places where they would be taken to be sold, a lot of them locally. A lot of the bottles needed washing before they could be sold and that meant a lot of splashing around and really dirty work, but it had to be done and so it was done. Then, mainly on the Monday morning following, the bottles would be taken to the different places around the town where we knew the bottles could be sold. It was tremendous work, a tremendous effort, and very dirty, but worthwhile when the money came back to the school committee to be spent as needed.
Another function each year which was a real event at school was the end of year break up. It was held in the early evening about six o’clock. Children and parents would go to the school for this event which was held out of doors
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because there was no school hall then. As secretary of the committee, it was my job to send invitations to various people whom we wished to join us. We would invite the mayor, the local MP and the chairman of the H.B. Education Board. It was a really great evening and I don’t remember one evening when it was not fine. It always seemed to turn on a lovely evening for us to be out of doors and for the children to put on their items and to listen to the speeches.
Other functions which parents enjoyed included social evenings at St Martin’s church hall which was next door to the school grounds. We were very grateful to St Martin’s church for allowing us the use of their hall. Sometimes it would be a purely social evening organised by the home and school committee for parents, at other times it would be something that involved the children doing items of some kind or dancing.
Another annual event at the school which was enjoyed by all who went was the school picnic. In those days a lot of families did not have cars, so buses were hired to take us all out to Burden’s Camping Ground at Te Awanga. It was very well organised, and needed to be, because of being at the water’s edge and it was frowned upon if any child entered the water for a swim before they were told that they were allowed to go in. The swim was very carefully supervised and fortunately there was never any incident that should not have happened.
Now, as I in later years walk past Mayfair School as I often do, or drive past, I always look in across the school grounds and see the lovely big oak tree standing there. To me it is a symbol of Mayfair School, and what a lovely thing it is that it can provide shade for the children on these long hot Hawke’s Bay summer days. Long may it stand there.
Mr Tom Ringrose – Chairman, Board of Trustees, 1989.
In 1989, I, like many other parents, was enticed by the Lange government “Tomorrow’s Schools” into putting my name forward for a place on Mayfair School’s Board of Trustees.
It was at this stage that I began to worry. Within days of the candidates’ names being advertised I was receiving calls from parents wanting to know my opinions on a wide range of issues that I had not known existed let alone thought about. It was quickly apparent that many parents had a very keen interest in the new Boards and how the Trustees would best represent the School Community.
The results of the elections were advertised and I, Chris Ferrier, Sue Birnie, Les Clapcott, Robyn Warren and Betty Porter were duly elected.
At our first meeting attended by the teachers’ elected representative, Gaynor Cotching and the School Principal, Arthur Curtis, we elected various office holders and because of my slowness to come up with a decent excuse, I was elected Chairperson.
The following weeks saw an absolute mountain of paper descend upon us. There were reams from the School Trustees’ Association and whole forests of paper from the Ministry. The amount of reading required became almost impossible to keep up with, and even with task sharing among the Board, a lot of information was not absorbed.
The first order of the day was to establish the School Charter. This involved a large amount of consultation with the school community and was like everything else a “learn as you go” exercise. Once the charter was underway we had to concentrate on other issues such as Finance, Contracts, Insurance, Project Planning, Staff and Education policies etc.
One of the Board’s main concerns was that the definitions of Governance and Management were clear and that the Board allowed the Principal to manage the school. There were many schools that did not get this right and I believe they are still paying for this 10 years later. The Board also adopted a conservative approach to finance, this was to ensure that reserve funds would be built up for future Boards.
Those first three years passed very quickly and we learnt a lot. We had the opportunity to participate and help the school community to choose a direction for Mayfair School. The team during the first three years all contributed a large amount of their free time to the Board and this, along with support from Arthur Curtis and the School staff, certainly made the role of Chairperson easier. I have no doubt that the demands on, and contributions of subsequent Boards has continued and it would be interesting to know the work loads and processes of the BoT 10 years on.
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In retrospect, I enjoyed the experience on the Board for the starting of a major change within the Education system, however I would be reluctant to do it again!
I wish the School well with its celebrations and hope that it has a long and successful existence.
Kevin Deacon
Kevin Deacon, the second Chairman of the Board of Trustees, recalls that in the early days, BoT members were given training to help them to cope with new and unfamiliar aspects of school management.
During its first term of office, the Board had carpeted the Junior and the Northern wings of the school. They then began the huge task of relocating the offices and nearby amenities to the hall, while the administration block was stripped and rebuilt. Earlier the Education Board’s architect, Mr Les Clapcott, had produced tentative plans for the rebuilding, and the BoT liaised with him until the plans were finalised. By the time the administration block was reopened it had been paid for within the BoT’s budget. The few things still needing completion were paid for with funds raised by parents, and again parents had worked long and hard to complete the grounds surrounding the block. The Board of Trustees must have been very happy with the outcome of the project.
Kevin has since mentioned that all the renewal of the block was accomplished with no major problems, and for this he has praised the very good management of the practicalities of the scheme by Mr Arthur Curtis, the Principal.
Kevin still lives in Hastings and occupies a senior management position with the Hastings District Council.
Jay Tyler
As a child I lived in Caroline Road, Hastings and attended Mayfair School in the mid-’fifties. I have a few distant memories but remember my days at Mayfair as being pleasurable and uncomplicated.
Every day I walked to school without shoes. It was the only way to appear at school. I guess it was the “tough approach”. No-one ever thought that “no shoes” meant we were starved of parental care, rather it was considered completely appropriate. I can remember sliding across the ice barefooted on frosty mornings but I can not remember being cold. My mother knew better than to suggest that shoes and socks had to be worn.
Every morning at interval, we were given a half pint of milk to drink for good health reasons. For most days this was reasonable and pleasant but all too often the milk was hot, and definitely not very healthy. There was one boy in my class, Murray Tofe, I think his name was, he loved milk and used to consume up to six bottles a day easily which was great for us when we wanted someone else to drink the stuff!
I distinctly remember the Oak tree and its acorns. We spent many hours a day playing marbles under this tree. A lot of deals occurred here with size and colour of marbles being changed according to your winning streak.
Going home from school is always a highlight of the day for children and we were no exception. We would all call by friends’ homes on the way from school to have food and drinks at each person’s place and to also gather a further supply to have at someone else’s place.
In recent days, I have found a few old photos of my class, rugby and cricket teams and many of the faces are still very familiar. For some reason, I particularly remember Mr Johnson who was one of my teachers, John Hill, John Hamilton and Zane MacDonald. There are many other people who coloured my days at Mayfair. I have many happy memories and certainly no bad memories. Mayfair was, and I am sure, remains an excellent Primary School.
John Naera
Contrary to belief, 602 Collinge Road was always the family homestead. My mother was born here, way back in the 1920s. However, due to the untimely death of her parents when she was but five years old, she was raised by her great-aunt and started her education at Parkvale School. After a while she was moved to Auckland to further her education; consequently the homestead was leased out. Anyway, the majority of us children were born and raised in Bulls. In the early 1950s, my mother returned to Hastings to claim her inheritance, and thus began the second phase of our childhood. But anyway, let me start my story as I saw it.
Try and picture yourself if you will, living in a rural area, with an urbanised atmosphere. That
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was the scene around this area in the 1950s, when Mayfair was (and still is), one of the many suburbs of Hastings. On this side of Karamu Road opposite the Tomoana Showgrounds, there once stood a lake with wild horses grazing its shores, and at dusk the wild fowl would arrive from the four winds to congregate. (To discuss the events of the day as it were). The overflow of this lake emptied into a creek, which slowly meandered through a dairy farm and then disappeared into the undergrowth somewhere towards Plassey Street, which is now Jubilee Street. A rubbish dump stood on the corner of Collinge Road and Jellicoe Street and a little dairy store stood directly opposite.
At that time there were about twelve houses along Collinge Road and about seven houses in Plassey Street. Willowpark Road ended about five houses this side of Fenwick Street and on the corner of Willowpark and Fenwick Street, stood Saint Martin’s Church. Let’s say next door to the church stood the heart of the community, that is, Mayfair School. Every Sunday the bells of Saint Martin’s heralded the beginning of a new week, but that is all gone now. The lake has disappeared, the wild horses, the ducks, the little dairy shop, the dairy farm – all vanished. Even the bells of Saint Martin’s toll no more, but Mayfair School still stands.
There were eleven children in our family. Two were adopted out and one died, but the remaining eight of us all attended Mayfair School at one time or another. It wasn’t a very big school as schools go and I recall waiting for the bus at the school gate to ferry some of us to the Mahora School, while others were even transported and educated at the Parkvale School until more rooms were added to Mayfair. But we were still under the motto of Mayfair School: “Kind Thoughts, Good Deeds”.
To me the primary schools are the foundation of the learning process, the stepping stones of things to come, and Mayfair School has fulfilled that expectation. Consequently over the years, some of my nephews and nieces and even my daughter, began their education at Mayfair School, and have gone on to become school teachers and engineers.
Now hopefully, our grand-daughter will attend Mayfair School when she becomes of age, to carry on the family tradition as it were.
Jackie McClutchie (nee Chadwick)
My father, Jack Chadwick, taught at Mayfair for many years. I wish there were more caring, compassionate teachers like him. As a father, he taught us fairly at home but we were wary because if we did wrong, we would be punished.
When I was in Std. 2, he taught Std. 4 in one of the 3 classrooms over by the may-pole area. All children knew we were not allowed in the corridors or classrooms during lunchtimes. One day, a large group of girls was playing chasing but we were cutting through the classrooms to take short cuts. Laughing and giggling, we were enjoying ourselves until we heard his voice. He had come down the stairs from the staffroom without any of us noticing. Instant panic. A rush of feet to the exits. Many of us darted into the nearby toilets, standing on the seats to avoid detection. One by one, he opened each door and ordered us to go stand in front of his class until he dealt with us. With lunchtime over, about 8 girls were shyly standing in front of the blackboards. I mentally counted our numbers thinking “There’s too many of us to get the strap. We’re in for a telling off.” Horrors, out came that dreaded black strap. Those who stepped out of line were introduced to Dad’s belt. It stung and really hurt. It was known and discussed around the school how to avoid the hurt as it bit into your fingers. For good measure, I was given an extra strap. He explained that as the daughter of a teacher, I should have known better. It certainly taught me a lesson not to take it for granted. I had thought that I would’ve been exempt from punishment because of who I was. Wasn’t I mistaken!
There are many from my era who met the “strap” on a regular basis. But it will stay forever in our minds. Corporal punishment worked. I also remember a boy (who shall be anonymous) in Std 4 who was picked up out of his seat by the shirt as he sat and cheekily swore and answered back. He received a hiding in front of the class, but later became a model of good conduct. I wonder what became of him?
On the compassionate side, I remember Dad spending time after school giving extra tuition to students who had learning difficulties. Nothing was too much trouble for Dad and I believe it was his lovely attitude to truth and humbleness that made him a very popular
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teacher. If your attention wandered you would have flicked at you a piece of flying chalk that always found its mark! He never ever forgot a name or face. I remember being introduced as a married woman to bald-headed males who looked his senior when in fact he taught them in their youth.
School trips to Wattie’s were something to look forward to. I remember being one of three girls allowed to join the boys at McLean Park, Napier to watch the touring Lions. Then the unforgettable tour to Christchurch with two other classes. We sailed out of Wellington on Guy Fawkes night amid crackers and streamers. Staying in a ‘hotel’, visiting the Axminster carpet factory, and the massive Globemasters that flew the Americans to the South Pole. We watched in amazement as tractors were ‘gobbled up’ as they were driven inside these amazingly massive machines. The enormous size of everything made us midgets by comparison. I still remember the Christchurch Square and the drives over Cashmere Hills and around Sumner. Of course, the whole scene has changed but memories remain.
What was going on in the toilet block opposite Room 5? A teacher investigated, and found that some enterprising girls were setting up an ear-piercing business at 3s.6d. per consultation. The business went into liquidation!
Were you at school when the fire brigade gave a demonstration of rescue from an upper storey? The men worked with people “trapped” on the balcony adjoining the staffroom, and smoke bombs were let off for dramatic effect. The drama continued when the fire engine sank into the soft playground and stayed there until a tow truck arrived to pull it out.
Do you remember the day a noisy (and dangerous) swarm of bees settled at Mayfair? Everyone had to be evacuated to Mayfair Park until the swarm could be dealt with by Mr Berry, of Arataki Apiaries.
Then there was the time when a pair of mynahs took up house in the school letter-box. Soon there were four eggs there too, and the school mail had to be re-routed for a while. The primers had a lovely time keeping an eye on the nest.
Kevin Deacon remembers going to the school office with his mother for his enrolment as a five year old. He was feeling very apprehensive. When the formalities were over, Mr McMurray, the Headmaster, went to his cupboard and produced an apple for Kevin, who decided that maybe school was going to be all right, after all.
Note: About thirty years later, Kevin, looking a lot more cheerful this time, was back at school welcoming visitors to the opening of the new administration block, and making a speech or two. He was carrying out his duties as Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
A standard 3 pupil needed a new pencil. He arrived at the office and said “Pencil”. “Pardon?” asked the secretary. This conversation was repeated quite a few times, and the pupil looked as though he thought the secretary had suddenly become deaf. Finally the secretary asked him what the magic word was. He thought for a few moments and came up with – “Abracadabra!”
A small girl arrived at school one morning in what were obviously new clothes. The teacher remarked how nice the clothes were, and asked if Mummy had been shopping. The reply blew her away. “Oh no,” said the little girl. “She had to run fast! She nearly got caught!”
Tailpiece: A lady teacher of a Standard 4 class (about 1977) is still looking for the boy / girl who wrote “OUCH!” on her strap. She still has the strap. . .
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GRANDPARENTS, PARENTS AND CHILDREN
Some children follow their parents to the same school, but few children follow their grandparents. Some we know who did make three generations of the same family are:
The Flack Family – Children Ruth, Rhys, Alison, Peter and John, followed Bernard Flack, a staff member for some years. Now Alison (Mrs deLange) has her child Louise at Mayfair, and John’s sons also attend the school.
The Prebble Family – Margaret, Heather, Anne, Richard, Christine, Judith and Ian attended Mayfair, where their mother, Mrs Georgina Prebble, was a teacher. Now Ian’s sons David and Andrew are also pupils here.
Another family was the Cunninghams. Their mother was Eline Taylor. Her children are Preston, Jason and Dominic. Jason’s children also attend Mayfair. They are Sharmaine Eyles and Ojay Cunningham.
One family who also made a valuable contribution to school life is the Hingston family.
Mrs Dallas Hingston was a staff member for some years and her two daughters, Mrs Jan Black, and Mrs Flo. MacEwan were also on the teaching staff. Mrs Hingston’s granddaughter, Mrs Sue Averill (Graham) also was a teacher. Children of Perry Hingston, Russell, Keith and Paula were pupils.
There may be other families of whom we are unaware, and we would apologise for that.
We hope there will be many more family stories in the future.
The Prebble Family Left to right: Margaret, Heather, Anne, Richard, Christine, Judith, Ian.
A much more recent photo of the Prebbles. Here they stand in reverse order from that in the above photograph.
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CHILDREN’S WRITING
Mayfair School, 2025
In the year 2025 every child might have a personal computer. You could tele-port yourself to school and home again.
At school you might have a private locker to keep all your belongings in. If the school is kind enough you might even have a lap-top fax as well as a computer. The computer is only for writing on and in a wet lunch hour you could play games on it.
For a duty teacher you might have a robotic person who goes around watching what you do, like a security guard. Around your desk you might have a screen so you don’t talk to anyone and you will also be really private.
Sport will be different to what we play now and you will be able to have lots of sports like bull-rush, volleyball, league, catch and kiss and lots, lots more.
Erin Wyeth, 9 years
Mayfair School, 2050
Dear (whoever is reading this),
I am going to tell you a little bit of what I think Mayfair School will be like in the year 2050. It might be wrong, but that is what I think.
It is the day of 18th May 2050. “Now class, I would like you to take out your Country and Time Viewer,” says robot Mr Morgan. “We will be seeing how people live in China.”
Now I know what you are thinking, “What is the Country and Time Viewer?” Well it is a piece of headgear that lets you see into the future (or the past) and also lets you see other countries on a little screen.
When they have finished doing that the bell rings for lunchtime. “Now class remember the lunchtime activities.” The lunchtime activities are abseiling, kayaking, canoeing, horse riding or anything else you can imagine.
When lunchtime is over the children go into a class called “Be Creative”. In this class you do art With Michael Angelo and Leonardo da Vinci. There is an acting class and a dancing class where movie stars and professional dancers come to teach us too.
Now that is all I’m going to tell you about what I think. The rest you have to figure out for yourself (or you could live until 2050 and find out for yourself).
Hannah Smith, 11 years
Mayfair School in the year 2050
One day when I was about 9 years old I went to Mayfair School and we wrote a story about how we thought Mayfair School would end up. I wrote that it would turn into an old folks’ home and guess what! It did! So here I am at Mayfair Old Folks’ Home and I love it.
But there is one thing we all want. That is to turn Mayfair back into a school again because next year will be its centenary and I would love it if it could be a school again. I mean it’s special because my mum and her brothers went to that school, but they have all died.
So if you could make it a school again it would be cool. I am going to put out heaps of reunion notices so that we can see all our old friends that we have lost communication with.
Here is how I will write the notices: “Mayfair School Reunion – 100 years. We hope to get Mayfair School up and running by the time of the reunion. If you can help please come on the 21st March 2050 or phone 862348269.”
Anyway, we managed to turn the old folks’ home back into Mayfair School before the reunion and it was a really good reunion.
Melanie Gettins, 9 years
Mayfair School in 2050
I went to Mayfair School from 1994-2001. I came back to see how the school was doing, and I was amazed to see that it had changed a lot. They had automatic desk tidiers and pencil
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sharpeners. The rugby field had changed into a swimming pool and a spa, the old swimming pool had changed into Mayfair Preschool and the old playground had changed into a roller coaster.
Now the children only go to school for six hours because the teachers open your head and pour in the stuff that you would learn in two days. It only takes one minute to pour the stuff in. For the rest of the six hours you play and swim. The cost is $50 for two, for a year!
Natasha Neal, 10 years
Mayfair Year 2050
It is the one hundredth year anniversary of Mayfair School. I walk in and the classrooms look the same, but there are new playgrounds. The playground is black and they have rockets that actually go to the moon. Going two thousand miles doesn’t take long because you are going so fast.
There is a flying fox that can go up to 400km but it has very good brakes so you won’t kill yourself. There is a jet plane as well that takes you up in the air, and you can bungy-jump back to the ground.
They have added twenty more classrooms and extended the property. The classrooms are very high-tech. You press a button and your desk opens. A robot sharpens your pencil for you. Everyone is allowed to drink Coke and eat lollies. There are Coke and lolly machines in the classroom and you can eat chips (free). Free time is TV.
School has changed a lot in 50 years. At least the oak tree is still there.
Shaun Walker, 11 years
Oak Tree
Mayfair School’s oak tree tall and wide, no leaves, bare branches, so birds can’t hide.
In the summer we sit under it for lunch. When it breaks you will hear a crunch. Leaves dangling, branches strangling.
That’s Mayfair’s oak tree.
Oak tree, oak tree
I shout with glee.
Oak tree, oak tree
Keep growing for me.
Writers’ name unknown
What I Like About Mayfair School
I was seven years old when I came to Mayfair School, and I came from Takapau.
I like Mayfair because we have discos and the teachers are nice. When we go to the library we have fun and nice books to read. Gardening is fun too because you can put colour in the gardens, so now I’m in the gardening club.
I like Thai dyeing because you dye your tops. At art we make good pictures.
The oak tree is really tall and I like it because it is nearly one hundred years old, and it was here when my mum came to Mayfair School.
Galaxie Hutana Te Aho, 8 years
At Mayfair School we do maths. I think maths is really cool. We have heaps of equipment which helps us. Mayfair School has a library with lots of books. All of the books are special. Mrs Braybrook looks after the library very well.
At Mayfair School we do art. I like painting pictures of people, rainbows and flowers.
Mayfair School has a big oak tree. When it is very sunny we have lunch under it. I usually play under the oak tree on a sunny day.
At school we have two recorder groups. Ben, Jesse, Huia, Kahli and I are in Mrs Schollum’s group. Mrs Harrison takes a recorder group too.
At Mayfair School there are lots of kind kids. Mayfair School is my best school.
Louise de Lange, 7 years
I like school because the teachers there are nice. Some of the trips I go on are exciting. Some are a bit boring.
When I was in Room 5 Louise and I were in an Art Club. We painted a picture each, laminated it and got to take it home.
Adam Nash, 10 years
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At school the playground is awesome because it has got a flying fox.
Kahli Maseyk, 7 years
When I get a C.B.G. my name gets called out at Assembly on Wednesday and I get an iceblock from the staffroom.
When I do art I don’t go over the lines. At sports I always come second.
Shayne Waikato, 7 years
I have got three C.B.G.’s from Assembly. On Fridays we have our Middle Syndicate Assembly and I have got 18 certificates from Friday Assembly.
William Makea, 7 years
I like Mayfair School because I have friends. I have friends that have smiles and friends that I play with.
Ezra
I like playing on the flying fox because you can imagine that you can float.
Ben Crampton, 5 years
I like the bridge because it is wobbly when you get on it.
Herbert King, 5 years
I like the computer because I get to play Maths. Circus.
Kurt Cherrie, 6 years
I like the Technology Room because you can make muffins.
Tyler Hill, 5 years
I like to play in the swimming pool because it is cold on a hot day.
Mitchelle Williams, 5 years
As we used to be.
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MAYFAIR SCHOOL JUBILEE 2000
HALL OF FAME
William Foddy
William (Bill) Foddy was a foundation pupil of Mayfair School and possibly the first ex-pupil to become recognised for his scholarship. He gained his B.A. and then M.A. (with Hons.) at Canterbury University, specialising in sociology.
At Vancouver University, Canada, Bill gained his Ph.D. He lectured at this university and also at the University of Edmonton. He regularly flew up to Lesser Slave Lake and to Yellowknife, where he gave lectures to oilmen and chief trappers.
Later he became a lecturer at Melbourne University and in time reached professorial rank. It is understood that Bill is still a professor at Melbourne.
Jay Tyler
Jay Tyler, now Mr Jay Tyler, completed his first degrees (M.B., Ch.B.,) in Otago in 1971 and in 1979, obtained his Fellowship as a Specialist General Surgeon, (F.R.A. (Australasian) C.S.) after working in Dunedin and Wellington for some years.
He has spent two years in England, one in Australia, and has been back in New Zealand since 1982.
Currently, he is based at Royston Hospital, Hastings, and performs general surgery there and at the Hawke’s Bay Hospital.
John Gumbley
John Gumbley’s field is Geology. He has his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, and also a Diploma of Geology.
He has been to Antarctica two or three times, having been sent there by Waikato University and the then D.S.I.R. to study dry valleys.
He has also been to England, where he was a geologist for the Canterbury County Council.
John has published a booklet on Geology, which has been sold overseas.
He is now a Technician Manager for the Department of Conservation in Hamilton.
Judith White (nee Featherstone)
In 1988, Judith Featherstone won the prestigious BNZ Katherine Mansfield Centenary Award for her writing.
The award was made for her collection of thirteen short stories written under the pen-name Jove. Some of the stories have been broadcast on Radio New Zealand.
At the time of the award, Judith said that she had always enjoyed writing, and that while at Mayfair School, she had written stories which her teacher had read to classes.
After reading the “Diary of Anne Frank,” Judith wrote extensive diaries, and she has also written poetry.
By 1988, Judith was married, and living in Auckland. She has received a number of awards for her writing since that year, and was the Frank Sargeson Fellow in 1996.
Judith’s first novel “Across the Dreaming Night”, has recently been published by Random House.
David Featherstone
After working for about twenty years with ESR Limited, (Institute of Environmental Science and Research Ltd), at Keneperu in Porirua, David was “head-hunted” by the World Health Organisation in Geneva about three or four years ago. He is currently working on the Polio Eradication Programme, which involves world wide travel. David is held in very high regard by many scientists in New Zealand.
He is married to Jane, who also went to school in Hastings, and they live on the border of France and Switzerland, with Jane teaching English part-time in France, and David travelling over the border to Geneva to the W.H.O. Headquarters.
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Judith’s and David’s mother, Mrs Beth Featherstone, now lives in Durham Drive, Havelock North. She and the late Mr Featherstone were among Mayfair School’s strong supporters in earlier days.
Ray Brown
Ray Brown is a teacher of art and design at Aquinas College in Perth, W. Australia, where he is also responsible for the care of 65 boy boarders. He is married and has two teenage sons.
Even as a young school boy, Ray was a very good athlete, but probably no-one who knew that unassuming boy then would have imagined him at the age of 48 standing upon the summit of Mt. Everest. This tremendous accomplishment was achieved on May 5, 1999 and the events leading up to it are interesting. In 1992 (to combat the possible onset of arthritis!), Ray took up long-distance running and won his first Marathon, the first of many more. After a time he found running on the flat no longer presented him with the challenge he needed and he began running down mountains, over rocks, ice and chasms.
He has run in Japan, won Marathons (in the over 40 years category), on Everest and in Antarctica; he has trekked in Nepal, South America and Pakistan; he has stood on Ecuador’s Mt Chimborazo at 6310m., the closest point on earth to the sun. Closer to home, to keep fit, he regularly ran 100 kms along Perth’s riverside paths. About 1995 he experienced a growing ambition to climb Mt Everest, and this probably led to some of the adventures mentioned.
About a year before actually climbing Everest, Ray was involved in a successful Himalayan climb that satisfied him, and others, that he had the qualities necessary for the ultimate Everest climb. Stamina and technical knowledge were not the only requirements for this, as there also had to be a large financial commitment. Ray eventually became part of a team of 7, Everest bound.
On a plane from Singapore to Katmandu to meet the rest of the party, his growing confidence that the Everest trip would be successful was reinforced first by the fact that he was “promoted” on the plane to business class, and then found himself sitting next to Sir Edmund Hillary and his wife. As Ray himself said, “he felt that the climbing gods were looking after him.” Strangely, the mountaineers didn’t talk about climbing. They talked about New Zealand!
After a period of acclimatisation in the Himalayas, Ray, an Englishman, and two men and a lady doctor from Colorado left Camp 4, 800 metres from Everest’s summit, for the final part of their climb. They left Camp 4 at 10.30pm on May 4th under torchlight! 200m from the summit, an accident caused the lady member of the party to give up her attempt to reach the peak, but the men did reach their goal after 13 hours of effort that we probably cannot even imagine, Ray himself reached the top with little or no help from his oxygen supply because the valves on his cylinder had frozen.
Ray has said that on top of the world he felt no overwhelming sense of achievement – he was determined to focus as much as he could on the mountain beauty before him, so that he would never forget it. His own description of the scene was “Everything seemed a little surrealistic almost sepia-toned rather than vivid.” His thoughts turned to the history of the region too.
A four hour descent brought the climbers back to Camp 4, and 3 days later, they were back at Base Camp, with Ray the proud possessor of an authentic oxygen tank left by the 1953 Hillary Expedition, brought from the mountain.
Throughout the climb, Ray’s health had been good, but after his return from Everest, he did suffer from a degree of frostbite in fingers and toes and he suffered an attack of gastroenteritis.
[Photo]
Ray Brown on the slopes of Mt Everest on the way to becoming the first West Australian (?0 to scale the world’s tallest peak.
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While convalescing, Ray spoke of the four hour journey from Everest’s summit back to Camp 4.
“That part of the journey wasn’t pretty, really. Sliding down with your oxygen mask frozen, and not being able to feel your toes wasn’t a lot of fun. But I can’t believe how well the whole thing has gone.”
At the time these words were recorded, Ray Brown, having fulfilled his dream, had no thought of repeating his great Everest climb. His next challenge? To build a new house for his family, and to look after their block of land.
The Hensman Family
The Hensman “boys” have certainly lived up to their early promise. As schoolboys, they were good students and good sportsman, and in fact, very good “all-rounders” generally.
Mark Hensman, M. Theology, B.D. (Hons.) B.A., Dip. Ed., Dip. Tchng., has been Principal of Napier Boys’ High School, but resigned to complete a Doctorate.
Philip Hensman is a farm station manager at Thorn Flat Station near Kereru, Hawke’s Bay.
Jonathan Hensman, B.A. (Hons), Dip. Ed., Dip. Tchng., is Principal of Wanganui Collegiate.
Stephen Hensman, B. Ed., M. Philosophy (Hons.), Dip. Teaching is now Deputy Principal of St John’s College, Hastings. He is also Chairman of Heretaunga Intermediate School’s Board of Trustees.
Stephen has held several senior positions in Hastings and Napier Secondary Schools; he has been English adviser at Massey University, a moderator for English units’ standards in 1997-98, and a Convenor for a Teaching of English National Conference.
Peter Hensman, B.B.S., C.A. (PP), Dip. Tchng. Peter taught at Hamilton Boys’ High School, and is now an accountant with the Hastings firm of Atkinson, Shepherd and Hensman.
Nils Poulson
Nils is one of Mayfair’s ex-pupils who has combined scholarship and management. He studied at Canterbury University, where he gained his M.Sc. and B.E. degrees. For these he was required to do practical work as well as the “in-house” university studies. For his practical experience Nils spent time in Australia working in mine laboratories at Broken Hill and later with an iron and steel company at Newcastle.
For good measure Nils then completed a course (at Victoria University) in business management. He became manager of a department with British Petroleum, and more recently Produce Manager with Enza. A short time ago Nils resigned from his Enza position in order to set up his own business – Viking Technology – based in Wellington. (The “Viking” part of the name is in deference to his father’s Danish background. Nils himself has visited Denmark several times and retains links with Danish relatives there.)
Nils’ wife, Dutch by birth, is very highly trained in forensic science and they have two sons, both of primary school age.
Wayne Myhill
The Hastings Citizens’ Band was formed in 1886 and is one of the oldest surviving bands in New Zealand still using its original title.
Wayne Myhill joined this band in 1969 and progressed through the ranks to the position of Music Director – a position he held for seven years until work commitments made it necessary for him to tender his resignation very recently.
Wayne has become very well-known for his fine musicianship. He has been selected on three occasions as a member of the National Band of New Zealand, culminating in a trip to the USA in 1995. During his earlier years he was selected for seven National Youth Bands.
He was New Zealand Junior Trombone Champion in 1978, was placed second in the New Zealand Champion of Champions in that same year and has since twice won the New Zealand Open Trombone Championships.
Wayne has his family following in his footsteps. Both his son and his daughter are playing members of the Citizens Band.
Girvan Roberts
Girvan is now a graphic designer in London. Before going overseas she received her training from Mr Geoff Fuller in Hastings, and then at Wellington Polytechnic.
Among the highlights of her career she has assisted with the refurbishment of public/ state rooms at Buckingham Palace and she has also been involved in the cataloguing of paintings there.
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Sonia Dobson (nee Scarfe)
Sonia was a student at Mayfair School from 1968 to 1974. Sonia distinguished herself by becoming the first female in New Zealand to fulfil the normal apprenticeship qualifications to become a journeyman/ carpenter. She also went on to achieve her L.T.C.L. for piano and is now a registered music teacher. She has also attained papers towards her desire to become a naturopath. Sonia now lives at Palmerston North with her husband Lloyd Dobson and her two children, Taylor and Trent.
Fenella G. France Ph.D
Career Summary
I finished the 7th form at Karamu High School gaining an A Bursary, and began my studies at the University of Otago in 1984. Finding I particularly enjoyed the challenges of research and adding to the frontiers of knowledge, I completed my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Home Science and in Consumer and Applied Sciences respectively, followed by a Doctor of Philosophy (Textile Science). While at the University of Otago I also completed qualifications in Commerce (B Com.) and Physical Education, as well as two years in Law School.
During this time, I was active in dance, being involved with the University of Otago Performing Arts group and capping shows. This enjoyment extended into physical fitness, and I became a fitness instructor, trainer and quality control consultant, as well as a National Aerobics Judge (NZCAF).
While attempting not to neglect my creative aspirations, I continued playing the flute, and expanded my interest in photography and developing. Because of my continued interest in clothing design, I established my own design label “fenz” and as well as having personal clients, sold through a shop for young designers (“Fling”).
I worked in the University as a researcher in Textile Science, as well as lecturing in both Textile Science and Design Studies. University department closures opened up a new field for me as the Higher Degrees Administrator. In this position I was responsible for all aspects of the international examination, supervision and procedures of postgraduate students.
In June of 1998 I was approached by the Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C., U.S.A., to participate as a Textile Researcher on the Star Spangled Banner Project. This involved fundamental research relating to the deterioration of the Star Spangled Banner – the 185 year old flag that inspired the American National Anthem. Being one of a select group of experts in the field of wool photo degradation I was honoured to be approached to take part in this historic project endorsed by the White House and the President of the United States. The specifics of my involvement entail analysing the state of the wool fabric and fibres due to age and photo degradation, and making recommendations regarding the conditions necessary to prolong the life of this American National Icon. Utilising my specific knowledge to research for such a worthwhile and prestigious project has been the culmination of many years of hard work, and the highlight of my career to date.
N.B. Recently, Fenella has added a further qualification to the very impressive ones she already had. In 1999 she received a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Deakin University, Melbourne.
“Nothing Good Will Come of That, Boy.”
by Mike Bills.
I can well remember those words being uttered to me at Mayfair School one day when instead of verbalising an adjective or pro-nouning a verb, I was looking at a book about rugby.
Well maybe, just maybe, I proved him wrong. I won’t mention names, that’s hardly fair; sufficient to say I never forgot what I was reading that day. Fourteen years later when I was asked a question on Television’s Mastermind programme then that teacher’s comment was as loud in my mind as it was in my ears that day in 1972! I was reading about the French Rugby tour of New Zealand in 1968 and the very first question I was asked was about a test from that tour. (Mike reached the semifinals in the competition).
It would be fair to say that in most peoples’ lives there is a happening or two that have a significant bearing on how the rest of life pans out. My appearing on Mastermind is one of the things in my life that ultimately changed it
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forever. I have no doubt that it helped me gain a few rapid promotions up the management tiers at Tomoana.
It without doubt helped me to become prominent in covering local sport on radio. Now I am the luckiest bloke in Hawke’s Bay; I get paid to go to all the big games at McLean Park and talk about something I would willingly pay for, or do for free!! I also get one of the best seats in the house, the chance to meet the top players and to work alongside one of my childhood heroes, Blair Furlong. Don’t anyone ever try and tell you that reading a book about footie isn’t going to help you.
I have a feeling though, that there must be something in the water at Mayfair School that helps rugby fact retention. As well as I, one other former pupil, Grant Harding, appeared on Mastermind with the same subject as my own. Another former pupil, Adrian Hill is the official statistician for the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union and helps in the collection of factual matter for the rugby supporters’ Bible, the Rugby Almanack of New Zealand.
That same water must have helped the softballers as well because from the “A” team of 1972, no less than four players played for Hawke’s Bay at National tournaments, Craig Williams, Murray Chapman, Anthony Lorkin and myself. It helped that our coach in 1972 was a fellow named Eddie Daymond who was a regular player in the Wolves’ line-up of the early ’70’s which used to achieve great results at tournaments around the country.
I’ll be honest and say that I did spend a bit of time reading about things other than rugby, or sport. But I honestly believe that an active interest in sports books did help me in my life. It certainly gave me the window of opportunity I was looking for and I have almost forgiven that certain teacher for the couple of straps I took for reading the “wrong” thing.
Who knows, the next Keith Quinn or Peter Montgomery just might be sitting in room four having a quick look at a Rugby News instead of his Maths book. Give him a break, it may be the start of a blossoming career.
Peter Waddell (Professional Artist)
Peter Waddell was born in Hastings in 1955. He was educated at Mayfair School, Karamu High School and Canterbury University. After a brief stint as an art teacher Peter has, since 1982, made his living as a professional artist. He is at present a permanent resident of the United States and lives in Washington DC. He has had numerous one man shows in New Zealand and the United States and his work is in major private and public collections in both countries. He is represented by Artis Gallery in Auckland and Anton Gallery in Washington DC. He is ever grateful for the emphasis put on painting and drawing in the New Zealand public school system and the encouragement he received from his teachers at Mayfair School.
Rhys Cullen
Rhys Cullen (Standard 4 in 1971), went on to Hastings Intermediate and Hastings Boys’ High School where he was Dux in 1978. From there he went to Auckland University, and graduated first in medicine (1985), then in Mathematics, followed by degrees in Philosophy. Today he has a fairly busy life as a doctor and a researcher in the Department of Mathematics at Auckland University. He is involved in setting up an on-line university and library, and is chairman of two educational trusts (the Matthew Gardiner-Hill Community Trust which supports Hastings Boys’ High School and the New Zealand Science Trust). Rhys has three boys, and lives in a log house on the Coromandel Peninsula whenever he can get out of the cities.
(We have been told that Rhys was instrumental in setting up “The Doctors” in Hastings, and that he is at present temporarily overseas.)
Duane Kale
I commenced Mayfair in the spring of 1972 joining Mrs Bongard’s class. My primary school years were relatively uneventful, although there was a preference towards sport and social activities rather than academic achievement. The annual school swimming sports were probably my greatest achievement. However, the thing you do not realise as a child is how you are starting to be shaped as an individual, your behaviours, character, attitude and beyond all, your mental toughness. Mayfair School was one of the fundamental contributors to the beginning of this process.
Lindisfarne College and Havelock North High made up the remainder of my schooling
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education before leaving to join the National Bank.
Seven years on I was diagnosed with a benign spinal tumour, which turned my life upside down, from being a young, fit, full of life individual to now being an incomplete paraplegic (very limited use of the lower limbs). The adjustment to using a wheelchair and driving with hand controls was certainly a challenge and also realising that everyone has choices to make in life. The only choice you do not make is when you die. “If your life is free of failure you are probably not taking enough risks.” So it was; get on with it and make the most of the changes.
The swimming commenced by default really. Running was not an option and I could not get on a bike so I turned back to swimming, mainly for fitness reasons.
This continued and after a short period I got involved with Paralympics NZ. It was at that point I was told about a NZ swim team that would be going to China in two years time…Finally I had a goal, something to strive for. I joined John Beaumont’s swim squad and he helped me achieve goal number one. Returning from China I focussed on making the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics. I trained with an able bodied squad, swimming up to 9 sessions a week. I made the NZ team for the Paralympics and was in top condition entering the event, both physically and mentally. Having a strong mental focus is such a critical component, not just at elite level but with everything one chooses to do in life.
I went on to win 4 golds, 1 silver and 1 bronze while establishing 4 world records which still stand today. The following year, I was awarded the ONZM for services to sport. However the most enjoyable part was still to come. I never considered myself to be much of a public speaker but boy you learn quickly. Over the past 3 years there have been numerous functions and prize givings where I have spoken, as well as being one of the sports’ ambassadors for the Hillary Commission, which includes facilitating workshops for students.
As an Area Sales Manager for the National Bank I continue to apply the attributes I gained through swimming. Everyone has a disability.. (mine happens to be noticeable) and it is all about making the most out of what you have.
“One hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account balance was, the kind of house I lived in nor the type of car I drove. But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”
Raymond and Pauline Fyfe
Raymond and Pauline are in the Royal N.Z. Navy, and recently have been serving on H.M.N.Z.S. “Te Kaha”, which is a new warship equipped with the latest technology.
Raymond joined the Navy in 1987 and is now a petty officer anti-submarine instructor, and responsible for the ship’s sonar system, used to locate submarines and underwater objects. He is responsible too, for seamanship activities aboard the ship.
Pauline, training as an able-seaman electronics technician, (A.E.T.), is responsible for the repair, maintenance and overseeing of the ship’s weapons, and of electronic and engineering systems.
Their general work can be varied. According to a Hastings “Leader” report, flying in an open-sided helicopter over a steaming volcano, or checking ships for prohibited cargo in the Arabian Gulf, are all in the day’s work.
Six months ago “Te Kaha” was in Malaysian waters on exercises. From there, it was scheduled to sail to the Arabian Gulf on United Nations trade sanction patrol duty.
The Fyfes enjoy their work aboard this modern ship, and they are particularly pleased to be working on the same ship, even though there is a difference in rank between them, and their work is different. A senior officer in Auckland has said that they are thriving on the challenges of their duties in the Navy.
Footnote: These are just some of the high achievers who have attended Mayfair School in their early days. We regret that we have not been able to include many ex-pupils from the school’s second twenty-five years who have achieved distinction in their various fields, because, in spite of real effort, we have not been able to identify those who fall into this category – we are sure there will be many. At present some would not have had time yet to surface and many may be overseas. If the next jubilee booklet contains a similar section to this one there should be no shortage of material!
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MAYFAIR SCHOOL JUBILEE 2000
ASSISTANT TEACHERS
1950-56 Miss Y. G. Hay (I.M.)
1950-53, 55-57 Miss J.A. Chappell S.A.M.
1950 Mr. T.J. Dymond (1st Assistant)
1950-51 Mr. L.G. Tocher
1950-56 Miss M.M. Esler (Mrs Bartlett)
1950 Mr. Sivewright
1950 Mr. I. Talbot (1st Assistant)
1951-59 Mr. J. Chadwick (1st Assistant)
1951 Mr. W.J. O’Sullivan
1951 Miss J.S. Hingston
1951 Mr. Doak
1951-53 Miss D.P. Dowling
1951 Mrs D. Bennett
1951 Mrs McArthur
1952-54 Miss M.B. Thompson
1952, 58-59, 61-70 Mrs E.L. Wills
1952 Mr. B.E. Potts
1952 Miss Collins
1952-57 Mr. W.W.C. Coutts
1952 Mr. L. Marsden
1953-55 Mr. L.A. Bowen
1953-55 Mr. T. Kenyon
1953 Miss H.K. Rattray
1953 Miss Harris
1954-56 Miss A.H. Rathie
1954-55 Miss D.M. Williams
1954 Miss I. Boyd
1954 Miss Izatt
1954 Miss M.A. Dysart
1954-57 Mr. P.N. Lorck
1954-60 Miss N. Erceg
1955 Mr. G. Kamau
1955 Miss L.L. Boshier
1955 Miss V.I. Yates
1955-57 Mr. D. Johnson
1956 Miss M.A. Flanagan
1956 Mr. W.J. Weterings
1956 Mr. E.E. Coombe
1956 Miss S. McKay (Mrs Unwin)
1956-58,61-62 Mrs D. McMillan
1956-61 Mr. R.T.C. Foley
1957-61 Mrs J.I. Curnow (I.M.)
1957-61 Mrs D. Hingston
1957 Miss G.M. Bailey
1957 Miss C.M. Kelly
1957-59 Miss R.E. Hutchins
1957-77 Miss M. Craven S.A.M.
1958 Miss J. Bruce
1958 Mr. A. Brown
1958 Miss M.M. Morley
1958 Miss K. Ellingham
1958 Miss I.K. Crombie
1958-64 Mr. B. Flack
1958-63 Mr. B.A. Curran
1959-63 Mr. R. Lamb
1959 Mr. D.G. Kilpatrick
1959 Miss J. Kale
1960 Mr. V.G. Britton
1960-61 Miss J. Johnson
1960-61 Mr. R. Walker
1960 Miss N. Rogers
1960-61 Mr. G. Robertson
1961 Mr. A. Liley
1961 Miss D. Blackford
1961-63 Mr. M. Paulsen (1st Asst)
1961-64 Miss J. Houlahan (Mrs Jackson)
1962-73 Mrs M. Bark (S.T.J.C.)
1962-63 Miss E. Samuels
1962-64 Mr. D. Olsen
1962-68 Mr. F. Wismeyer
1962 Miss W. Hutchinson
1962 Miss Stott
1962-64 Mrs Short
1963 Miss L.J. Dawson
1963 Miss M.B. Stevenson
1963-69 Miss M. Pulford (Mrs Kramer)
1963-67 Mr. D. Caves
1963 Miss M. Crampin
1964-81 Mr. L.W. Scott (Deputy Principal)
1964 Miss C.L. McKenzie
1964 Miss E.C. Isdale
1964-65 Mr. A. Bryan
1964 Mrs Stephen
1964-65 Miss B. Oliver
1964 Mrs V. Bacon
1965-71 Mr.E. Daymond
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Page 58
1965 Miss J. Manley
1965 Miss G. Hazelwood
1965 Miss Clark
1965 Miss F. Hinton
1965 Mrs Ivey
1966 Miss B. Elliott
1966-67 Miss B. Hodgson
1966-69 Mr. J. McDonald
1966 Miss J. Hope
1966-67 Miss K. Boyle
1966-68 Miss J. Wellwood
1967-84 Mrs F. Bongard
1967 Miss J. Mitchell
1967-69 Miss S. Ridgway (Mrs McDonald)
1967 Mrs B. Crawford
1967 Mrs O’Rourke
1968 Miss S. Godfrey
1968 Miss E. Hope
1968-72 Miss A. Barber (Mrs Marshall)
1968-69 Miss K. Spooner
1968 Mr. Hucker
1968 Mr. Telford
1969 Mrs A. Shepherd
1969 Miss J. Reading
1969-71 Mr. A. Connor
1969-71 Mrs J. Laird
1969 Mrs D. Glover
1970 Miss J. Millyn
1970-71 Mrs V. Wimms
1970 Miss K. Meyer
1970 Mrs K. Horwood
1970 Mr. M. Taaffe
1970 Miss C. Easton
1970-72 Mr. G. Marshall
1970 Mrs T. Patterson
1970 Mrs M.P. Lamb
1970-82 Mrs G.M. Prebble
1971 Miss J. Seamark
1971 Miss B. Davidson
1971-72 Miss B. Cato
1971 Miss Whooley
1971-72 Miss L. Laurent
1971-72 Mrs Gledhill
1971 Mrs I.P. Marshall
1971 Miss A.I. Mead
1972-75 Mr. P.W. Johnstone
1972-79 Mrs M. Derksen
1972-85,1988- Mrs G. Cotching
1972-78 Mrs J.E. Ellis
1972-74 Mr. B.J. Herbert
1972 Mrs C.J. Richecoeur
1972 Miss J.M. McLennan
1972 Mr. G.T. Grace
1972 Mrs H. Chipper
1972-74 Miss A. Thompson
1973 Miss L. Dallas
1973 Mr. T. Gray
1973 Mr. R. Mettrick
1973-77 Mrs A. Adams
1973 Miss R. Hakiwai
1974-81 Mrs N.A. Perrott (S.T.J.C.)
1974 Miss A. Sulzberger
1974 Miss D. Field
1974 Mrs E.M. Duxfield
1974 Miss V. Hopkinson
1974 Mr. J. Saathof
1974 Mr. G. Reece
1975-77 Mr. B. Milne
1975-79 Mrs C. Treacher
1975 Mrs L. Balfour
1975 Miss R. Middleton
1975 Miss G. Squire
1975 Mrs A.M. Watson
1976-85 Mr. A. Couston
1976 Mrs S. Munroe
1976 Miss P. Buck
1976 Miss Yeoman
1977 Miss Baldwin
1977 Miss Muller
1977 Mrs Greig
1977 Mrs P. Gunson
1978 Mrs J.M. Moriarty
1978 Mrs Rhys Johns
1978 Miss C.M. O’Neill
1978-80 Mrs H. McCracken
1978 Miss J. Miller
1978 Miss D. Strawbridge
1979 Miss L. O’Connor
1979 Miss E. Sutherland (Mrs Yortt)
1979-80 Mrs S. Averill
1979 Miss M. Knox
1979-82 Miss J. Gordon
1979 Mrs P. Manaena
1980 Miss S. Stimpson
1979-80 Mrs A. Chrisp
1980 Miss J. Porter
1980 Miss S. Bellaart
1980 Miss D. Petersen
1980-81 Mrs B. McLean
1981-85 Mr. J. McDonald (Deputy Principal)
1981 Miss M. Jones
1981-82 Miss J. Leahy
1981 Mrs M. Smail
1981 Mr. W. Stent
1980-82 Mrs P. Gulliver
1982-87 Mrs A. Couston (S.T.J.C.)
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1982 Mrs R. Lawler
1982 Miss Roe
1982-83 Miss S. Nottingham
1982 Mrs R. Bunny
1982 Mrs Burrough
1983-84 Mr. C. Pearce
1983 Mr. D. Colgate
1983 Miss L. Weeks
1983-84 Miss R. Gillum
1983 Miss C. Crook
1983 Miss M. Nordmark
1984 Miss L. Ruddenklau
1984-85 Mrs W. Falconer
1985 Mr. G. France
1985-93 Miss W. McCorkindale (Mrs Ormandy)
1984 Mrs F. Mears
1985 Mr. R. Hickey
1985 Miss V. Bradley
1985-88 Mrs J. Tuck
1985-96 Mr. K.P. Watson
1985-86 Mrs G. Pedersen
1985-87 Mrs J. Hall
1985 Miss L. Friis
1985 Mrs M. Ryan
1985 Mrs C. Clapcott
1985-87 Mrs M. Harding
1986-87 Mr. B. Musson (Deputy Principal)
1986-89 Miss L. Olsen (Mrs Lagah)
1986 Mrs M. Ryan
1987 Miss D. Beatson
1987 Mrs J. Hopgood
1988-90, 92-94 Miss M. Flanagan
1988-89 Mrs K. Greville
1988-90 Miss A. Brouwer (Mrs Vandenberg)
1988 Mr. L. Morgan (Deputy Principal)
1990-93 Mrs M. Harding
1990-93 Mrs T. Neilson
1991 Mrs J. Harrison
1991-92, 94-96, 98- Mrs K. MacKenzie1991- Mrs A. de Lange
1991-93 Mrs L. Calder
1993 Mrs J. Seeto
1994 Miss L. Hislop (Mrs Dixon)
1994-96 Miss B. Phalert (Mrs Wallace)
1995 Miss C. Boyce
1996 Mrs L. Bennett
1996- Mr. A. Crawford
1997 Miss R. Napier
1996 Mrs C. Schollum
1996- Mrs L. Knox
1997- Miss R. Goodin
1997- Miss W. Field
1997- Miss K. Atkins
1997- Mrs J. Llewellyn
1997- Miss Y. Skinner
2000 Miss N. Bond
2000 Mrs F. Ellison
2000 Mr. W. Murdoch
CLERICAL ASSISTANTS – SECRETARIES – PRINCIPAL’S ASSISTANT
1952 Mrs Jones
1952-54 Mrs Middleton
1954-71 Mrs A.J. Healey
1971-90 Mrs E. Porter
1991- Mrs S. John (Watson)
TEACHER AIDES – OFFICE ASSISTANTS – LIBRARIANS
Mrs G. Burns
Mrs Tegg
Mrs J. Couchman
Mrs S. John
Mrs Y. Gibb
Mrs C. Bartholomew
Mrs K. Pryor
Mrs W. Braybrook
DENTAL NURSES
Miss C. Eberhard
Miss McNamara
Mrs P. Delaney
Miss J. McCorkindale
Miss B. Graham
Miss E. Macauley
Miss L. Gordon
Miss D. Healey
Mrs J. Trask
Miss C. Caddie
Miss A. Beavan
Mrs A. Crafar
Mrs L. Walker
Miss M. Broderick
Miss J. Dalrymple
CARETAKERS
Mr. H.J. Dove
Mr. W. Lee & Mrs Lee
Mr. G. Everitt & Mrs Everitt
Mr. N. Ross & Mrs Ross
Mr. I. Drinkwater
Mr. G. Cracknell
Mr. D. Barthow
ASSISTANTS
Mr. Birch
Mr. Brittain
Mrs Hancy
Mrs Napier
Mr. C. Stevens
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Page 60
MAYFAIR SCHOOL JUBILEE 2000
SCHOOL COMMITTEES AND BOARDS OF TRUSTEES
We apologise for the omission of some names of members of committees, and in particular, those of Home and School Association Committee members. Some of the older records could not be traced, so that there are gaps in their lists. There were some problems, too, with the initials of lady committee members. Following the custom of the day, often the recorded initials were those of their husbands, and these we have used when necessary.
School Committee Members
Mr. S.J. Rouse
Mr. C.A. Boult
Mr. R.M. McCracken
Mr. F.W. Liley
Mr. A.H. Croucher
Mr. J.A. Ramsay
Mr. A. Shewan
Mr. R.G.B. Smith
Mrs D.E. Walford
Mr. R.D. Williams
Mr. R.T. Kirk
Mr. E.J. Boese
Mr. A.J. Kite
Mr. A.G. Ross
Mr. W.H. Walker
Mr. P.S. Marshall
Mrs F.E. Burn
Mr. R.L. Davidson
Mr. D.D.A. Anderson
Mr. H.G. Cook
Mr. J. Osborne
Mr. J.J. Sulzberger
Mr. G.I. Featherstone
Mr. L.E. Morton
Mr. F.N. Small
Mr. J.M. Dorée
Mr. J. Scarlett
Mr. C.J. Trask
Mr. F.E. Welch
Mr. R.G. Anderson
Mr. R.G. Cooper
Mr. J.M. Davidson
Mr. D. Fox
Mr. I. Atkins
Mr. I.D. Cameron
Mr. G. Harding
Mr. G.W. Bushby
Mr. T.L. Walls
Mr. I.A. McKinnon (Jack)
Mr. B.A. Ralph
Mr. A.J. Cross
Mr. G.C. Anderson
Mr. E.H.W. Hayes
Mr. D.L. Murray
Mr. H.H. Simmonds
Mr. R.P. McNab
Mr. R.R. Goodwin
Mr. R.A. Powell
Mr. J.K. Bayliss
Mr. T. Crosby
Mr. P. Gedye
Mr. M. Simmonds
Mr. R. Frost
Mr. T. Miller
Mr. A.M. Harris
Mr. B.M. Henderson
Mr. G. Sanderson
Mrs J. Plaisted
Mrs B. Keatley
Mr. L. Davidson
Mr. D. McLeod
Mr. K. Walker
Mr. I. Harrison
Mr. R. Dickson
Mrs S. John
Mrs L. Barlow
Mrs L. Crawford
Mrs C. Anderson
Mrs J. Smith
Mrs N. Clark
Mrs L. Spencer
Mr. G. Ladd
Mr. L. June
Mr. R. Thomas
Mr. G. Dennison
School Board of Trustee Members
Mr. T. Ringrose (Chair)
Mrs F. Frost
Mrs S. Birnie
Mrs L. Graham
Mr. L. Clapcott
Mr. P. Pryor (Chair)
Mrs G. Cotching
Mr. R. Terry
Mrs Chris Ferrier
Mrs F. Mears
Mrs R. Warren
Mrs A. de Lange
Mr. K. Deacon (Chair)
Mr. K. Hales
Mr. A. Blair
Mr. D. de Lange (Chair)
Mr. A. Carruthers
Mr. G. Paris
Mr. T. Hartley
Mrs L. Hughes
Mr. A. Crawford
Mr. P. Watson
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Page 61
HOME AND SCHOOL ASSOCIATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Mr. H. Walker
Mr. W.L. Sorensen
Mr. R. Kirk
Mr. D. Giffney
Mr. E. Garnett
Mr. R. McCombe
Mr. A.J. Kite
Mr. A. Shewan
Mr. J.L. Sutton
Mr. E.S. Jackson
Mr. J. Thompson
Mr. K. Hoar
Mr. M. Kitt
Mr. A. Healey
Mr. G.R. Walker
Mr. E. Marshall
Mr P.H. Christian
Mr. T. Wing
Mr. Johnston
Mr. R. Harkness
Mr. L. Davidson
Mr. S. Heffernan
Mr. M. Simmonds
Mr. W. Hill
Mr. W. Coutts
Mr. A. Hughes
Mr. M. Holder
Mr. J.P. Dickens
Mr. H. Cook
Mr. R. McMurray
Mr. C. Waddell
Mr. J. King
Mr. L. Hill
Mr. E. Fielding
Mr. T. Thompson
Mr. H.W. Burnard
Mr. B. Wishnowsky
Mr. F. Small
Mr. F. Peach
Mrs E.J. Jenkins
Mrs B. McCracken
Mrs D.I. Ramsay
Mrs R. Robin
Mrs W.L. Sorensen
Mrs H. Harvey
Mrs Jackson
Mrs R. Kirk
Mrs McCombe
Mrs G. Walker
Mrs Drury
Mrs G. Bushby
Mrs Harvey
Mrs Jackson
Mrs F. Burn
Mrs P. Dickens
Mrs A. Healey
Mrs Johnston
Mrs P.H. Christian
Mrs. Patton
Mrs Brodie
Mrs N. Krebs
Mrs L. Fannin
Mrs F. Sephton
Mrs D.A. Smith
Mrs N.H. Dudfield
Mrs P.R. Dickins
Mrs V. Boag
Mrs F. Pickett
Mrs O. Reid
A photograph from c.1962
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Page 62
Mrs W. Hill
Mrs W. Carson
Mrs P. Ward
Mrs H. Smith
Mrs D. Sparling
Mrs R. McLean
Mrs M. Burrell
Mrs F.W. Lingman
Mrs H. Cutler
Mr. J. Barden
Mr. C. Trask
Mr. L. Newton
Mr. B. Carding
Mr. L. Reefman
Mr. H. Triplow
Mr. L. Bradshaw
Mr. A. Ross
Mr. L. Betts
Mr. P. Hensman
Mr. Austin
Mr. H. Scougall
Mr. O. Sinclair
Mr. E. Templeton
Mr. N. Williams
Mr. Tucker
Mr. Child
Mr. Pattinson
Mr. B. Ralph
Mrs F. MacEwan
Mrs Rollander
Mrs Hutcheson
Mrs M. Philpott
Mrs K. Portas
Mrs Herman
Mrs R. Beaven
Mrs R. Cooper
Mrs T. Fallwell
Mrs M. Scarfe
Mrs A. Roberts
Mrs A. Yspeerd
Mrs G. Prebble
Mrs I. Atkins
Mrs N. Poulsen
Mrs S. Bateman
Mrs D. Bradshaw
Mrs Vance
Mrs Nesbit
Mrs B. Ralph
Mrs. E. Campbell
Mrs B. Dorée
Mrs J. McKinnon
Mrs H. Rickard
Mrs A. Sloane
Mrs M. Clarke
Mrs H. Hill
Mr. C. Worthington
Mrs Z. Henderson
Mrs H. Carnachan
Mrs N. Marsh
Mr. D. McLeod
Mr. K. Walker
Mr. R. Barlow
Mr. R. Armstrong
Mrs J. Reardon
Mrs M. Abraham
Mrs B. MacLean
Mrs J. Wakefield
Mrs B. Keatley
Mrs L. Crawford
Mrs A. Hall
Mrs M. Estcourt
Mrs J. Harrison
Mrs S. John
Mrs J. Franklin
Mrs V. Dockerty
Mr. E. Williams
Mr. G. Dennison
Mr. K. Wilson
Mr. L. June
Mr. T. Ringrose
Mr. P. Pryor
Mr. M. Church
Mr. K. Chadwick
Mr. J. Painter
Mr. G. Finnie
Mr. K. Hales
Mr. T. Harley
Mr. D. Harding
Mrs J. Walker
Mrs M. Abraham
Mrs B. Davidson
Mrs L. Spencer
Mrs J. Morley
Mrs M. Hammond
Ms Y. Sim
Mrs R. Mears
Mrs S. MacKenzie
Mrs S. Hibberd
Mrs K. Drake
Mrs V. Sargisson
Mrs M. Williams
Mrs L. Rogers
Mrs W. Hough
Mrs C. Betty
Mrs W. Hamilton
Mrs C. Venema
Mrs R. Napier
Mrs H. Reihana
Mrs J. Lott
Mrs S. Trafford
Mrs S. Augustine
Mrs S. Myers
Mrs L. Funnell
Mrs S. Hopkins
Mrs J. Anderson
Mrs P. Zivanovic
Mrs P. Hough
Mrs A. Blair
Mrs J. Hopkins
Mrs C. Betty
Mrs V. Daynes
Mrs M. Church
Mrs C. Paul
Mrs J. Price
Mrs K. King
Mrs G. Moore
Mrs C. Ashcroft
Mrs R. Ladd
Mrs J. Thomas
Mrs McCarty
Mrs L. Waby
Mrs L. Rogers
Mrs Kleehammer
Mrs D. Alessi
Mrs Jonasen
Mrs Read
Mrs Marshall
Mrs R. Hughes
Mrs D. McBride
Mrs B. Terry
Mrs K. Evans
Mrs M. Urwin
Mrs D. Hawke
Mrs S. McCollum
Mrs W. Braybrook
Mrs M. White
Mrs L. Walker
Mrs T. McLeland
Mrs C. Wright (or Mr?)
Mrs Z. O’Sullivan
Mrs C. Clapcott
Mrs S. Mepham
Mrs M. Tiepa
Mrs S. Taylor
Mrs H. Hales
Mrs. J. Harrison
Mrs L. Tuahine
Mrs M. Carruthers
Mrs T. Hartley
Mrs M. McCauley
Mrs W. Jansen
Mrs M. Kelsen
Mrs K. Taylor
Mrs K. Innes
Mrs C. Ferrier
Mrs M. Chadwick
Mrs M. Hosking
Mrs D. Williams
Mrs M. Deacon
Mrs J. Hewitt
Mrs M. Parris
Mrs K. Neal
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Page 63
MAYFAIR SCHOOL JUBILEE 2000
THE GOLDEN JUBILEE
1st Day Pupils at the Golden Jubilee.
The 1951-52 intake.
Photos of formal groups taken by Mr Shayne Jeffares, Photographer, Taradale, and very kindly donated by him to the Jubilee Committee.
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Page 65
1974-90.
The Jubilee Committee – Back row: Kerry Crosby, Garrie Griffiths, Ngaire Marsh, Les Morgan (Acting Principal, Mayfair), Betty Graham, Mary Craven, Raelyn Henderson. Front row: Peg Perrott, Betty Porter, Shirley Augustine, Garry Kirk (Chair), Lyn Jenkins, ]an Finnimore, Georgina Prebble.
Past and Present Staff members.
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Page 66
Members of past and present School Committees and Home and School Association Committees.
FRIDAY AFTERNOON
Associate Principal Gaynor Cotching leads the school to the Jubilee opening to the music of a stirring march of the 1950s. Note the teachers’ smart “period” costumes.
Cutting the 50th Jubilee cake, Peter Pedersen and Natasha Neal. Behind the children are Mr Les Morgan, Mr Garry Kirk and Mr and Mrs Colin Waddell.
Above: Mr Les Morgan, Acting Principal, addresses the assembled school and visiting jubilarians, and welcomes them to the children’s opening ceremony. Left: Mr and Mrs Waddell presented a very early painting of the school painted by their son Peter as a Jubilee gift for Mayfair.
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Page 67
Left: Mrs Ngaire Marsh, who made and iced the children’s cake, preparing for its demolition. Above: The cake will soon be no more.
FRIDAY EVENING
Above: About 400 folk packed into the school hall for the “Mix and Mingle” evening.
Left: Betty Porter and Peg Perrott ready to help registrants in the school hall.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Above: Listening to the Mayor, Mr Jeremy Dwyer, at the official opening of the Jubilee.
Left: A fine quilt made by S.3, Room 12, was given by the children, and raffled to help finance a new senior school fitness adventure playground.
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Page 68
SATURDAY NIGHT
Above: A grateful recipient receives some flowers for “good behaviour” leading up to the jubilee. Above right: About 350 diners filled the hall at the Showgrounds and the evening was a very happy one, for all those present.
This lovely cake was made by Warren’s Bakery, and given by them for the jubilee.
Three of the “older hands” before dinner at the Showgrounds. Mary Craven, Betty Porter and Peg Perrott.
SUNDAY MORNING
Rev. Mrs Dawn Scott conducted the Sunday morning service at school, which ended the weekend celebrations. A lovely service, and no empty seats in the hall.
MAYFAIR SCHOOL JUBILEE 2000
Page 69
MAYFAIR SCHOOL JUBILEE 2000
THE GOLDEN JUBILEE REGISTRATIONS
APRIL 7th-9th 2000
1950 – 1959
Russell Smith
Lynette Jenkins
Mervyn Kite
Beth Cavanagh (Sleeman)
Judith Dodds (Rixon)
Pauline Honore (Clapperton)
Brian Jones
Lesley Baggott (Porter)
Kay Douglas (Porter)
Brian Bartlett
Janice Morley (Page)
Gaylene Nees (Stouper)
William Foddy
Ross Culver
Ruth Benson (Jenkins)
Sally Paterson (Wilson)
Judith Bligh
John Nash
Vivienne Mills (Nash)
Kay Harwood (Mustchin)
Jan Johnson (Harrison)
Tony Baggett
Trevor Pedler
Suzanne Gay
David Sinclair
Jackie McClutchie (Chadwick)
David Pickett
Colleen Neely (Edwards)
Stanley Dove
Helen Walker (Duncan)
Shirley Brace (Cook)
Brian Erkell
Shirley Gowdy (Beale-Johnston)
Noeline Young
Yvonne Elliott
Jeanette Satterthwaite (Urquhart)
Janet Rule (Sutton)
Jill Palmer (Marriott)
Rhoda Seton
Teri Flanagan
Kay Marsh (Jenkins)
David Hill
Ngaire Denner (Kirk)
Merilyn Brown (Dudfield)
David Kirk
Ann Farquhar (Sleeman)
Vivien Leitch (Ward)
Terry Franklin
Penny Sefuiva (Beaven)
Rosalie Elmer (Ward)
Carolyn Smith (Forster)
Sherrill Taylor (Dudfield)
Glenys Coughlan (Fannin)
John McCombe
Arthur Duncan
Barbara MacLean (Cato)
Robyn Warren (Hartley)
Margaret Donovan (Stairmand)
Jan Gibson (Walford)
Bruce Culver
Evelyn de Boorder (Hope)
Rosemary Meads (Gumbley)
Rae Povey (Estcourt)
Brian Motley
Jan Dennis (Olsen)
Dennis Olsen
Michael McCormick
George Bushby
Nanette Lowe (Gaskell)
Helen Bush (Russell)
John Hill
Maree Barber (Flower)
Yvonne Gibb (Campbell)
Patricia Taylor (Low)
Quita Hughes (Walford)
Jan Hoskin (Boyle)
Lorraine Dixon (Harmer)
Paula Minton (Zivanovic)
Lynda Boyd (Davidson)
Donn Estcourt
Vivienne Calvert (Osborne)
Douglas Wilson
Diane Smith (Walford)
Dianne Baird (Forbes)
Bruce Stewart
Sally Adamson (Chapman)
Patricia Milne (Boult)
Glenda Newton (Burling)
Pauline Fraser (Boult)
Jeanette Smales (Hope)
Sally Ward (Driver)
Phil Boyte
Wayne Campbell
Shirley Augustine (Ross)
Leonie MacKay (Giffney)
Glenys Welch (Tong)
David Grant
Janice Burling
Lorraine Te Whaiti (Petrowski)
Yvonne Ash (Macklow)
Janice Finnimore (Kirk)
Diane Brogden (Vitsky)
Marilyn Scott (Bryant)
Bruce Gillies
Michael Jericevich
Irene Piper (Drayson)
Margaret Baker (Hutcheson)
Wendy Hensman (Boyle)
Carole Bone (Atkins)
Rosaleen Honeyfield (Urquhart)
Garrie Griffiths
Maureen Casey (Harrison)
David Robinson
Sandra Selwood (Corby)
Pauline Walford (Dickens)
Ann Paterson (Milne)
Vivienne Shaw (Penny)
Fran Knapman (Waddell)
Heather Lay (Prebble)
Joan Marshall (Penny)
Garry Kirk
Bev Herlihy (Davey)
Margaret Kirk (Prebble)
Richard Prebble
Ann Beresford (Prebble)
Jean Hunt (Wilkinson)
Jill Clerke (Mendelssohn)
Elizabeth Gillette (Mendelssohn)
Sally Wilson (King)
Jill England (King)
Richard Hill
Graeme Gordon
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Page 70
Keith Paramore
Roger Driver
Valmae Wilson (Wallace)
Kelvin Walls
Perry Hingston
Bruce Owen
John Ramsay
Kevin Newrick
Fay Rusden-Franklin (Dove)
Valerie Blackburn (Dove)
Rena Nikolaison (Dove)
Jean Hunt (Wilkinson)
George Burrell
Patsy Crampton (Davies)
Doreen Dillon (Sorenson)
Bob Reid
Tony Blades
Kelvin Badland
Vivienne Webby (Gillies)
Maxine Boag
Ross Anderson
Christopher Holder
Trevor Warren
Myra Reid (Woodham)
Adrienne Hill (Binns)
Ross Golds
Raymond Harrison
Denise Smith
Jay Tyler
Bevan Duff
David Nash
Lorna Astridge (Burnard)
Lesley Eriksen (Rollander)
Neil Burnett
Pam Nijssen (Anderson)
Valda Gillies (Beattie)
Philip Jackson
Judith Watts (Grant)
Clive Lambert
Bryan Burnett
Lesley Waters
Ian Chapman
Sandra Greig (Peters)
Janet Reid (Ross)
Shirley Cash (McLaren)
Desmond Hall
David Adams
Terence Sandilands
Alle Stoodley (Alice Johnson)
Douglas Turner
Ian Heppleston
Ngaire Fitzgerald (McDonald)
Beverley Winter (McDonald)
Robyn Carrington
Neville Stewart
Kelvin Harrison
Ngaire Marsh (Dillon)
Vera Smith (Shewan)
Alex Shewan
Vivien Howan (O’Brien)
Margaret Brook (Owen)
Beverley Allen (Tuohy)
Ross Marshall
Pat Ackerman (Bushett)
Glenis Connolly (Bushett)
Nanette Woodham
Rex Goodwin
Carol Scott (McDonald)
Karen Henry (Thompson)
Elizabeth Jones (Rogers)
Susan Harris
Jennie Pearson (Thompson)
Jennifer Taylor
Jillian Browne (White)
Mike Boag
Moana Jackson
Alan Hodges
Kaye Hawkins (Williamson)
Dianne Simmons (Woodham)
Leslie Newdick
Athol Ryan
Linda Rose
Cameron Black
Sam Taylor
Maurice Jackson
Nola Moroney
Janice Moroney
Janice Paynter (Taylor)
Bessie Manaena (Robin)
Alex Robin
Lynette Harrison (Hutchins)
Pam Oughton (White)
Maurice Jackson
Sam Taylor
Derek Lowe
1960 – 1969
Vikki Jones (Porter)
Cheryl Larwood (Cross)
Judy Moody (Prebble)
Cherie Adams (Jones)
John Jenkins
Joanne Hammond (Ireland)
Tony Ireland
Sharon Tomlinson
Patricia Mackey (Lamberg)
Ann Blair (Hartley)
Peter Barrett
Carolyn Brown (Jones)
Christine Marshall (Gibson)
Deborah Lambert (Urlich)
Fiona Davies (Urlich)
Royce McCutcheon
Sharon Nelson-Kelly (Nelson)
Annette Clapperton (Gibson)
Mary Wakefield (Hope)
Dianne Reefman
Stephen Morse
Tony Cross
Lois Crawford (Gillies)
Lynette Mohi (Campbell)
Michelle Warren (Ward)
Virginia Wicks (Firmston)
Wendy Franklin
Denise Moorcock (Campbell)
Neil McGarva
Kaye Tollenaar (McGarva)
Heather Palmer (Osborne)
Tony Hammond
Linda Nankervis (Warren)
Peter Beckett
Wendy Beckett (Seton)
David Warren
Rosalie Kerr (Carr)
Alan Nisbet
Tim Goodall
Tresna Hughes (O’Regan)
Peter Newton
Suyen Pharazyn (Chan)
Stephen Hensman
Charmaine Celtino (Goldsmith)
Lynnette Boot (France)
Terry Baker
Brent Elliott
Vyron Russell
Christine Church (Prebble)
Ian Prebble
Pat Portas
Jayne Atkenson (Phillips)
Janine McCutcheon
Andrew Keehan
Kathryn Newrick
Louise Jensen (Livingston)
Barbara Ryan (Livingston)
Gaye Reid (Davey)
Kevin Deacon
Lynette Graham (Bartlett)
Michelle Wilkins (Blades)
Joyce Boyd
Gail Boyd
Wayne Gillies
Rhys Flack
Vivien Barnes (Small)
Cheryl Holder (Gillies)
Kevin Phillips
Greg Annabelle
Sharyn Welch
Kaye Walls
Karen Wardle (Turner)
Linda Hall (Chapman)
Max Peach
Grant Lambert
Charmaine Gittins (Goldsmith)
Mark Basher
MAYFAIR SCHOOL JUBILEE 2000
Page 71
Andrea Robertson (Duncan)
Margaret Bellingham (Livingston)
Glynis Boyd (Black)
Peter Blades
Linda Sharplin
Pam Smith (Paramore)
Rose Shand (Dean)
Mark Boyle
Debbie Hall (Gaskell)
Francie Croy (Kyle)
Alison de Lange (Flack)
Glenda Tieman (Jackson)
Richard Bradshaw
Phil Hensman
Jeanette Williams (Ward)
William Livingston
Karen Gradwell (McKenzie)
Peter Free
Roger Williams
Mandy Kelsen (Taylor)
John Davidson
Raymond Rowlands
Robert Waters
Heather Knowles (Nisbet)
David Vitsky
Frances Johnson (Black)
Philip Atkins
Sandra Wade (Turner)
Hugh Ross
Murray Chapman
Phillip Atkins
Kay Carswell (O’Shaughnessy)
Annette Walmsley (Janes)
Jenni Franklin
Fiona Francois (Cudby)
Peter White
Gloria Briggs (Annabell)
Vicki Press (List)
Sue Hopkins (Carr)
1970 – 1979
Sharise Watson
Nicki Robertson
Jan Culver
Grant Hayes
Sharee Hayes (Alexander)
Paul Jones
Tania Agnew (Brandon)
Eden Gillies
Simone Keri (Kupa)
Jason Page
Angela Attwood
Julie-Ann Wilson (Gibson)
Fiona Harper (MacLeod)
Caroline Stockler (Morley)
Sheryl Percy
Michele McWhirter (van Vlerkin)
Garth Page
Ann Wall (Powell)
Elizabeth Frost (Mayberry)
Huia Tyson
Wynter Tyson
Pania Tyson
Mathew Watson
Christine Brookes (Bott)
Michael Abraham
Angela Bielski (Taylor)
Vanessa Abraham
Ruffy Smith
Kerry Crosby
Louise Bird
Dave Couchman
Steve Couchman
Angela Bielski (Taylor)
Stephen Campbell
Derek Bensemann
Karen Wakelin (Smith)
Debbie Burlace (Baker)
Kirsteen Harris
Carelle Austin (Estcourt)
Lisa Fogarty (Sanderson)
Donna Milburn (Newton)
Iain McCallum
Murray Franco
Fiona Allott (Harrison)
Bryan Marsh
Julie Kerrisk (Goodwin)
Andrea Paynter (Hocking)
Lisa Milne (Taylor)
1980’s – 1990’s
Kirsty Dickson
Abby Warren
Blair Morley
Dionne MacLeod
Katrina Gillies
Scott Dennison
Kim de la Haye (Ngati)
Kylie Deacon
Kelly Dickson
Rochelle Rihia (Ferguson)
Jodee Paewai (Ferguson)
Clint Ferguson
Andrea Estcourt
Daniel Lissette
Stephen Kleehammer
Staff Registrations
Janet Mayberry (Foddy)
Betty Porter
Bryan Curran
Janet Tuck
Jill Ryan (Ellis)
Lawrence Scott
Barry Musson
Jan Graham (Hingston)
Susan Averill
Barbara MacLean (Cato)
Dennis Olsen
Evelyn de Boorder (Hope)
Yvonne Gibb
Trish Manaena (Buck)
Mary Craven
Jeanette Smales (Hope)
Frances E. Bongard
Georgina Prebble
Peg Perrott
Alasdair Gordon-Couston
Gaynor Cotching
Judy Harrison
Leslie Morgan
Peter Johnstone
Denys Caves
Noeline MacKay (Morley)
Chris Clapcott
Ngaire Tosh (Rogers)
Mervyn Paulsen
Bernie Flack
Frank Bacon
Dental Nurses
Betty Graham
Denise Verwey (Healey)
School Committee & BoT
Lois Crawford
George Bushby
John Cross
Robyn Warren
Kevin Deacon
Lynette Graham
David de Lange
Home & School
June Ward
Colin Waddell
Barbara MacLean
Mary Estcourt
Judy Walker
Keith Walker
Florence Burn
Shirley Augustine
Megan Deacon
Jane Anderson
Margaret Abraham
Sue Hopkins
MAYFAIR SCHOOL JUBILEE 2000
SOME FINAL WORDS
Before ending this book, I should like to place on record for the Mayfair 50th Jubilee Committee, and on my own behalf, our sincerest thanks to all those who helped in any way with the preparations that were made leading up to the Golden Jubilee and at the time of the Jubilee itself. We have been more than grateful for all the assistance and cooperation given by so many individual people, business firms and other groups. The truly wonderful amount of time and effort expended by so many undoubtedly ensured the smooth running of the practical aspects of the Reunion weekend and the consequent enjoyment of events by those who could attend.
As editor of the Jubilee Booklet I should like to thank personally the members of the Booklet Sub-Committee. Without them there would have been no booklet! The members were Betty Graham, Raelyn Henderson (Vitsky), Ngaire Marsh (Dillon), Peg Perrott, Betty Porter and Georgina Prebble. It has been a very happy time working with them, and all their work and unfailing help and support during the months when the booklet has been in preparation have been deeply appreciated – as has the help we have received from the members of the general committee, the school staff (and in particular, Kathy Pryor), and the staff at Cliff Press Printers.
Nor could we have published the booklet without the financial aid provided by our sponsors (whom we hope you will be able to support), and the efforts of Garrie Griffiths and his team of committee members who contacted the sponsors. Again, thank you all most sincerely.
With regard to the booklet itself, we hope that you will find much in it of interest to you and that what has been written will bring other memories to mind – hopefully happy ones!
Special thanks too, must go to those who have contributed written items and photographs for publication. It was a delight to receive these, and of course they make up the most important parts of the booklet.
Throughout the booklet we have tried our best to present the facts of Mayfair’s history with accuracy and to record names etc. correctly too, but should you find any errors, or omissions, we apologise for them and hope that the mistakes will cause no-one any hurt (And of course, if there are mistakes perhaps you could tell us so that they will not be repeated).
Finally, to those who could attend the Jubilee celebrations and to those who could not, it has been a joy to meet so many of you again and we wish you well for the future. Whoever you are and wherever you are, always remember that you do truly occupy a special place in the Mayfair community. We do not forget you – indeed you are remembered with pride and affection.
So, farewell (until the next reunion?) and in the words of the old Irish blessing …
“May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back…”
THE EDITOR
MAYFAIR SCHOOL JUBILEE 2000
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Description
[List of names in this title still to be added – HBKB]
Business / Organisation
Mayfair SchoolFormat of the original
BookletDate published
2000Accession number
575/1874/43058Supporters and sponsors
We sincerely thank the following businesses and organisations for their support.
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