1918 The Taranakian Vol. 7, No. 2 December by New Plymouth Boys' High School

THE "TARANAKIAN." CONTENTS.

Agriculture

Page 74

A Note of Apology

Annual Steeplechase ..

Births and Marriages

Board of GoverJlors ...

Cadet Notes

Camera Club Notes ...

Colonel Weston's Lecture

Concert Club

Cricket Notes

Editorial

Exchanges

Football Notes

House Notes

In Memoriam

Old Boys' Notes

Preparatory Notes

Roll of Honour

School Institutions

School Notes

Shooting Notes

Staff Subscriptions

SCHOOL INSTITUTIONS. SECOND AND THIRD. TERM S, 19 18. [ E S TABLISHED

1882.]

PrefectsD. F . C Saxton, (Head Boy), K C lemow. C. McKay, D. G. D . Maclne, C. McKay \Head House Prefect), H . Calcler, P. F . Atkinso n , J. M. Hine.

BOARD OF GOVERNORS:

School ContingentD. HUTCHEN, EsQ. (Chair/lla11.) DR. E. F. FooKES.

E. P. WEBSTER, EsQ.

A. R. MoRTON EsQ. F. W. ATKINSON, ESQ.

J. S. Fox , EsQ. R. 'vV. D. ROBERTSON , ESQ.

H. TRIMBLE , ESQ. L. C. SLADDEN, ESQ.

S. G. SMITH, EsQ. M.P. Secretary and Treas urer : E . LASH

~taff: PRI::-ICIPAL: W. H. MOYE:S, i\1.A .. B.Sc. ASSISTANT MASTERS : N . D. DAY C. Certificate.

C. G. BoTTRILL, M.A. H. E. GLO "E R, B.D.

MISS J. MCLEOD, M.A.

MISS 1<: . BILLr:NS, B.A .

A. R. RYDER. M.A.

R. H. ROCHEL, M.A.

ABSE::-IT ON ACTIVE SERVICE: H . V. SEARLE, M.S c. (Li eut.) RESIGNED TO GO ON ACTIVE SERVICE: V. J. B. HALL, :v.I.A. (Carp), Ki ll ed. C. J. HAMBLYN (Corp.), Wounded.

R. H . ESPINER. (Lieut.). vVo unded. M. A. McDONALD , (Ca rp). Killed.

T. BuxToN (Captain) . R. D. KIDD (Ser,e;t. ) Kill ed.

V. S. MCMURRAY (Carp}.

PREPARATORY DEPAII"n1ENT : MISS BAN\VELL. C. A. McKINNEY. B . Certificate.

MI~S

CAMPBELL.

A. M. BRAD BU IIY, Art Master. C. H . V.TYNYARD, A !.A. (N.Z.) Commercial Master. MISSES DOWLING AND PIKE AND MESSRS. R. N . RE~AUD . AND F . W . G. McLEOD, Music . . M ISS H IJMPHRIES,} Dancm g . MISS MACKA Y

0FFIC I>R COMMANDING : Captain A. R. Ryder. SECOND IN COMMAND: Lieutenant C. H. W .y nya rd. No. 1 PLATOONPlatoon Commande r : Acting-Lieutenant D. F. C. Saxton · P latoon Sergeant: Se r geant J. M. Hine. Section Commanders : Sergeant E . Boulton. Sergeant A. Buchanan . Corpora l C. Newel!. L a nce-Corporal A. B. Sturtevant. i'Jo . 2 PLATOONPlatoon Comma n der : Acting-Lieutenant K. C lemow . P latoon Sergea nt : Sergean t R. Bobn. • Section Commanders Sergeant G. F . Bayly. Corpora l R. I. Harriso n. Co rporal P. F. Atkinson. Lance-Corporal S. Ogle. No . 3 PLATOONP latoon Commander : Acting-Lieutenan t R. M. Rocl.-:el. Platoon Sergea nt : Sergeant D . E . D enny-Brown. Section Commanders : Corporal B. Gray ling. Corporal C. Winfield. Corporal J . Knapman . Lance-Corporal E. Beckbessinger. No. 4 PLATOONP latoon Commander: Acting-Lieutenant C. A. McKa . Y P latoon Sergeant: Sergeant B . M . Johns . Section Commanders : Corporal R. Greiner. Corporal D. G . Mackie. Corporal R. G. G. Howe ll. Corporal G. J. W. Boon. No. 5 PLATOONP latoon Sergeant: Sergeant H . Calder. Section Commanders : Lance-Cor pora·! C. Morey. Lance-Cor pora l L . O ' Halloran. Lance-Corporal M. O sborne . Lance-Corporal E. Pope.

SCH OOL INST ITU TION S.

Ma gaz ine -

Rock el. Ed itors : D. Denn y-Br own. Busi ness Man ager : Mr. R. H. A. rts, E. Boulton , B. M. John s. C. Robe C. R. M. Rock el. K. , R. Sym e. kie Mac D. G. D. , ston King }. Nobl e. ]. W. Jill ett,

Cri cke t Co mm itte e-

ay, J. M. Hine (S ecret ary). C. McK Mr. C. G. Bottr ill (Cha irma n), . on :Saxt C. F. D. ner, R. Grei

Foo tba ll Co mm itte e-

. McK ay (Secr etarv ), R. Boo11, E Mr. A. !~. Ryde r (Cha irma n}. C. Osbo rne, R. How ell. D. F. M. son, Atkin . F P. , nger bessi Beck C. Saxt on. Capt ain 1st XV.: C. McKay.

Swi mm ing Com niit tee -

R 1-l owel l , C. McK ay (Sec retan路l. Mr. C. A. McK inney , (Cha irm <~n) Boon , D. F. C. Saxt o n. G. rne, Osbo i\1. y), r eta Secr nt (As sista

Lib rar y Co mm itte e-

s, , J. M. Hine (Sec retar y), R. Will Mr. C. H. Wyn yarcl (Cha irma n} D. Mack ie, C. McK ay, R. M. J. King ston, M. Osbo rne, D. G. Rock el, N. Wad dle.

Ten nis Co mm itte e-

, P . F. Atkin son Mr. C. H. \-\Ty nyarcl (Cha irma n} Osbo rne , ]. M. Hine , I. R. Harr ison.

Sho otin g Co mm itte eMr. A. R. Ryde r (Cha irma n), Harr i son, G. Bayly, B. Capt ain Seui or Team : Capt ai n Juni or Team :

(Secretary} , M.

I. R E . Boul ton (Sec retar y}, G. Boon , ling. M. Johm , J. M. Hine , B. H. Gray B. H. Gray ling. L. Abbot!.

Cam era Clu b-

J. R. King ston (Sec retar y), L. Mr. W. H. Moy es (Cha irma n). , A. Chris tie. . Cole O'Ha llora n, K. Gran t, E.

Con cert Clu b-

M. K. Clem ow, D. F . C. Saxt on , Mr. A. C. McK inne y (Cha irman). Osbo rne, C. Morey.

THE NEW SCHOOL.

Edited by the Boys of the Nezv P lymouth Boys' High School and Published twice a yea r duriug the coHti11uance of Ihe liVar . VoL. 7·

DECEMBER, rgr 8.

No. z.

The Subscription is 3/- per -a"nnum (postage included), and should be forwarded to the'•· Business ·Manager, Taranakian, Boys' High School, New Plymouth." Subscri"bers w ill please notify a ny chan ge of address.

EDITORIAL. [D.

DENNY-BROWN .

""'HE EXAMINATIONS in Primary Schools for Profici)'lncy Certificates and for Free P laces in Secondary School s are held towards the end of each year. Therefore parents and guardians who desire to give, by means of these advantages, further education to their sons or charges, have then to decid e upon a course at a Secondary or a. 'feclmical School, a course which is to prepare those . sons or charges for some profession or trade . A bullet, not definitely aimed, cannot be expected to find its mark; and so, in t h e first place, all will agree that it is imperative that the boy should make a definite ch oice of h:ls fuhue trade or profession as so on as possible. Should h e not do so, h e may enter upon a classical course and lfin d later that b e h as a talent an cl taste for accountancy. 'fh e result is that h e ha s wasted two or three years in studying classical subj ects when h e could h ave been l earning shorthan d, commercial codespondence and type writing. :Many insist that an ap1n·enticeship in some trade will eventually give the boy a better start in life than will any course at a school ; hut the Primary School; although it carries out its work commendably, cannot give the boy the necessary general knowledge to enable him to become thoroughly effici ent in whatever course is afterwards followed.

-·

EDITORIAL

ay that they lack the means to afford their hoy a full e ondnry edu ation · but they forget that, by m an of chohn. hip and free places, any moderately <:lever boy may o htain a full econdnry School course while iuYohing hi parent in but a light ex1>ense.

riculation Examination must be passed . Hence the student must leam two languages, English and either French or Latin, :Mathematics, and either Geography, History or Drawing, subjects which are all strictly Secondary School subjects. Its Now let us · consider the 'fechnical School. primary function is to afford a boy enough practical · knowled"'e to fit him for one of the mechanical arts or trades without th(Ol necessity of a long apprenticeship . A properly-equip ped !'echnical S?hool ~ffor~s a. valuable means to a lad of 1mprovmg lmnsel£ m hls dmly work; night classes especially affording this opportu_n1ty, and it is the duty of the Government to- foster tlns branch of Education. The Technical School n.ims at teaching Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, \Voodwork, Art, Typewriting, Shorthand, Agricultme and Dairy Science. In all the large centres the Technical Schools are equipped with an extensive Engineering workshop, an efficient Oarp entering workshop, laboratori es and rooms for the teaching of Art, and, in some cases, a small amount of land is kept for instruction in Agricultme. But the 'l'echnical Schools do more; they attempt to teach English and other strictly Secondary School subjects. Some Technical Schools even attempt to educate the boy up to Matriculation standard, but they raTely succeed; besides, this work is entirely outside their scope. Thus it may be seen that the overlapping by both schools produces a great deal of economic waste, of waste of effort and expense, and of waste also of many golden hours . In Europe, America, and parts of the British Isles there has come into existence a system which is better by faT than our present system. This new system consists of a combination of Secondary and Technical Schools under one head. A boy, on admission, h as his course carefully mapped out, and, should he desire an (·ducation· partly secondary and partly technical, it i s there given him in the one establishment . By this means waste is minimised and the boy Teceives the b0st possible teaching in every subject. Nearly every member of the present Education System is working hard to rig-ht the matter, either by obtaining ·a clearly defined scheme of work for each school or by other means, b.ut the whole present system requires remodelling.

very little knowledge Parent ·, too, often po e of the \YOrk of Necondary and Technical S hools and of the nriou c:our e a>ailable : they know of only one cour e and perhap , haYe never h eard of one having a~ its ultimate aim, ay, Th Diploma in Journalism. .~cconlingl ·, it i. a wi e precaution that, before allowing t hrir on . to d cide upon a co urse, both parents and on . bould thorouo-hly under tancl the merit of every cour e anilabl and thu be able to choose the most suitable. Above all, a. course should not only be decided upon but al o be strictly adhered to. I•~ir t let u c.on iCier t~e Secondary School. The most 1mportant obJect of th1s branch of our educational ~~ tem i to pre:pare . tude~t~ f.or a co urse at a l.~niver ·ity. \\ het h r studymg for D1v1mty or for Engineering, a tudent must fir t a£ all pass the Matriculation Exmnination and, to attain this standard of education three or four year of study at a econdary School are {uJce sary . The work at these schools i arnmo·ed into two or t~n·ee main divisions, which are preparation for Professwnal, Oommerc1al, and Agicultural courses . In some cases the latter comse is omitted from the curri culum. The Professional course trains the student for Law Medi cine, Divinity, Tea ching, Engineering, and Ar~y Entrance. Every year a numb~r of f1?YS leave the Secondary School . and enter t)le Um,ers1t1es to qualify for the Professwns. There JS only one. Profession which is not p~p~l~r among New Zealand students-the Profession of D1v1mty. For some reason, the. New Zea land boy does not seem to be attracted by tlns co urse, for there are · few who have felt the• call of the Church. In several res:pects, however, the Secondary School overlaps the functwns of the Technical School. Those respects are. t~1e teaching of Agriculture, of Dairy Science, of Typewntmg? and of_ Oomm.erci~l Oorre. pondence. The~.e are essenhapy pr.a.ctw~l subJect~; hence they belong by nght to the 'lechmcal School. 'Ib e excuse for their pres~nce on the Seco_ndary School cun:iculum is that, to obtam the Degree of Bachelor of Agnculture, the Mat-

EDITORIAL.

Parents should consider the. course they intend their boy to take, and whet!Jer their son is likely at any time to enter for the lllatnculahon Examination. If so he should by all :neans c take a course at a. Sec on dnry School. On the_ other hand, should h e · clesne to learn some ~1echamcal art, mal?-ual work, or trade, the Technical School w1ll a:ff?rd lmn the_ training necessary. It m ust b~ b~me l~ mmd th~~t, '':rth the i~crea sing application o 1 Scrence m every d~recbo~, a U mve.r si ty training will enable a boy to obtam a hrgh place in any mechanical ~rt; ~1~t It should never b~ :fm:gotten that no University r:.cogmtwn of work done m any course can be obtained "rt!wut :i\Iatn?ulatwn . .P arents , then, should see that then son obtams every advantage possible, and, above ~11,, that he should obtmn a good education; for, when all 1~ s,ud and done, _the absence o:f such good general educa twn. renders :futrle much of what would otherwise be • Pfficrent work.

NOTE OF A POL OGY.

\V e owe our subscribers an explanation, i:f not an apo~ogy, :for the belated n,ppearance of the "Taranakian." Owmg to the influenza epidemic it has been impossible to produce the Magazine until after the New Year. Not only ha~ the closing of the , 'chool and the illness o:f many of t11e _ )1~sters and boys prevented this, but the staffs of the prmhng offices have been reduced to such an extent that no _work was possible b eyon d the ordinary newspaper productiOn. Our readers will also note the absence of many of the .articles u sually found in the D ecember number, such as the Annual Sport·, Boxing, Annual Breakup, etc. None o-f these functions could be, held on account of the eprdemic; but it is hoped that all these will take ~lace early next year. One further word of explanation Is also nece_ssary. Although the "Taranakian" will appe_ar ,early m 1919, we have, :for convenience sake, re~ tamed the date as December, i918. In >iew of all the circumstance· mentioned above we ask our_ sub s~ribers to. be good enough to nardon ou;. apparent drlatormess and the unusual lack of variety in our pages.

OLD BOY S' NOT E S. I N THE SOLOMONS.

(Gersham E. Hurle.) ·wh il e in Sydney I \\"aS offered a position in the Solomon Islands. Th inking of all the ron'lantic thiEgs i[ had 1·ead in connection with life in t he Pacific Islands-the \Yaving palms, languid lagoons, ''"ondrous tropical moon s and all the rest of the novelist\s standard "prop s," I thought it "·oulcl be a great opportunity to see these things for myself, so after a little consideration I decided _ to accept the post with the firm of Bums, l'hilps and Co., Ltd. Leaving Sydney at 1 p.m . on Saturday , June 30th, 1917, on t he .s .s. l\Jindini, ''"e had :.i. most delightful trip up t he coast, reaching Pinkenba at 8 p.m . on :Monday, July 2nd. As the Mindini "·as due to sail again at noon n ext day , .a numb er of the passengers caught th train into Brisbane that night so as to be able to get an .e arly start next morning to see as much a.s possible of that city. Ho11·ever , 11·e "·ere unabl e to visit .a ny of t11e places of interest, as the time \ras so short, so after a "·alk through the main streets of the town \Ye caught train ba ck to Pinkenba and rejoined the ship. I will draw a curtain over the next four days; be it enough that "·c encountered heavy weather, and for the period already mentioned I wa~ inter ested in n either man nor beast. After that I managed to get along on d'3ck and pretend to be interested in the things tl1at were happening aboard . Things 'rent fairly well · until the last night before reachmg port. As each day passed we could notice the difference in the temperature, so many of t he passengers gave up the attempt of trying to sleep clown below ,n the ·c abins but instead had bunks mad e up for them on deck. I ''"a's amongst the number who preferred the fresh .air. Shortly after midnight of our last night at sea, "·e ran into a very heavy gale, which tossed our ship about as ~f she had been a piece of cork . One huge ~ea caught her broadside on with such force that she lurched so far over that all on deck were thrown with some violence against the rails. , Then beg.a n a general sorting of our.s elves from the mass of bedding and deck chair s that had slipped over with the crowd , and when we had examined ourselves and found no bones broken we thought it advisable to spend the rest of that night in our bunrrs below. Next morning was the beginning of a most perfect day, and on reaching the deck I be"held a very beautiful sight. The ship "·as steaming along quite close to the .shore, and it wa.s then that I r eceived my first glimpse of . the tropical scenery. We were abreast the island of Guadaloanar, thl' largest of the gJ·oup, while

OLD BOYS ' NOTES.

Savo was just making herself visible on our starb oard side. All along the water'~ edge the cocoanu t palms were growing, and the land sloped back from the beach, gradu ally r ising until it reached tl1e foot of a long line of high hills, which were t hickly covered ' 1nth .shrub s and trees. Shortly after breakf.ast we came ;in sight of Tulagi, and the 11ext Item of mterest was wh en the high masts of t he wireless station could be seen 1stan din~ out clearly against a. cloudless blue sky . As the boat steamed closer inshore the different buildings, such as the hospital, Governor's residence, were pointed out to me . I was also informed that as soon as ,i-e t u rned round the ~nd of Tulagi , my future home, Ma.kambo, would be visible. So mterestecl was I i~ watching t11e n atives running about on 'l'ulagi that I did not notice that we had turned the point until I heard someone remark that Makambo was in sight. I looked, and what met my gaze was enough to dishearten .anyone. About half-a-mile away was a barren, desolate-looking strip of sand-frmged rock sparsely sprmkled with a few dwarf shrubs the whole repre.senti~g a sight as unattractive .and dreary as th~ rest had been beautiful. I _just gasped while I looked and tried to realise that tlus disfigurmg blot of rock was the place where I was expected to make my hom e for the next few months to come . Right there I decided it could not be done and that the return sh1p i? Sydney would carry me back as ,a pa~enger . However, the exc~tement and bustle of landing, and! the routine of the Customs officwls, for the time. being made me forget my troubles. . Makambo IS an 1sland w1th an area of seven acres at low tide, coral reefs completely surrounding it, and boasting a. business centre contamrng the stores and offices of Burns Philps the managm·'s house! the storekeeper's house and the bungalow 'where I, in company _with t;vo other employees, have. taken up my abode . . . _The Jsland J,s, merely a so~p - stone hill. on the one side 1·ising st1mght ou~ of tne water, wlule on the other side there is a fiat area -su~mentb:- large to hold the stOre and offices. At the tbp _of thE~ lnll our bungalow is situated. and it is the delightfu l v1e"· obta~n ed from there that _saves the pl:::ce from being absolutely unbeaJa.b le to the new arnval , everytlung else is so hopelessly desolate on Makambo. · . From our verandahs it is -said we have one of t1Ie finest VIew.s obtamable of the So lomons, commanding as it does a panorama of the whole gi'OUp. . My first few "·eeks were I~ade a perfect misery by the spiders !Jzarc1s, .a nd other creepmg thmgs that infest the island· no plac~ \l·a~ free from t!1em. If one picked up a boo_k a huge spider was s me to be underneath 1t; boots taken off at mght were a favourite r stmg-place for th e lizards, who had to be evicted in the momm_gs before one could complete dressing operations . And-so it was w1th everytlung. A•s for ants , well, I did not think it possible tbat tl1ere could be so many ants in the world as there are on Makam bo. I feel confident that when 1 get bac'k to civilisation and. do. not get ·a few stuffed, stew_ed, baked or boiled ants in ever y drsh I eat, n~t to ~entwn thefr presence in the su ~ar t he flavour of the c<;>Okmg_ will not be at all home-like as we lmow the word m the Islands.

OLD BOYS' NOTES.

When one speaks of the spiders it is not the s pecie one sees in New Zealand, but a big, ugly brute as Ji.airy as an Irish terrier and often measuring as much as 8even mches from leg to leg. '£hat may seem sli ghtly exaggerated, but I hav.e seen and merusured them myself and found t hem to be -that size. It rs a matter of only a short time before one becomes completely used to these creatures--th ey are so numerous that one forgets to jump every time one of them u ses one's arm or leg rus a public thoroug'h fare. They are very u seful in keeping down t he mosquitoes and other small fly, and i t is no unusu a1 sight to see two or three lar~e spiders running over t he "·,a ils in any house that one may VISlt . •rhey do not build a web, s o we a re .•spared the annoyai?-~e _of seeing cobwebs all round t he place. The absence of house fir es lS qmte surpri"sing; it is a. most unusual thing to see this common pest in any of the houses. L1zards are m thousands-of every Size and colour-and many of t hese find t heir wa.y into the house. Ther <~,re all quite harme lss, and do a big share tmyards keeping down the mosquitoes, too. Some of them become quite tame, and I know of one case where two of these creatures come from behind the pictures on the wall wh enever the owner of the house whistles to them and 11e can go up and handle them quite free ly . Snakes are very fe ,1· on Makambo. I have seen only one since my mTival, but we have to be careful of scorpiOns .and centipedes. I believe a. bite from either one of these cr eatures results in the most excruciating agony . Looking down into t he waters of the harbour from our veranda1Is it is no Tare .s ight to see huge sharks, tortoises and an occasional alligator swimming .abou t. Apmt from the cr eeping t hings that infest the i sland, we h ave some of t he mo st gorgeous butterflies and n1oths that it were possible to imagine. Shortly after my arrival here, I was taken across to Tulagi to •Spend the evening, and on our way to the hou se we had to pass along t hrough a long avenue of cocoanut palm s. It 'ms a. perfect night and a fu ll moon showing .a t the t ime, 1Yhile amongst the gently waving leaves of the palms thou sands of t iny fireflies "·ere flitting to and fro. To try and give any adequate descr iption of the scene is quite beyond my powers, but just for that slwrt space of ,time 1 felt as though ·I ihad been suddenly whipped away fl'om the ordinary course of things and the doors of Fairyland had been held open for me to have a peep. It was magnificent, and could that atmospher e be r eproduced on any stage t h e effect would ·c ause a sensation . · Of the native people there i.s not much that can be said of them as far as I have seen t hem . They are a particularly dirty and> lazy type, and in every way far inferior to our lVLaori. Their chief form of amusement is to gamble, and they are born gamblers. It is rather a str ange and weird sight to see a group of t hese natives crouching clown over a small lantern while they sit at play. E.v erything is in deep shadow all around them, and the faint light f rom the lantern .shining upon their faces often gives them most strange and distorted expressions . I have watched them at their dance, but in this the movements are both slow and heavy, and it would need .a very great deal of imagination to see a nything resembling gracefulness in tli.eir dancing. I believe in some of the islands farther west the type of n ative varies a great deal, and many of the tribes out there· are far more ad-,anced t han the natives round about liere and Gala. ·

OLD BOYS' NOTES.

a .banana plantation took place about three :\ly first l"isit months' after my arrival in t he Solomons, and it was one of the most enJoy.able outings I have experienced. A party of u s left Tulagi early one Sunday morning ancl, with t he assistance of three nat ive ro11·er.s, mad e ouT \\'a,y up t he harbour toward our picnic ground. After abo ut three miles of pulling we came -abreast of a sma ll river t hat t urn ed off from the main stream of t he harbour. Up this stream our boat was steered, .and from that on it wa s one long feast of natural beauty . The creek was ·a narrow on e w1 t h the t r ees on either side high and spreading so much tl1at they had intert,rined 'Lheir branches to such an extent as to form a huge cave of growing greenery. Every tree was a mass of wondmful moss or climbing vine, all the bc·anc'hes being draped 11·ith lOiig festoon s of climbing plants. On many of the t rees gorgeous-coloured orchid s wer e growing in thick profusion, and I t hougl1 t what some of the people in <"'ivilisation would give could t hey but transplant a few of t h e gayer varieties into their greenhouses. 1 W e had about a mile of tl1i s gorgeous scenery to pass through before reaching t he landing stage 11·here '"e were to di sembark. F rom ther e began another walk of a mile or so through tropical scener y, 11·hich r eminded m e of the descriptions I h ad read of .iourneys th rough the African fo rests . Quite ISuddenly we came out of the bush u pon a clearing planted with bananas . Before our eyes t he 11·hole of t he plantation stretch ed out with-its hundreds of lines of palms planted with such r egularity a s to give the impression of a huge army of soldiers dra11·n up for inspection. At the far end of the plantation a small natur11l terrace rose up, on which t h e planter had built his home, and wh en we reached that spot. on looking down we were given a bird' s eye view .across th e whole place . A more ideal situation for t he dwelling would be impossible to find . The beauty of t he surroundings did not end her e. Behind this terrace arose a high wall of rock , dmrn th e face of whi ch a very picturesque '"aterfall was rush ing. This waterfall proved , later on , to be of more use tl1an m erely adding to the beauty of t h e place, fo r after lunch the party proceeqed to climb some couple of hundred feet of t h e rock face to a large basin formation in the rocks, whi ch made ,a. delightful swimming pool. The water , too , was almost cold, and once in it 11·as indeed hard to drag oneself out again . Then fo llowed a general look round the place, and during the nfternoon huge flo cks of brilliantly-plumaged parrots passed over our heads. By the t ime we turned on our homeward journey it was getting we1l on toward du sk , and here, too, tl1e firefli es came out in their t housands , t he air being positively a li ve with t hem as we wandered down t1n·ough the bush to 'r]1ere our boat '"as tied. At first the anguish of loneliness 1s t erribl e comi ng to a place like this, and the time between arriving .a nd r eceiving your first mail seems endless . After the str angeness h as worn off it is that very loneliness that fMcinates-the solitude seems in some strange way to grip your soul and cas ts over you a spell whi ch you find hard to define . The mai l arrives from Sydney ·o nce ever y ,six or seven weeks, mail day , of course, being the event of all h appenings down her e . It is ~trange hon· little ~me appreciates letters when you are receiving them every day, but in an out-of-the-way place like the

LIEUTENANT H. HINE. ". O N ACTIVE SERVICE."

OLD BOYS' NOTES .

13 .

Solomons one soon learn s what letter s really mean. On the aniva.l of the st eam er , too, "·e h:1Ve fr esh meat for two days, but apart from t hat our food is all tinned stuff , even to· our vegetables. vVe . do have onion s and potat oes from Sydney every steamer, and until recently ha d h am s and bacon , but the export from Australia of t hese good s h as no w been pro'h ibited , .a s the supply is required for the variou s t raining camps . . One would expect t ha t fresh fish would be a common article of di et, but stran ge to say it i s even a greater luxury t'h an fresh meat. Uf t he twelve months I have been m the I slands I have had fres h fish only twice. Althoug h t he wa t er s a r e teeming with fi sh of every size and va riety it is next to impossible to hook a 1single one . Ev-en the nati ves tail in this re&pect , but occa sionally at night you will see a. par ty of nativ es out on the r eefs with iiaming torches trying to spear a few for them selves. Their cat ch i s alway s a very .~ mall one, .nnd by no means rewards t hem for their time and en er gy. A " ·orcl about the fi sh themselves may be inter esting to some. 'fhe \\'ater s of t he harbour are most wonder fully clear , giving one an excellen t oppor t unity t o study th e fish in a ll i ts n atural habits. Even at a depth of many fathoms it is possible to look right down to tl1e bottom of the wat er as clearly ~s if you wer e looking through glass. For br illiancy in colouring and queerness of shape the tropica l fish ar e r ivalled perhaps only by the butterflies . It .i s not often one speak s of the gorgeou s colours of a. fish, but it is diffe rent clown here . I have watch ed t he :fiJsh swimming about in the \Yater a nd h a ve been ,a b solutely astounded t o see what brillian t creatures some of t hem are . 1'here i s one variet y that resembles nothing so much a.s it does t he petal of a pansy, both in shape and colour. 'I'he head is the same a s t he pansy petal where it joins on to t he pi stol, t he body gradually broad ening until it assumes t he sh a pe of t h e outside edge of t h e petal. At t he head it iLS ,a p ale ·cr eam colour, deepening to a bright yellow on t1w body , with a band of black a bout a n inch in from the outside edge. Aga in, t her e ar e varieties with striped or spotted bodies, in every imagin able colour, while another , known .as the p arrot fi sh, is extremely gay wit h a bod y r esembling a piece of green shot silk, reflecting a perfect rainbow of hues . Not only h as it the colourings sim1lar to a gaily plumagecl parrot, but also th e mouth ~s the same ,s hape as t he beak of t h at b.ird . No uncommon .sight i s to see whole sho als of tho se stran ge little .flying fi sh sporting about in t he 11·ater . Th ey \Yill chase each other about, th en s uddenly lcnp ou t of t he \Y ater and fly alon g t he surface for quite long di stances . School s of porpoi ses are often visible s11·imming about t he ha rbour. Th er e ar e a few pret ty nati ve f!01r ering plants and shrubs i:o be fou nd in tl1e bush, t he most beaut if ul of course being t he or chids, but t aken a ltoge ther our N ew Zealand bUJSh can f urnish , not only a, gr eater variet y, but also a niore beautiful coll ection of flow er s t h an t h e busl1 of t he Solomons. D uring the E aster I was fort unate enough to be granted sixteen days' leave, which t ime I spent over on t he Guadalcanar coast at t he 1\farovovo Plantation. Thi s is a large cocoa nut plantat ion 01rnecl by the Melanesian Mis·sion, which h as its 1Jeadquarter s in Auckland and sends the mission .st eamer "Southern Cros s" r

OLD BOYS' NOTES.

.. · 1 ta visit u s t\\'ice a year. · TJus craft is due t auhrve rere at the end. of this. week a.nd, personally, I am awa to er arrival with J. mg anxwus cunosity. ~ .z 1 .Arriving as she does direct fro N fortunate enough to have an extramlet:~; ed and: Il adn generally me:, a~ the captain of the ship ver y kinJW G·ill ce ehvered t~ a· y lungbs fanythmg of the kmd do\\'n to me that my people .,rve um e ore leaving .Auckland. . ,, ·t t d .Although there is a 11·ireless statio on l ulagr, the · 11n .sr ua e .ttl n ews we r eceive froni the outsr·d e war · · d d ; HI c rs very . 11 • e \n · .f t ee t ac , untrl we receive our papers b t l Sydney we are almost entirely ignorant of wKLt re sheamer,. ham ' rs appemng on t he other s1de. r · . t 11 of The greatest drawback 0 amount of malaria evel •hod ~ , Ivmg m ~he Solomons is the subJ ect to. fhere IS hardly .an exception ll'ho does not 'Jgo 1 a: _least once every two or three weekJS . Even if one k~e WJtf yit \~e s~~- rt ll'hl!e :0 the civih~ati~~~ to gets he group, as soon as e to break out. d 1 On l\la.Immbo we are extremely luck . er than any other island, although I am very ~~~lla~ont~~~et/e~sifdev o not get ra . ll more than I do So far m Jo only lasted fev~r has three days, t he. first a'ttacl~ eo~~~~ spe ?£ 1 wa.s Sitting clown to my Christmas upon · ~e qmte suddenly as 1 dinner. That was the ena for me, and instead of t'lre aood far for u s, I retired to bed to ~ake a 1~ ouh Chmfese cook had preparea VJS mg east of ·S everal glasses of .soda water.

dcn/

Extracts from

Ewing :-

l etters from

p · nvate G.

H. W.

COLOMBO . ·t . th Five days ago we . changed escor s,. en one fine morning the . uninterestin the sight of l an~. sa.j_~h~~e~grt\ ch ~n.ged m to J!vely inter est 6-y Ie Jansport shd silently to a nch l 't d a d th t1Iemtselves in their bl~nk~f~ t~ snatchX~I few so~~~~~;, ~le~~~t rollet Jn an lC!pa IOn of a •s trenuou s clay · on the morrow.

··~~~i:dt~·:~~\,;~~:ddu\\'ith

a ll th.e t:vinkling lights of the many and of th e as a background , was :e~~~i~l~o~:;:~~~~u~i:.el 'tlb1euthtghts city 1 o our 1anc]nmgry eyes nbt to b :1 . morning. e h t in view the. th d Vessels of all nationalitecsor~ta~~~u~· bemg the British cruisers Dozen f us, pwirnent amongst them through the water , and tlie pictm~e~ rold _anc motor boats flashed ~que less of the natrves gave the scene just that tau h f . the. clusters of pann tr~es oon o~;Ieen~~o~olour wllichl mingling with le, dw as ~ t rat was needed to Impress one with the fact that Soon along cam e a tu with a< ~~ ea la rea? Iecl t l1e Near East. troops tumbled, and ll'eg set off clo~J~m.,l of bt"Igesf m~o whiCh the sl~I~pbg to the ~flare, from w~i?h a •s ickly sweet oclo~r o;r;c;~bn~cl h cl . . 1 o e -somenng vastly clrfferent from 'tny phc The wharf Vl-slted. a we et tl atfair ed was a huge double-deck on great white pillars. We formed up and mardhedeawop ~upEiortbd 0 of orders, the staccato bark of the ser e:y _ Ie. arracks, the s_nap beat of our own big boots bein th gl nt maJol s, and the fa1mhar vVe were dismiss ed at once angel :on Y unu sual sounds around ll!s . with all sorts of tropical fruits offer ~rfce.ede1 to gorgeu ourselves or sa e at, to s, ndiCulously e

low prices. We then ru-shed a row of rickshaws and had a spin round the town. We dined at a native restaurant in good style and then hired a French car for a trip into the suburos . You in New Zealand can have no idea wJrat that drive W!ll9 to us. The road was splendid, lined with shady trees. \Ve passed through the native quarter, the houses being filthy 'hoveJ.s. .Presently we drew up before a Moslem temple. H ere we g azed in II'Oncler at two huge images of Buclda; they were in rooms most exquisitely carved and de<;orated. .After Inspecting this temple we again continued our trip and .began the most wonderful tnp I have ever been. The houses we passed were more like palaces, with thetr imposing architectur e and beautiful gardens. The l!:nglishman's Club was worth t1re whole trip· that of the Singalese tried h ard to xival it; whilst the German Club came a. close third. Everywhere tropical vegetation grew and flouri sh ed into rich green 1Ne passed the Museum, gardens, bowers an<1 sumn,er houses. ltacecourse , Lipton's Tea Garden,s, and the homes of t he richest men in the province, and so back to the town. Oh, it was like a little tnne in Paradise all right, but like all good t hings the end came all too soon, and presently we were back into our barges singing our marchirg songs and were towed back to our temporary hom e t.ired, yes tired, but perfectly !Satisfied with our day's outing, That night, as .s ilently as had been our arrival, we steamed aiYay, and soon our Island .Paradise was many miles astern. Since leaving New Zealand we certainly have been blessed with the best of weather and, but for the greater freedom whic'lr ,,,e JShall have, we shall be s orry when the time comes to disembark. EGYPT. morning and after gathering up befine one \Ve arrived h ere longings into our kit bags we filled in the time watching the antics of the sever al millions (more or less) of the natives, Until the present l have been labouring under the 1mpression that some of us l1ad reduced the art of loafing on a job to a fine point, bUu here and now I hand the bun to· those fellow.s. For pure unadulterated laziness they are "it." Uompared with them t1re myriads at Colombo IYere .shining examples of energy personified. vVe finally got our goods into 1a thing intended for a boat, which no doubt was in first-class order before being picked from the flood which made Noah famous. However, 1\e landed at last and marched to our ·c amp, which we found, to our disgust, lay a long three miles away . The road was good, liOIYever , and nobody kicked very much, and arrived at our present temporar y abode - this time on the sands of the desert. The days. are hot, nearly as hot as the hottest place yo u can t hink of, but t h e nights, just to get one back on to the daytime, are r eally cold , especially towards morning. The b eat doesn't cuol the bite of that perverse insect "efficiency, " and we form faun and play at soldiers just as though good old New Zealand IYrus still around u s. When I survey the woncl'rous -desert, and consider that all ranks are, figuratively and literally , fed up with sand , I cannot l1elp telling myself what a Mecca little New .Zealand 1rould be should the war stop tomorTOII'. 'fhe town here is "the" filthy pl~e in Egypt once the tourist leaves t1Ie main streets. ·we h ave had no mail, and goodness only lmo,vs if we shall ever get any, \Ve have three canteens here. Perhaps we shall buy up the lot of their suppli es before we get another move,

OLD BOYS' NOTES.

•

R . .M:onteath writes from Walton-on-'l'hames on September 11th, 1918 :You will see from the address that I am in Walton HospitaL I got l1ere nearly six weeks ago with a wound in the leg, and it's nearly healed up now, so I wiJl soon be off to Horn church Conv.alescent Camp. The bullet went rigl1t through my thigh and made a pretty big hole there. It was operated on twice and stitched up. I got it when we 1rere pushing near .l:lapaume. W e had taken t he village (what was left of it) and had advanced every day for three more days when 1 got hit, and I t:an tell you I was not so_rry to get out of it again, as it "·asn't too healthy there. I a~ afraid I have been rather lax about writing to the School, so Will giVe you a bit of back hi·s tory . I landed in France in February, 1917, .and went up the line at Ploegstreet Wood and was in that Messines stunt. 'l'.b.en two months later in La Basse Ville where I got wounded in the leg. After that, in October, we wen~ ov~r at .l:'asschandaele, where 1 got another smack (in the arms tlus ti~e) and was sent over to .l:llighty. I went through all the ca~ps m wluch they gradually get you fit .again, namely: w"a!ton, Hom~hurch , Coclford and Slmg Camp. .At the end of six months I agam went over to France and was put in th e Entrenching .J:Iattahon, where we had a very hard time when the Runs advanced a~amst Ypres .a nd took Mt. Kemmel. It was there that. in the b1g cas ualti es, Bill Eyre was killed. Bill, Jenky, John ]\fa~der and myself were all together at that time, and you -can guess how s?rry _we were to lose ola .l:lill. He got a small fragment of shell nght m the ·s pine, and died immediately, I believe. From there we "·ere shifted to a place ca lled "Pas," where we were working for a month or two. In .Augu st we were sent to reinforce the division and on September 1st I got the third wound. None of them hav~ been bad eno ugh to send me lwme (worse luck!) so if the war lasts much ~onger 1 suppose I will be. back there again. However at present It doesn't seem as if it could go on muc11 longer have m~t no end of Oid Boy•s everywhere I have been. Leo Ho~ker and Enc Outfield are m t'h is hospital. I met Willard Ewing in J,ondon last Sunday . He had c ome in from Hornchurch for the day· I w~s very much interested to hear about the cricket of the School. .E~vidently ~anganui has a pretty strong team. I pTayed a lot o~ cncket over m France the last two summers . Before leavmg tlus ~ast team I managed to get into a team picked from the Entrenchmg Group, an~ we played a lot of Tommy teams, having · a good percentage of wms.

Eric Tansey 1-irrites from the centre of the Island from M:an_gat~ti, M:urumuru, about eight miles from th~ W angamn R1ver, about eighteen miles above Pipiriki.

OLD BOYS' NOTES,

He, l.s engaged in sheep-farming and finds the work exceedingly interesting . Indeed, he is enthusiastic about it. The soil is very rich, and will produce almost anything. We have a fine flow er and vegetable garden, while practically all fruits , and especially small fruits, produce wonclerful results. Grapes, fig s, dates, and even orange trees grow with a little car e . The old l\laori orcha1·ds· are a thing of deligl1t in late summer and autumn, t he fruit being in most cases left to rot. Last season 1 saw a small creek .ahsolutely dammed up with apricots. 'Vild pigs coming out of the bush on to the grass during t he winter have been a very persistent pest, and last winter we spent quite a lot of time m trying to eradicate them. A tally of 87 stands to our c1edit for about four month s ; but a neighbour a few miles away killed over 300 in the same time. '! 'hey have rooted up as much as 20 or 30 acres1 of his country m a night. So h e has retaliated by rounding them up \Yith his dogs and shooting them, often from 30 to 60 in a mob. It is rather interesting that a t rig-station on our place is in an exact line between .i!}gmont and Ruapehu, and from it we can see all the mountains and also an extensive portion of the co untry .

" Mike " Chong writes from France on September 30th:I have been at a conva lescent depot, where l 've been swinging the lead for three 11·eeks. A sprained ankle was responsible for my evacuat ion, and I am g lad to say that J am now quite fit. But ~~-hat a crash yesterday! Classification for our Company, and I was marked a large .A! I ex pect to make tracks for tl1e base tomorrow night . \\' hat a delightful journey ! It's consoling to know t hat as soon as I retum to my un it I shall be going on .l:llighty leave . Through ne1Ypaper clippings, etc ., which my mother always sends, I have been .enabled to keep in touch with the changes and progress . Oct. 6.- .i!}arly this morning' I landed at the base, having endured an a11-£ul night in a very rickety cattle-truck. I made innumerable attempts to slip into dreainland, but all in vain. My head still sings and th rob s. I hatl not been in camp half-an-hour before I Tan into Bob Kidd, Leo Hichards and one of the Jones's. Richards is a full-blown sergean t, while the other two are lancejack s. They are .all looking remarkably well, especially old Bob. Jock ::\fcAJlum and " H.osa'' Arthur are h ere too; the hom er , lucky dog , is a11·aiting a medical board, and, from \Yhat I can gather, has a very good case. 'fo-morrow I shall be up before the doctor, but am afraid there is nothing fo r me but " active." G01·don

OLD BOYS' NOTES.

•

Carter, who has had a long spell in hospital, has rejoined No . 1, and carrymg on in his usual style. '"Spot" Osborne is in No. 2, and, when I last saw him, he was looking very cheery. I have not encounter ed many Old Boys lately, so can't give you much news. I take this opportuni ty of wishing you a Merry Xmf!s and a Happy New Year.

"J e,nkie" writes from Somme Where in France on ' Septemb er lOth:I am sorry , but I am afraid I must open this note with bad news. Poor Mr. McDonald wa,s killed about a week ago. He was shot ~hro~gh the head whilst charging a German machine-g un, and killed mstantly. Poor old Mac-he was liked very much in the C?mpany, and the boys feel his death immensely . I helped to bury lum, an{[• have taken a note of the place both by map-refer ence I 11·ill let you know as soon as possible where his and name. grave is . I cannot tell you now owing to the Censor. I have his badges in my possession and will let you h ave them, as perhaps you w1ll know :s ome relation or friend of his who will value them. ' ~Monty" was wounded the- same day. "A nice Blighty." He got a machine-g un bullet through the fleshy part of the thigh, and was able to walk out. I suppo se he is in ~ngland now . . I am anxiously waiting a letter from l1im. I miss hin1 very much, for we h ave been together for almost twelve months now, and are very firm fnends. I am glad to think he is out of 1t a ll for a few months anyhow. I am IITiting this in what we call a "bivvie ." It is, in ~ad, a hole in the ground .with a sheet or two of tin over it. We .are a fair way behind the line; but, just the same, one feels much safer when Que· knows that one is below the surface of the ground. For, after all, Fritz's shells carry a long way. I am sure yo u must be h aving a strenuous time of it the laiSt year or two·, and things don't promise to IJe any better unless this war )comes to an early finisl~. Perhaps it will do so, for we seem to have Fntz on the run JUst now. \Ve have pushed him back for miles and miles on this secto~ , though one must admit he ha.s made a very orderly retreat.

Eric Colson writes from Codford on August 22nd :-It is now dose on twelve months since I left France and mu st confess to having had a very pleasant spin in England. I had a month's spell in vValton-on -'fhames Hospital, from there to the convalesc ent camp at Hornchur ch for about ten weeks and the remainder of the time in this depot. Of course a ll thi~ has been interspers ed witl1 a good deal of leave . In fact I h~ve at times considered myself quite a Cook's tourist. I hav~ been kept

in the Codford Depot by the Wellingto n Gompany to take .p art in the inter-com pany -cricket competitio n and :have enjoyed some jolly good games. I have also been d:oing a bit of running here, ,,·here there a re periodical ly held some very good meetings . So yo u see it has not been all h ard sh ips for me, and I have been able to keep up old times to a great extent. Anyhow I have conie to the •end of my tether now , and , in the language of t he soldier , " the string has broken." ln a few clays' time I leave on draft fo r o ur training base at Sling Camp; .so probably by the time you get this I· shall be across the water once more . The war seems to be progressin g much more m our favo ur now, and we are all hopeful here that the end is in sigbt now- not too soon either. As regards myseli', I am just O.K. and quite fit to ·c arry on again, a~ it is just about t ime, 1 think.

" .Weed" HamblYJ.l writes from Brocton Camp on Septem her 25th : Now that Lucena is over here I hea.r very little of the School. Just lately though, there have been no le.ss than half a dozen of the yo unger Old Boys in the camp, namely: i\Ic.Murray , Kidd, Fair, Grayling, ltichards and myselt. .Mac is a way to l<'rance now , Kidd is on lea-ve and will soon be off, Fair is getting a job in H eadquarters, which will last hin1 some months, if he sticks to it, while Grayling is working in the Model .l:'latoon (a platoon of old l;Iands kept for mstructio nal purposes) . '!'hey go t hrough stunts for officers and new drafts to show them how things are done. Dugald Patterson and Bayly are both somewher e in J£ngland. Richards is now at an Infantry School in York . . As for myself, my time here is long overdue. and any time now I shall be off to the trenches. 'l'he position at present is rather uncerta.i n, and uncertainty i.s a thing I hate above all. Our Division has been badly cut up, ~ ncl wants many ·men . \V e l1ave ah·eady sent 700 t his last fo rtnight. Another 200 go to-night, and 600 are wanted within a few more days. \V ell, we had none of t h e 39ths, here, and the poor old 40ths are still in isolation and have lo st over 100. Some disease they picked up on the way, I believe. So "·e have hardly any men left, and to get the necessary draft every .available man will be required and, like many more waiting to go to the U .'l'.U., I shall probably be off too. Har,d luck again, but seems so long as a chap is living he can be thankful. Though going back to it all with just .as big a chance of being knocked out isn't a brilliant outlook. However I never expecteJ to have sucl1 a long spell and really don't mind much which way it goes. I do ~now there are more chances of getting on over there, and it' s only by exceptional work we can hope to get promoted here. Still, mJ papers ,have been in for a star some time, but luck again was against me , as not one of the officers I had served untler was still witl1 · t he battalion; so I had to sit back and watch recent applicatio ns go t hrough before mine·: Still, as I said before, up here a sergeant is, far better off than anyone else, and it's only for one's people that promotion is worth having . I haven't heard anything of the numerous ,Old Boys in France, so can give you no news of

OLD BOYS' NOTES.

any who may be there·. Lucena, of course, writes often. It ap.. pears he has done well in athletics and has represented his squadron both m •s wimming and running too. He s ays little of work, but seems to be enjoying some parts of it. Some of our presentday .airmen lead charmed live&, and every day ]!;nglish papers publisl1 marvellous accounts of fi ghts and raids, etc., and their honours lists are growing by leaps and bounds. With the latest machines and methods the casualties, considering the number flying, are very low. 'l 'anks, of course, are another innovation producing wonderful results. The Runs .are ·being tested properly for once, and sorely tried too. On all sides things seem to be progressing favourably and, believe me, the silver lining is at last apparent. Sinee la st writing I have had eight days' duty leave and a few week-ends . During the eight days I 1vas in Nottingham, .and among ot1wr things visited a huge s teel works , lace factory, and 1rent through Player s' cigarette factory. Part of the time I spent in old-fashion ed, dreamy York and had another look round the many bea u ty spots of the quaint Cathedral City, which I had already visited. For close on two months now hardly a day has passed without l'ain , and most of the c orn crop.s were cut ready for harvesting when this long, spell started . So it is still out in the stook s, hunch·ed s of acres, thousands in fact, and growmg too . All over the Northern and Midland Counties th e crop s have been .s poiled, and t hey were the most prolific yet gr01rn during the war. These strikers here get on one's nerves. Just now the rail1\·ay men of South \Vales and· Great \Vestern main lines are out, and a ll for 5s a 11·eek more, after just receiving 5s extra. The poor Tummies may not stnke, and their wage is all too inadequate . The striker s all over the country seem to think that whatever they ask must be granted , becau se if they cease work the Gove rnment ca nnot carry on. Hut, as in more than one case, the soldiers 11·ill carry oh and do th e work for them. That is what will happen in this ca.s e, t hough . Oh. if the)' could only go through one half of 11·hat the boy s in .!<'ranee l1ave suffered they would then perhaps r ealise what it is t h ey are up against. They won't somehow under go the least hardship if they think by intimidating the Government they can have w:hat they want . Getting what they want is quite all right . We should all do that, but when it comes to starving t hou sands of honest women and children, stopping soldier s on leave from seeing th eir people, holding up coal a nd food and munition s, every ounce of which i s needed in France to keep up the pressure, I should say they are committing a crime against the nation deser ving of ca pital punishment . Ignorance, I believe, is th e true cause, and the .sooner they overhaul their system of education here the better.

Private L awrence Rudd, an ex-pupil of this School , and one who was extremely popular and respected, is now a prisoner of 'War in Gennany . H e was a member of the N.Z. Eutrencl1in g Corps-a numb er of which were cut o:ff nnd eaptured some t ime in March last. It is quite refreshing to hear that at l e:;tst som e of our boys are decently and humanely treated at the h ands of the Hun, as the

Pl~IVATE

J. RO\'VLA NDS.

SERGT. E . A. DUSTOW. "FoR THE EM PIRE 'S CAUSE."

PRIVATE

GREY.

OLD BOYS' NOTES.

following e:s:tra.cts from some of his. re cent letters will show. Through the courtesy of the "Herald" we are able to publish these extracts:In l1is first letter, dated June 23 , he says: "We had a shift ten days ago from the Numden Camp to th1s. 'l'o-day is 8unday, which is a little different from o.t her days . We got up at 7 instead of 6 (though the 7, because of tl1e daylight-saving scheme, is really 5.30). Uhurch service is .a t 10.30. Last Sunday, for the first time, I hea.rd .a Hev. \Villiams, formerly the minister at the ]!]nglish Church in Berlin, who now spends his time going from one laager to another. He was a very happy sort of chap, and had everybody in the room laughing at him. At other times one of the old prisoners has taken the servJCe. In one respect we are much better off in this camp than we were at Numden, for there is quite a good library here , with over 1000 volumes of all sort~ of stuff. I've had a new book almo st every day , and you can imagine how much more endurable this makes our life h ere. I've not yet attempted to learn an y German , though I know some words from often hearing them , but I want to learn enough to read it. I hope to be able m .a week or so to send a c opy of a camp paper, which .is to ·come out then, and. as it can be .s ent in addition to the rationed letter, I'll get a few, d1atever it's like. . The ration is four cards and t"·o letter s per month. I've m et so far only four N e'" Zealander s in 'Germany; two of these stayed at Uinden, and one ca me from there with me-Melvine, an Otago sergeant, and one was in camp when we arrived, 1\<IacGavan, also from Otago . \Ve never see t he civilian prisoner s. \Ve ·~e e a goocb deal of prisone,·s from other armies-this room is half-full of French. whom we get on with fa1rly well, and jn some other parts of the block there .are Portuguese, Serb s, and Italians. The room itself i.~ big enough, holds about 180, and a.s it is whitewashed inside it loolr s bigger. Most of u s have hammocks to sleep in, and I 6nd min e comfortable enough." In a later letter Private Hudd announces 'the arrival of his first pa.rcel from England, and m expressi ng his delight at getting it, he rem.arkR that it also shows that his letters were getting through all right. Before joining 'Up, Private Rudd was a law student at t he Auckland University. and a. passage in his letter show s that the German authoriti.e s are willing to grant facilities to accredited students for pursumg their ,studies. In .a;sking his people to get a letter from the r egistrar of the Auckland University vouc'h ing for the fact that he had been a student at the college and stating what subjects h e had passed in, he emphasises tlhe necessity of :sending the information in a l'etter , as no printed matter is allowed to go through.

· In a recent letter, Lieut. Norman Little (M.C.) states that he and Lieut. L . Goss were on leave together and were touring England and Scotland. Both these Old Boys are now atta·ched to the Brigade Headquarters· in Fmnce. In a l ett er written on 'July 29th, Lieut. Little states :-" Have seen quite a lot of old friend s lately. Have run across Leslie l\1cAllum several times the las t few days-he is quite near us for a short wliile. Looks very fit and says his knee is pretty

OLD BOYS' NOTES.

OLD BOYS' NOTES .

right now. I sa\\· COl'pOl·al (Jharlie Robertson the other day again, and he put me 011 to Sergeant Ke11. Blundell. Ken. looks as fit as ever. They a.re both in one of the entrenching battalions, and therefore half-\\·ay up tl1e line battalions (as it were), for the people from Engla11d are d1·afted into these before joining us up-a sort of gentle introduction to the war. ln the same crowd is Corporal Jim Ryan , who used to captain our University football team, and whom l am very chummy with."

of the limestone formation , so you can imagine what effect the dust from the roads have on ones eyes. Up an~ down you go by a continuous long hill until the J udean HI!ls, 1\~Ith all the haupm corners. \Yarn one that Jermalem 1s not far distant .. So at last 1re reacl1ecl the Holy C1ty , and It. teemed with ram wh1l e we made haste to a rest camp 1ll the vJcJmty. By the t1me we were under canvas the sun \Yas shining bnghtly , so we r~traced our foo~steps back to the City. in order to v1ew some of. 1ts wonderful Sights. But where t here lS one misfortune anot_her 1s sure to fo~Jow, and we learnt to our disappointme nt that owmg to the festivities of the Greek Easter we would be unable to enter the Old 'City that afternoon. However, 11·e just said "malesch': (never mmd m Ar.abJC) and had a. ·c ruise through the new part of the c1ty of man:l' sieges. The military authorities desire that every mnn should be given the opportunity_. of going 11·ithin the walls and seemg lSOihe of the most beautiful arclntecture the II'Orld has known , but I have not been 1ucky myself as yet, but many leave parties went through while we ,,·ere camped near Bethlehem only a few weeks back. .\1any are disappointed 1\·ith the G'ity , but I think the state of filthiness which prevails among most of the towns formerly under Turkis11 control is the due cause. T~1e Holy Sepulchre and t?e Tomb of ·Omar are very beautiful, but It takes one with a love for beauty to adequately appreciate the ancient architecture .. We, as .Bill Massey's tourists, are always pleased to ~e arn the history of the scenes of strife , etc ., in t his country , for without a. little Bibhcal kn01dedge this wilderness proves very unmterestmg . . Above us .at present towers tl~e Mount of Tempta~wn , and there IS such a history connected With that alone .that It would reqmre more time a.nd space than I have at my disposal to relate. How_ever, all the good children that attend Sunday School regularly will no doubt be familiar with it.

In a further l etter, written on 6/8/'18, Lieut. Little writes as follows·: "We are at present staying at a. farm-not bad though-but not like old Bairnsfather' s with the dead cow and the brick ruins. It has been a vE:ry flash place-though somewhat in disrepair now, but the ca retaker a nd hi.s \\·ife and fam ily are still here. The central courtyard is quite lOO yards square, with berries round three sides of it and the house 011 t he other. 'l'he buildings are twostoried,_ of solid brick, wit11 ~~oping_ tiled roofs; very substantial and qmte unu;ually Large. Ihere lS a large square-built tower over the entrance, and it contams several pigeon lofts. The house is almost like a chateau . The room I'm in is large and airy, with a fine p.avecl_ floor and qmte decently-pape red wa.lls. So you see we do ~ometnnes stnke some c_omtortable sort of homes, even up h~re- where we are not ver:y far from the ltne-only five or six m1les a\\·ay. I keep on runrnng across chaps 11·ho have just joined up and whom I lm::l\1' very well. Among them is Charlie McAllum l>ho has come to our battalion and is looking Al. I also saw to~ day:, for the first time, Arthur Osbome, though he is not a recent arnval."

Trooper Vernon Stanton writes from Palestine as follows : Now 1 had better allow my thoughts to wander away back to the day when we bundled all our goods and chattels a.nd ourselves into one of these soldiers' trains at the Moascar siding and prepared . for the long, long trail to join the New Zealand Mounted Brigade in Palestine. 'l'hat was a little off two months ago but during the in tervening period much has happened and I 'have trave1~sed mucl1 country-inte resting, some of it b~t some quite the reverse. While jourr eying from Egypt into Palestine one passes through some very fertile co untry, and the desert sands give ll'ay to the general hard, bricky soil of this co untry. 'l'he palm trees, ll'hich gro11· most prolifical1y along the banks of the Canal, d1sappear, and the ohve and orange trees become so numerous that at la st the groves extend as far as the eye can -s ee over the hill s. When nearing Richon all becomes one vast grove, and in the season one could pick oranges as the train passes through. The inhabitants of this district seem more energetic than the general native , as the ground is well cultivated and produces those worlq-famed Jalfa oranges. Of course Jaff.a itself is on the coast but Richon and Ramleh are the inlying districts. ' Proce ding on the jourr.ey, another distance of .about ten miles says good-oye to all the good oranges, of which we are so fond and brings one among the hills. which become more and more ;ocky and precipitous as you advance. The rock is mostly in strata an<t

l!'rom Jerusalem , which has an alti tude of some 3000 feet, a descent is made by a round-about route to Jenc~o-the _J encho of to-day . The Jericho as mentioned in the Scnp~ures Is wha:t we term " mafeesh ," as there remams but a fe~ rums . Its posltion, too , is .som what dilferent. An:mnd J encho stretches the plain of the same name, and a few m1les to the south the Dead Sea, feel by the SIYift-flowing and muddy waters of the Jordan H,iver. Now had it ever dall'ned to any of us that we would cross the Jordan and "go to J ericho?" No , I think not, but su ch is the case, and we have even bathed in the Dead. Sea. I am afraid the su rf along the New Plymouth foreshore IS far m?re enjoy.ab le , as you cannot dive in the Dead Sea, and the excessive saltness makes t1Ie eyes very sore.

It. was only the matter of a few weeks after I joined the New Zealana Bri<Yade in the Jordan Valley before we moved back on to the hills ne~· Bethlehem to enjoy the cool air once_ again . It ~as quite .agreeable getting away from the he1!-t and fi1es for a w~Ile, as the valley, being so far belo11· sea level, 1s very hot and at times fever stricken. Tha fortnight on the Hebron Road passed quickly, and we dreaded the day when we had to return here . The heat is now over 120 degrees every day. but smce we returned I have never felt better since we arrived in Egypt. Unluckily all the boys cannot say the same, and during the last week the Red 9-t·oss wagon has been a frequent visitor around here. We had Issued to us

OLD BOYS' NOTES.

fl y-nets and also mo rquito-net. "bivvies" in which to sleep and obtain protection from these beastly ravaging mosquitoes. Howeve'r , t here are times innumerable when one cannot carry his mosquito-net out, on "post," etc., and• in consequence the mosquitoes attack very severely. Mosquitoes are the chlef carriers of the malaria germ, so day after da.y our boys are getting seedy and being hastened out of this valley int.o hosp1tal with the malaria fever. IV' ere it ndt for the excellent water obtained from the Wadi Aujah (not the river of that na.me which flows out nor~h of Jaffa) this stream runs into t'h e Jordan, I am afraid there would be even more sickness, but at present we can keep· our clothes and ourselves very clean, a.nd even our horses enjoy a bath.

'rhe following graphic description of a "stunt over the top" is written by the late Corporal Macdonald in a letter to hi s mother:" I don't know if I'll have time to do justice to the .subject of to-day's letter, for at the present moment I am 'st anding by'rea dy to move u p the line again at any moment. You will have read in t he papers that \Y e have been 'over the top' once again with ·our usual success, .a nd t't is for the purpose of describing our 'stunt' that I am sitting down to write this. It has been a bit of an 'eye-opener' to me to see" how rapid our advance has been, and each day sees tne enemy pushed further and further back. The New Zealanders have taken a. prominent part in the offensive, and have attacked on several occasions, though our battalion has only had one ' stunt' as yet, with the propab1lity of another one in the near f uture . We are ,a ll impatient to drive this push home with the utmost vigour, so we are not growling at the roughness of our life consequent on the disorganisation caused by our mobility. We believe that this is the beginning of the end for old Fritz, though h e sb11 fights with amazing tenacity, causing our ground to be bought at the price of human lives; but it is .s u r prising how few l,ives a~·e lost. When I wrote my last letter I told you that we were su dd enly removed from the . front line and taken to the reserves for some unknown reason. v..rell, the big oftensive commenced on the day following that. IV'e waited )in reserve for several days, during which time we were armed with bombs, extra ammunition, iron ration s and other preludes to a 'stunt,' so we knew ti1at it was a case of 'over the top with the best of luck' in a few days. It t herefore ca.me as no surprise when we were marched' up over recently oeC~lpled territory to an old Fritz trench and told to settle there until further orders . Nor did we express su rpri~e when we were awakened in the early hours of the following mornir.g and wer e told that we had to g01 up to the front line . and 'go over' at a quarter to five-a few hours after we had been awakened. \Ve could ,see on all s1des the preparations for an offensive--the gun s moving up, the never-ceasing stream of pack-mules, limbers and lorries, and, above all, the huge -squadrons of 'tanks ' and 'whippets' which were moving like great prehistoric monsters to the scene of the morning's battle . The march to the front occupied about an h <mr, and we s oon began to approach old Fritz's flares rather more closely than we had anticipated. \Ve took up our 'ho pping off' position along a narrow sunken road, among a large number of I< ritz's ab.andoned guns and dead horses (not to mention me)'J.). Our attack was to be a surprise one--without a

CORP. D. R. KIDD.

CORP. A. M. 1\IcDONALD. "FOR THE E)!Pl llE'S CAUSE. "

OLD tBOYS 1 NOTES.

barrage of fire from our artillery. By a strange error the company on our left moved off to the attack about an hour before it should have done. As our platoon w.as next to this company, our officer ordered us to advance a lso, in order to keep touch with our left flank. By doing this we lost touch with the rest of our company on the right, and thus half the line advanced long before the other hall' . It is a wonder \\·e were not annihilated; as it so happened, the attack was a complete surprise to the enemy. We ran into him before we had: gone a hundred yards, and I can tell you the air was full of screeches and cries of '0, Kamerad-mercy !' and so on. Our advance was in the dark , so we had to dig old l!'ritz out of his hiding places, where he was sleeping unconscious of our ,advance. As we went torward we met what I took to be a Fritz patrol-at any rate there were five of them coming towards us in 'Indian file.' One of our chaps called out 'Halt! ' and they suddenly .s aw our advancing line. Immediately they turned and fled , while everyone of us stood and fired ;tt them. I think we accounted for the lot; at least all I know is that they disappeared. It lJeing still dark, we ·ran across the machine-guns before the gunners were aware that ,,-e were coming, so our casualties were still slight; but when we were ·h alf-way up the hill (which was our objective) we found that the company on the left was held up, so we took advantage of the cover of a rough trench and some shell holes, and waited. H now broke clay, and on looking behind us we saw the 'tanks' advancing, followed by the r emainder of the wave - and here were we only a couple of hundred yards from our objective. We decided to await t he arrival of the 'tanks,' and the machine-gunners on the c:·est of ti1e hill opened up a withering fire over our rough trench, and at the advancing 'tanks' and infantry. Up ti ll now everything had gone s moothly with our pLatoon , and we had lo st hardly a man; but now we were confronted with a new double menace . The 'tanks' were unaware of our prematm·e departure, and would pro bably try to exterminate us when they arnved. At the same time the anti-tank guns began to open One out, and the shells were bursting all ai·ound our trench . darned old ' tank/ as if to draw the fire on us, wheeled at right angles and cra.wled along the· back of o~r trench, while the guns from Fritz poured in a withenng fire of anti-tank shells . We waved our tin h ats on the ends of our bayonets to disclose our identity to the 'tanks,' bu-t \1-e also disclosed it to l<'ritz, and for a time l1e made things very hot, but we suffered very few casualties under the circumstances . With the advent of the 'tanks' and th e ma in line of infantry lYe now had to proceed to the crest of the hill , and I ·can assure you it w.a,s done in short, rapid' ru shes f rom hole to hole. \Vhen we gamed the crest, with one accord dozens of machine-guns opened up on u s and spat their lead all around us. \Ve had to hug Mother Earth very fondly for some tim e, and we began to d1g in. The enemy',s. arti llery was firing point blank at us, and the place seemed quite untenable for a long time; "but, later, he 1tad to move l1is guns, so we were spared any more anxiety from them for a while. Oui· advance w.a s now completed, and we had captm·ecl well over a mile of territory without one shot from our own artillery. '.rhere is nothing much to mention about the holding of the line during that day and the night following. but we had to keep a keen vigil, as \1-e expected Fritz to counter attack. HO\Yever, nothing happened till d a\Yn on tl1e follo\\·ing morning, when a Tommy division leap-frogged us and advanced under cover of a good barrage to capture a further

OLD BOYS ' NOTES. f . . objective. It was a wonderful sight t mg lmes of men- their bayonets fl ashi: ste OI Jlnles t he advancwall,~d on unconcernedly to ward s tli ..1 gb n ~h~ J I Sm~ sun as they I followed after the'Iommies for a li ttle n·ay in tl1eel~ 0 OeJef 0 PlC mg up some souverurs, but there 11·ere none to be 1 dp . too Jute, and I f~alrlf· got 'outed' ll·ith a jolly machii~~-gua s 11~11nlas 1 u Y as he walked aeross an n . c 1 opened on 'yo ur s . . 0 the course of the morning and p~n ~pace. \\ e were relieved during t he ll·ay, was only just where ~~~:~~-~~alk to ~heffreserve, which , by wr:>pec o f rom on the' prevwu.s morniug. And h ere l r emmn' awaJtmg furth er developmenus m t he huge offensive wh 1·c·n · d.' Vlll · . 1onously ··t·z lllg g old 1<' 11 l'! IS · . th . back d e terntory which cost 1 · over Hm so early to conqu er only a few months ago." .

n\·

Letter from Lieut. L·. G. Goss :.. . After a most uneventf ul tri ' Town for a da.y and a half 1 l~ _ aca~ss, we landed only at Uape 16th. 'l 'he train jom;le t hr Juve , at Liverpool on l:ieptember mght, but t he little I chd se~ ug/io flmg was mostly during the passed throu gh Birminaham w~ .1 ug/nd :•as an educat10n. \V e a pou~t of view of fac:tori e~ et~c l, ~l cou_r de, a.s~ounded m e from much m ter est, and five week~' ar; ndi.rly stay a~ Sting n·as not of g at stuff I. had had ground m to m e for two yea J'S at [) uu t"' roan d.1dn't to me. One of t lw N.C.O. inst . ·t . . appem at all humorou s us was Bi lling. I think he left S~c ol s who were turned loo se on t1Je men's point of view the tr . . Cl o~ Just before you came . .From ll'aS frightfully -s trict, and just t~~I~ri at S lmg was very good. lt k ngdie<J.mred after two months on board ship, which natuf'all . y ma es ISC!plme very bad I 1f f .· . . e t or France on Novemb . 1 ·t after . five glonous da.)' S Cl s , m London . .Most of my ._, · . . of pent s was e wm · cam se, In t heatres ' an(1 -s eemg the sights of L d I also IYent down t o on on. So uthampton. I _joined my battali on on Novemb . 8 h fe~ t' ' about ,ten days before t~e DlVJS10n went back into t h r 10 X pres show. My JJri "'a de (l ~ m? _ m ·• month s r est after t he wlnch went up every d~y fr .s ) n as pu t on. to workmg parties hne. It \\'as a pretty mise~~ltJ! ~hmf about five nules behind t he ' Oil as Ire pltclled tents on the mud. I lasted about ten da meas les. l got ba ck just beforrc'1~:~~ then went to hospital with st s~ and was sent to Brigade Headquarters as Brigade l nt 111. absolutely nothing abo ut thee gence 1 f!icer. Of course I kne 11· under the Divisional I ntelJi J~n ~ aiO .eh~ a t hree w_eek s' course fficeJ ~t D~vlswnal Headquarters, r eturning in t ime t~ O'~e on January 21st. My job cous'fst;n;:: ~he ~me with t he Brigade ],eepmg the Bngade supph ed With maps, aeroplane photos , t summary of the operations and . f e. c., and comp!lmg every day a the enemy . This js of course l~bOlmatwn l>hJCh J S gained a bout ed by tramed observers' ' ot whom each Battal 1'011' lias 30 a nrL:, ea cthamB1· d 1g d 8 B · ' Tlws e men a re provided nga e observers. a e ·~>ith such t hin abdades and sextants . Each .B tt 1.1011 as telescopes, compasses las an Intelhgence Officer' who sends in a report smnm .· a a all t he mfonnation his ob server ·s' have gain ed dur1·ng t 1·1e 24 al i ism g and ' f 1·0 t l wurs 0 f l11:f own obser ver and an re' art . , m Iese and the reports as such people, ot1Ier machme-gun compa nies , tren~h nfort s. ham daiJu t h m s, etc. , I m ake ·up 11F takes summarv. This U'''" U"]lv ·' J m e r ee or f · h • ' J " ' • mornas ever ything ha s to be checked I ohu1 ours 1n theusually mg, u t e afternoon I .

OLD BOYS; NOTES

rro to some part of the lin e and have a talk t o the ob servers and Afterwards 1 put any information received ~heck t heir 11·ork. on a. map which is, I hope, of some li ttle use 1rhen t here is a bit of a stunt en. The job , perJ1aps, does not seem very important, but when a ll the rep0rts are gathered together it gives people behmd smne idea wher e the enemy is and what he ha s in different places. a nd furni shes targets for our artillery. I carri ed on with t his jo!J , and early in }larch t he Division o-a t r eii eved, and we went back to a peaceful J.i"tle l<'rench v11Jage for .a mo nth's rest an d training. \Ve had done n early a fortnight of it 1Yhen the Boche started hi s stunt, and 11·e had to push off at short notice. After a miserabl e journey in a miser a ble Ji'rench t rain \re were unlo aded at 2 a.m. , having a vagu e idea where we \Yere and absolutely no idea wha t was going to happen to us . .At about 6 a.m. I was 'sent on a'h ead on a horse to anange billets fo r tl1e Brigade, and after getting four different orders finally got things squared up, and after a feed got into bed at 11.30 p.m. An hour later a message came ordering t he Brigade to assemble about 10 miles away. I got to th•J spot at 2.30 a. m., and spent my time till about 11 a.m. ananging bivouacs fo r the Brigade and getting the B attalions into them . At 12.30 p.m. we were ordered to a dvance and fill <1 gap whi ch l1ad been made in the line. There fo llo1Yed a piece of open warfare fo1· 1rhich ever yone had longed for year s. The Brigade wen t forward and met the enemy abo u t t11·o mi les f urther on than \\'e had expected , so they proceeded t o push him back. Ther e was an abso lute Jack of .artillery fire from the enem y, because he had a dvanced too quickly to get his g u ns up. We 'had a fe11· g un s cove ring our advance . By seven o'clock 11·e had a sort of line established in some old t r enches f rom the 1916 campaign, and little bombing .and rifle scraps \Yer e going on a ll the tune. "We took about 30 prisoner s and 16 machine-guns f rom him. In the evening · t he two battalions in t he line wanted ~ ome bombs and ammunition, and a s I had been tempor arily put in ch arge of the ammunition supply for the Brigade I went off up 11·it h some limbers to a point (as I afterwards learnt) about 300 yard s behind the f ront line . 'l 'he next three days were just a seri s of litt le bombing a nd rifle fire scr ap s, wl1ieh u sed: up the ammunition, a nd ever y night for about a , week I u sed to t ake u p ammunit10n. The en emy u sed to greet me with a hail of machinegune bullets from a l1edge about 600. yards from where I went. One night I counted. :fiye guns popping off. l<'ortunately he never hit a so ul , although on e night l 'h ad 14 limber. u p ther e . The 11·orst he did 11·as t o pat do1rn a crash of 7.7in. shells, which ma de it im possible to unload th e limbers while t he horses or m ules were in , so \I'C h ad to take them out and gallop t hem back, finish the unlo ad ing and m a nhandle t he limber s half-a-mile down t he road. We finished at 2 Ja .m. After t hree days the Brigadier took me up to have a look at the country. and he decided that we had to . take t he hedge. 'l'his \Ye did at 2 p.m. one d ay after two minutes' bombardment witn arti llery and trench mortars. We killed at least 1500 Huns a nd t ook 230 prisoners , 104 machine-guns and two trench mortars. Our casualt ies \Y er e extr em ely light. For the n ext three nights t here was practically no ma chine-gun fire at t he spot where I took t h e ammun it ion . I uppo se he hadn't any .iVl.G .'s left. Then he got a little. bit .a nnoy ed and pu heel a Jo t of stuff over. Since t h en 11·c l1a.ve been . at t he -o ld t rench 11·m·fare again- tiYelve days in ' the line and six out.

OLD BOYS ' NOTES,

. 1 have been a good many of t h e Old Boys from time to time and have kept pretty well in touch with the School's doings, both from the '"l'aranakia n" au:l from chats 11·ith Old Boy.s . I see a lot of Norman Little, a s he is in the Second Battalion of my Regim ent (W ellington) .

Capt<'tin Jack Dockrill, H..A..M.C., has now entered his fifth year of war, and the whole of that period he has spent in France-. H e has had a wide and varied experience, both in the Field-at the Dressing Stations- and also at the Base Hospitals. Some short time back he was in Rouen Hospital, but subsequen tly was transferre d to a new American Hospital at Canban, south-eas t of Paris. H.ecent letters state that he was h aving a very busy time there, but was enjoying excellent health. Private A.. Osborne, who went away in the Medical Corps, attached to the 23rd Reinforce ments, is "Somewhere in F rance. ' ' W illiam Okey, who went a way with the :Mai.n Body and saw considerab le service: on Gallipoli, being wounded there, has now Teturned. He is at present Secretary to the Taranaki Jl etropolita n Agricultu ral Association. L . B . Stohr, who toured Califo·r nia with the famous 1913 All Black team, went away in the Medical Gorps of the 34th Reinforce ments. Prior to joining the forces he was on the sta:ff at •reed's Pharmacy . Private Alb ert :M arfell left with the 24th H.einforcements. He l1as b een sick in hospital in England for some time, but latest reports sta te he is· progressi ng favourably. Private Les. 1\iarfell , who played in the 1918 2nd XV., left with the 37th Reinforce ments. C. 1IcKay, captain of our 1918 1st XV. , is now a member of the Flying School at Sockburn . P8rcy 1\ieuli, who until recently was employed at the Borough Electric Light Station in Stratford, where he had a narrow escape from being electrocut e-d, is now qualifying for his commissio n in the Flying School at Sockburn . _ BUl'ford Norman is now attach ed to the 41st 1\louuted Rifles, N.Z.E.F. Cabled ndvice reports t ha t Gunn er G. Mander was wounded on Septembe r 14th and had been admitted to hospital in France.

PRIVATE R. J. AMBURY.

PRIVATE L. G. EYRE. " FoR THE E~IPIRE's CAUSE."

OLD BOYS' NOTES.

Roward .Mackie, who left with the .Main Body and was wounded at the Somme, has now been declared unfit for further active service. He h as been on the sta:ff at \Y alton-on-Tha.mes Hospital. He is bringing an English wife back with him, and hopes to commence teaching again soon after his return. Bryce Stoddart, who played in the forwards in the redoubtable 1914 1st XV., is now in Cairo, having been. invalided there from Palestine. He left with the 28th :Mounted Hifl.es. Haughton Henaud volunteered for active service on his 20th birthday. Prior to going to camp he was on the staft at 路t he local G.P.O. He sailed with the 32nd Reinforcements, and on arrival in England was put into a ~ignulling Corps in Sling Camp: he soon obtained a l'irst-class Signallers' 13adge. Recent letters state. that 路 he was still u,t Sling, but expected to go over to France at an early date. He has been associated with Lieut. H. V. Searle, one o.f our ex-J\iasters. Lieut. G. J. Ha.wkins, a very popular Old Boy, recently returned to New ~ealand, and has since been discharged. Lieutenant L. C. J ennins left with the 39th Mounted Rifles. Cabled advice reports the safe arrival of the ~i9th' s in Egypt. Private Trevor Hawkes is attached to the 4ord Heinforcements. It is with deep Tegret that we h ave to Tecord the death of vVilliam Edward Dockrill at the comparatively early age of 35. 'rhe son o拢 E. Dockrill, Esq., the late ChaiTman of the High School 13oard, he was in busine,ss as a boot and shoe importer and had by his industTy, good management and high probity established his business on a. firm foundation. He was one o拢 the victims of the influenza epidemic. To his bereaved relatives and fTiends we extend our sinceTest sympathy. \Ve tender our sincerest sympathy to. the relations and many friends of Sydney Drake, who died in Auckland while on a short holiday there . While a.t School he took an active part in all the School activitie,s. H e mad e good progress in his studies, was a good athlete and a member of the First XV., tmd was a prefect. A promising life ha s been cut short at the very beginning.

OLD BOYS' NOTES.

A cable ·received on December 4th reports that Trooper G01·don Salway had arrived at Port Said ''all well. " Trooper Salway left with the 12th Reinforcements, and was taken prisoner in 'E gypt two and a half years. ago. He has during that time been a prisoner of war in Turkey, and for the whole of that time was able to get only two or three post-cards through to his people at Bell Blo ck. In these brief messages he wrote that his principal trouble in the prisoners' camp was th e scarcity of food . \Ve were pleased to receive a letter from Cedric Gibson. 1"-t the time of writing he was in a field hospital in France recovering from sickness. Speaking o£ the American soldiers whom he had me.t he says: " 'l'hey are fine tall chaps, all in the prime of life, and well-equipped. They are ver y keen to get right into the game and bring it to a finish. They h ave none of the brag about them usually associated with America." Yet another Old Boy has gained distinction on the iield of battle . vVe refer to Gerald Chong, who recently \vas a\varded the :J1ilitary :Jiedal. Particulars of the deed for which he recei;-ed the above decoration have so far not come to hand. However, we offer to him our heartiest congratulations ancl hope to see him once more back in our midst. Lieutenant R. G. B . .Sinclair has been seriously ill in Codford Camp , but latest reports stat e that h e was then in the connlescent stage and wa s about to go on furlough in England. Amongst tho se who recently returned to New Zealand wa:; E. C. Stanley. He ha s lately been promoted to the rank of Qunrtermaster-Sergeaut. Q.:Jl.S. Stanley went <nYay \Tith the :Main Body . Latest aclYices state that Captain St en. Hurle was still goin g strong "somewhere in France. " Private David S. Sykes left with the New Zealand Medical Corps 38th Specialists. 'l'he 38ths went to England via America, and Private. Sykes has written several ).etters descriptiYe of the American ports touched at. He writes in highest praise of the kindness of the American citizens- speciall y mentioning Mr. Quinn, a gentleman of X ewport, "·ho entertain ed a n'\lmber of the boys at H.ueger· s Hotel, Hichmond, Virginia-an hotel famed for

.. .

OLD BOYS ' NOTES.

its cook\ ltg. After luncheon he took t he boys !in his automobi"l'e to se·e the sights of H.ichmond City. After leaving Newport News, they pro ceeded to Halifax, and were convoyed to Blighty with the American troops. In his last l etter he states th<1t h e was selected to represent New Zealand iu the high jump at Aldershot Military Sports, and succeeded iu ta hng third place. Alister McHanly, who played wing-forward in thf :First Fifteen last yenr, is no'Y a cadet on a sheep run, :Jioninsville. Keith Fox, one of the front-rankers in the scrum in the 1917 First Fifteen, is engaged ·in farming pursuits n en r \V a verley . Arthur staff.

~1oody

is now on Newton King's clerical

Bnwk eu \\Tilson is a clerk in the offi ce at the Smart H.oacl Freezing ·works. Miles Atkinson is still engnged in farming pursuits at " Dra.eholm," Grassm er e, :Jiarlborough. Phil. Chapman has joined the staff of the Public State School at \Vaitara. Don. ("Towser") Jmy is now ,~·mking iu the Auckland bram:h of Sargoocl , Son and Ewen. R. Har;-ey (" Toosd ay" ) .is farming at• Pungarchu. H e htts recently recoYered from a severe attack of influenza. Allan Mackie is 110w on th e permane11t sta:ff of the Palmerston North Fire Brigade. He is in charge of one of th e large motor fire-engines . Chas. Yates is no"· in the Xationnl :Jiortgage and Agency Co., Dunedin. Guy H.odgers is now in the head office of the Fanners' Co-o-p2rative, Hawera . E. L. Reeves is wol'king a::; a ca det on a larg e sLeep nm- " T c A wai te " -near .Jl::ntinborough. \V. Short i s employed in hi s fath er 's monum ental yards, _ ew Plymouth .

Robert Donald is cadet on a farm at K::mpokonui.

dLD BOYS; NOTES.

...,.....,.,.....,

K. Gudopp is assisting his father on the,}farm at • Frankley Road. Geoff Bayly, who represented the School in the First Shooting Team (1917-1918) is now on a sheep run at Awakino. Cecil ("Punch" ) Brown is farming at }'langamingi . Arthur ("Spud") . Waiter, who left.at the end of last te1u1, is uow working on his father's farm at Douglas. . Varey 'rate is now in partnership with his father, domg road contracts, at Waitara. Fred 'l'ribe is manager of lleynolds and 1Co. ' s cycle agency, N ew Plymouth. Hedgar l\lusker is wo-rking on his father's farm a.t · U ruti. Len. Sole is on the staff of the Bank of New Zealand, New Plymouth. Donald Doile, who played in the 1917 2nd XV. , is also on the local staff of the Bank of New :tea land. Baden l\loverley is taking up chemistry and is working on th e staff at Davies' Pharmacy. Andrew Hastie is employed on his father' s farm at Kaupokonui . Em est \¥. Deacon is at present on the clerical staft iu L. A .1 N olan' s 'Office. P at. O'Curroll is following up the legal profession, and at present is living in Inglewood . George l\1. Clinch has secured a position on the sta:ff at the Bank of New Zealand, Balcluthu. 'l'onnny J ohns, who left school at the end of 1917 , is now on his father's farm at Ohinepoutea, Huatorea. P ercy Blane and R. O' Brien are both in the warehouse department in Newton King's. I-'eslie Day, who· held the Junior High Jump anrl Long Jump Championship for several years, is now a 'rraining College student at Victoria University. He was suc.:cessful in keeping his Second Year' s Terms this year--gaining either First or Second Class Passes in all his subjects.

OLD BOYS' NOTES.

We are extremely pleased to see Roy Goldsworthy able to be about again after his l~ngthy serious illness . He is cl er king in the main office at Newton King's. F. L . Stohry who captained the 1918 Rovers 2nd XV ., is in the motor department in Newton King's garage . Ronald \V a.rd is assisting in his father's drapery business in town . It is intended. that the official opening of the new school will take place some time during the First Term of next year. The opening of this fine building marks a new era in so far as the School is concerned, and it is particularly desired that as many Old Boys as possible should be present to witness the function. Furthermore, with the return of a great number of ex-pupils from the front, it is hnped ithat an Old Bo·y s' Reunion will be held annually . We are very much indebted to those Old Boys whci have kept in touch with the School, either by correspondenc e or by personal visits. And we further urge every Old Boy to· let USI know occasionally where he is, as it greatly facilitates the work of compiling the Old Boys' column. At the present juncture, work is in hand in compiling an "Old Boys' Register," showing the destination and occupation o.f all old pupils of our School. \V e will be extremely pleased to hear from anyone who knows of any Old Boy who . lives outside New Zealand . \V e are very pleased to see Harold Kirk by once more able to get about, after his recent serious injury to his knee. John Connett-one of 01ir very old boys-conteste d the Taranaki seat in the recent by-election. He stood as the National Government's candidate and, after a great tussle, was narrowly defeated by Mr. Sycl. G. Smith. F. A. Pearson is land agent for Matthew Bros., Land Agents, Hamilton. K. Brokenshire and R. Lealand were both successful in recently passing their Intermediate E xamination at Otago University, the former for Medicine and the lattel> for Dentistry. Tom Fouhy, who left at the end of 1916, is now at the Otago- Boys' High School. He played in the 1st Fifteen during the last ~ootball season.

OLD BOYS' NOTES.

OLD BOYS' NOT ES.

R.. Fussell is farming on his father 's fa rm at L epperton . Richard Cot tier is auc tioneer for N e"·tun King at the Stratford branch. Denis Hursthouse, until recently t he travelling representative for the A..M.P. Society in New Plymouth, has been recently transferrerl to th e Hastin gs brlln eh of tlw t Society. Ray Cocker is employed at A.rnol ds', ironmongers. He wa s playing in the forwards of the Rovers' 2nd :Fifteen this year. Roy Hill, who went into Cl Camp, hut was suhsecluently discharged, i;; no"· in the Un ion Steamship Co.'f office in N a pier. Noel Fookes is now an assistant purser on one of th e U .S.S. Co.'s ships trading on the West Coast. He hll s recently re cover ed from l1 severe attack of influenza.

Percy Guscott is on· his uncle's farm at Uruti . 111. G. Ya tes is clerking in the booking office at t he local Railway Station. J. K. Nodder is an apprentice in the cabinetmaking trade with Norman J ohnson, New Plymouth. We are extremely indebted to two of our Old BoysLindsay and Hugh Bryce-for a very valuable and handsome cup , to be given to the boy who puts up t he fastest time in the .Senior Steeplechase . It is to be competed for annually. \Y . vVood is now employed at \V. Plumtree'smercer anu clothier-New Plymouth. H. . Morrison is on the staff at Sargood , Son and Ewen' s, New P lymouth . Eric Knuckey is farming near Eltham.

Jim Fouhy, who played in tl1e School 1st Fifteen in 1916, is now in the P ublic Trust Office in 'W ellington . Vv . Ellerm is farming l1 t Mangorei. Jack Matth ews is employed at Ymmg· 's Printing \ V orks, Palmerston North. Cyril vVay is on the staff in the Records Office, V{ ellington. Harold Blundell, !'lfter fiv e months ' training at Feathorston, has been discharged on account of deafness ' resulting1 from an attack of mumps.

'· Roy lVIurray now attends King 's College, Auckland. L . Fagan (".Pat"). is al_so a pupil at King 's College.. He pa1d u s a visit durmg lu recent term holidays. Harold ~Iorey, owing to ill-h ealth, ha s been reluctantly compelled to relinquish his school studies . G. and L. Grab am are now employed on their fath er 's farm at Motonui , near Uren~i. R. E. Dowling, who has return ed after seein g active servi ce on the W estern front, where h e was severely wounded, is now dispenser in the United Friendly Society's Pharmacy at H awera.

Guy Morey is now a fully-qualified chemist , and is employed on the staff at Davies' Pharmacy . \Villiam Noble, who formerly was engaged on the elerical staff in the Railway Department, is now practising as a solicitor in Masterton. Sydney Cottier is accountant on the staff. of \V eston and vVeston, solicitors, New P lymouth . Ron. Paul is one of the partners in the J.. P . Hardware Co., New Plymouth. H. G. Philpott is now employed in one of the Government Offices, Wellington. Ken. vVest, who l eft at the end of 1917, is working in t h e Phoenix In-surance Office in town . Norman Kibhy is now engaged on the staff at the. Borough Electric Light Department, New Plymouth. Frecl Hu ggard is working at Smart Bros. (plumbers) . Len . Sampson, who previously was employed at \Vehster Bros ., auctioneers, is now working on his father's fa rm at Egmont Road. H. Pitt is now helping on his. father's farm at Bell JJlock. Herhert Ferguson, wh o ieft at the end o£ 1916, is now farming with his brother, near Eltham.

3fi

OLD BOYS' NOTES.

Cyril Hughes is a clerk in the office at \Vebster's·, auctioneers . Bob Williamsou is engaged Hunterville.

Oil

his father's farm at

Cecil Duckworth is now a cadet on a farm at 'l'awhiti, Hawera. · Ken. Alien, who has taken up ch emistry, is employed at Teed's Pharmacy. · Charlie Kidson js assisting liis mother in business in town. Ivor Sole is working on a farm at Taumarunui. Newton l\Iitchell, who left at the end of 1917, is on the clerical sta:ff at the Patea Freezing Works. A. Mounsey is working on his father's farm at :Makahu. Owen Bayly, who played centre three-quarter for the School 1st Fifteen last yeiu, has taken up the teaching profession in Auckland. D. :Meikle has taken up a commercia-l position in Whitianga, Mercury Bay. He intends later to enter the ranks of teachers . \\T. Nicholson, the winner of the 1916 Steeplechase, is now attending the District High School, Stratford.

•

Alex. :McNeil is employed :ln farming pursuits on his father's farm, near vVanganui. Alan Brooker is now on the sta:ff in Drown and Stewart's, wholesale stationers, Auckland. Algie Trai1l is employed at the Patent Slip, Wellington . Hector Pin·ett is no'v in the Native Lands Court at Roton1a. Flight-Lieutenant Hine paid a visit to the School recently. · He qualified for l1is certificate at the Flying School at Kohimaramara. Lance-Corporal 'l'om Corkill, who prior to his enlistment was in the local branch of the A.:M.P. Society, left with the 38th Reinforcements. He is now in training at Sling Camp.

LIEUT. L. C. JE NNINS .

C. McKAY ( Flyiug Corps).

W. T . L UXT ON ( Flyiu.!f. Corps).

OLD BOYS' NOTES.

Sergeant Eric C. Day, who was wounded at Messines, is now on the Headquarters Staff, London. Norman Howell went away with the Main Body and returned seriously wounded in the leg. He has quite recovered now, and at present is manager in the mercery department at Ambury's . Eric B. Ellerm, who went away with the 1\lain Body and saw considerable fighting on the Peninsula, is now back in New Plymouth. He is at present on the clerical staff in L. A. Nolan's, auctioneers. \Ve are extremely indebted to him for the us e of hi s photograph album, several snaps from which will be included in the next number. Chas. \Vebster, who 'vas invalided back to New Zea lanu, is now quite well again. At present he is working with his brother, Mr.路 E. P. vVebster. A1ister Sutherland, who gained a scholarship while at this School, thus enabling him to 路enter Duntroon College, is now in his final year at tl1e College. At a recent riding te st he topped the list of competitors. C. S. S. Candy, who ha s been farming in Canterbury, is now in camp a.tt ached to the 42nd Reinforcements. He 'va s' well known throughout the School as a crftc k, shot a.nd also as a 搂~路ood cricketer. H e repre~en te. d the School m the 1913 , 1iootmg Team and also m the 1st XI. of the same year. Amongst the recent arrivals hack fl'om the front is Lieut. Strathi.e Ewing. He was wounded in France, receiving several pieces of .s hra.p nel in his lungs. He expects to be discharged shortly. Word has been received that Private VI/. Hope Jenkinson, 8th Reinforcements, has been wounded in the abdomen and was admitted to hospital in England on October 16th. Private J en kin son wa s previously wounded at Messines. Sergeant S. Chisholm is included in those who were seriously ill with influenza, which broke out amongst the 40th Reinforcements on their way to England. Gunner P.A. Tunbridge, who left with the 23rd New Zealand Field Artillery, is at present on tour in England with the Artillery orchestra. Previously he was on active service in France for over twelve mo-nths.

OLD BOYS' NOTES.

Sergeant-Major Eric Outfield left with the 6th Reinforcements. He was seriously ill in England for some time, but recovered sufficiently to go across to France. He was wounded in October, receiving a severe gunshot wound in the left shoulder, fracturing the shoulder-blade. Latest reports from Walton-on-Thames Hospital state that he is doing welL H. B . Gibson, who has been associated with Wright and Lawrence, solicitors, Stratford, since he left School, is shortly to enter the Flying School at Sockburn. Flight-Lieutenant '1'. Luxton, who has passed all the necessary examinations at the Flying School, Sockburn, expects to leave New Zealand at an early date. Private W. H. G. Ewing, who met with a severe accident in Egypt, is now in the Convalescent Camp at Hornchurch. Private Leslie McAllum left with the 13th Reinforcements. He was severely gassed in France on September 15th and has since been an inmate at Walton-on-Thames Hospital. A recent cable states that he was about to be invalided back to New Zealand. Corporal Russell Matthews left with the. Engineers attached to the 43rd Reinforcements . Letters received state that he was thoroughly enjoying the trip on board ship. Stanley Smith is now amongst the ranks of the Camp Police at Featherston Ca.mp. Newton Quilliam is at present employed in the Bacteriological Laboratory in Wellington. Private. Gordon M. Sykes, who volunteered for active service, and was rejected, but was afterwards drafted into Cl Camp, is now attached to the 43rd Reinforcements of the N.Z.M.C. . . Flight-Lieutenant H. Lucena is now in a Flying School at St. Leonards-on-Avon. In a recent letter he gives a very graphic description of his experiences of an air-raid in England. He had also been on furlough, going as far north as Inverness. Corporal S . \V . Court left with the 41st Reinforcements. \Ve have just _received a letter from him describing life at sea aboard a transport. He states that the conditions a.re not nearly so congenial as at Trentham.路 The transport he was on went home via Cape of Good Hope. He acted as Orderly Sergeant on the trip Homea position which seemed to 路s uit him admirably.

LANCE-CORP. DARCY NEWELL.

PRIVATE BASIL THOMSON. " FOR THE EMPWE'S CA US E . "

LIEUT. R. L. OKEY, M.C.

ROLL OF HONOUR.

"FOR THE EMPIRE 'S CAUSE."

HORAC E.-It is with re.gret we have to record the death at New Plymout h Hospital of Pvt. Ho.r ace Morshea d, a returned soldier, who left with the Main Body, saw active service at Gallipoli , and who returned to the Dominio n ovea.路 two years ago invalided . He sufficien tly recovere d to be able to take up employment in the Hawera Tele,p hone Burea~1, but after working there for several months, had a recurren ce of his trouble, eventual ly having to go to the New Plymout h Hospital , where he had been laid up for about twelve months. Deceased , who was 27' years o拢 age, was well liked, and bore his su:ffering with great fortitude . His mother路 and sister are residents of Hawera, and much sympath y will be felt for 1he family in their sad bereavem ent.

~IORSHEAD,

SECON D-LIEU TENAN T ROY OKEY .-It was with profound re.gret that word was received on Sunday, October 13th, that Second-L ieutenan t Roy Okey was killed in action on Septemb er 30th . The late Lieut, Okey left :New Zealand with the \11ain Body and saw practica lly the. whole of the fighting at Gallipoli . Some little time before the e:vacuation he was wounded and invalided to England . Recover ing from his wounds he. returned to Egypt, where he remained until the close of this campaig n. He was with the first New Zealand continge nt to leave for France, and went through all the Somme fighting. Later he was one of the first twelve New Zealande rs to be selected for commiss ions and went Home to undergo a special course of study and tra.inino at Cambrid ge Military College. He returned to New Zealand on duty 18 months ago, and for a time was engaged in instructi onal wOTk at Trentha m and Feathers ton camps, and was subsequ ently drafted to the 35th Reinforc ements, going Home as adjutant o.拢 the transpor t carrying tlus continge nt. He stayed in England for a while and could only have been in France a few weeks before he was kille~. He was educated at the Central and New Plymout h High Schools, and then joined Mr. Newton King's New Plymout h sta:ff, being associate d with the insuranc e

ROLL OF HONOUR.

At the time he enlisted h e was in department. charge of the, insurance business at the Stratford Office. H e wu~ a par~i cularly fine type of young man, J?Opular with all with whom h e came in contact, a:J?-d ~Ith none more than those who had served with lum m the field. 'l'o his bereaved btheJ: and other members of the family general sympathy will be extended by a very large circle of friends. PRIVATE LEWIS GODFREY EYRE, son o.f Mr. R. B. D . Eyre, pollector of Customs, New Plymouth, was b?rn at N_o rthcote, A~cldand, in 1897. He began h_Is edu~utwn at Mornmgton School, Dunedin, contmued It at Bro?klyn, and completed the, primary course at Blenheim, where he won the Gold Medal for premier. place in the Proficiency Examination. He be.gan h1s Secondary course at Marlborough High School, and pro?eeded_ later to Westport D.H.S. , wher: he won his Semor- Free Place in 1912, and matnculated in 1913. H e entered the Auckland Grammar School in 1\Iay, 1914, and was placed in VA.-and_ at ~he end of the year he stood twelfth in the. ·Credit hst of the Public Service Entrance Examination. His parents then moved to New Ply~outh1 and he attended the local High School the followmg year, where he kept first terms for his degree, of LL.B. He remained at school here till June, 1916, when h e enlisted in the 18th Reinforcements, and arrived in England in· December of that ye3:r. He went t~ France in February, 1917, and :whilst engaged with the Tunnellers was wounded 1n the scalp by a shell fragment on March 28th. At the end_ of March, 1918, he had fourteen days' furlough m England and Ireland and returned to France on April 3rd. He was killed in action on . May lOth. CORPORAL A. _M. McDONALD left New Zealand with the 21st Remforce~ents. Just prior to his enlistment he ~e~t o~r High School Sta:ff in_order to take up a position m charge of the Secondary Depart~nent ~t. the Coro~andel District High School. Durl~g his stay of eighteen months with us he proved himself a most capable and sound te.acher. Furthermar~, ~ e became extremely popular among the boys, as his mterest in them was not confined to the schoolroom, but extended to their sphere of activities on

ROLL OF HONOUR.

the sports field. We are deeply grieved to hear o£ his early demise and extend to his sorrowing mother and relatives our sincere sympathy in the great loss which they have sustained. · An Appreciation of A . M. McDonald.-I t was, indeed, with great regret that the sad news of Mr. A. M. McDonald's death reached us. During his term here, as a MasteJ: on the staff, he became extremely popular, not only with 'his fellow tea chers but also with the boys. He possessed many excellent qualities, but the ones which endeared him to us mostly were his characteristic unselfishness and modesty. A most capable teacher, ·conscientious; thorough, tactful, sympath etic and strictly impartial, our beloved late }laster won golden opinions. ·whether in the classroom or on the playing fields, :Mr. :McDonald always set a manly example, and because of his genial disposition al ways she.d a cheerful and sunny influence around him. By his untimely death a most promising career has been cut short, and the teaching profession is Ipuch the poorer. TROOPER CHARLES PO'l''rS, who· left this School some few years back, was killed in action in. :France on October 9th. Prior to leaving for the front, Trooper Potts was for several years employed in the office of .i\lr. T. H. J?enn, and was highly thought o.f there. He was wounded some months ago, and had not long returned to th e field when he was killed. To his sorrowing mother and sisters 'Ye tendeJ: our heartfelt sympathy in their great loss. CORPORAL R. D . KIDD .-General and sincere regret was expressed when it became known that Corporal R . D. Kidd had died of wounds in France on November 5th. Corporal Kidd entered this School in 1911, where he remained till the end of 1916, being then in VIA. In the same year h e matriculated, and then joined the teaching staff of the School as one of the Junior Masters. On reaching the age of 20 he enlisted and left the School at the end of 1917 to In recent letters join the 37th Reinforcement s. received at the, School, "Bo·b " describes his trip Home-especi ally mentioning the Panama Canal anci His reinforcement called at a visit to Jamaica. Halifax, and during their stay at this port two teams

ROLL OF HONOUR.

from the reinforcement gave an exhibition of football. Great enthu siasm was created over this match . Bob played a great game at half-back for the A's, the winning team. On his arrival in England h e was fort unate to j oin up with another e;:s:-teacher, V. S. Mc:Mmray, in the R ifle Brigade. At School here, as a pupil, Bob \vas extr emely popular. During his last year he was a prefect, and probably no better athlete. has ever been t u rned out of the School. As a _Master he was greatly liked, and sLowed great promise for a most successful caTeer. 'l1 o his sorrowing Telatives. we odfer our sinceJ'e sympathy; but we are sure they will fiucl comfort in knowing that h e gave his life fo-r "The Great Cause." , The following is a complete list, inclusive of the names mentioned above, of Old Boys who are, m have been, on active service:KILLED OR DIED OF WOUNDS. Ambury, R. Kirton, C., Pvt. Atkinson, S. A. , Capt . Lepper, H . M., Lieut. Bailey, R. H., Pvt. :Jlason, T. E ., Gunner. Bendall, G., Pvt. . MoeDonald, M. A., Corp. Bollinger, G. W., Lieut. -' l.oore, W. E. , Lieut . Brown, D. B., Pvt. • i\1 ulloy, Wattie, Sergt. Burkhardt, A. P., Pvt. Newell; D. R., Lance-Carp. Coates, F. H., Pvt. Okey, R. L. , Lieut. Collis , D. , Q.M.-Sergt. Okey; S. M ., Sergt. Crone, C., Pvt. Okey, A., Pvt. Dustow, Sergt. Paul, Sydney, Lieut. Eyre, L. G., Corp. Potts, C. H ., Pvt . Grey, J. , Pvt. Quilliam, Reg. P., Corp. Corp. Grant, Eric, (_Juilliam, C., Lieut. Grifliths, S. J ., Pvt. Rider, F . H. , Pvt. Guild, W. A., Sergt. Rowlands, F. W. , Pvt. Hall, V. J. B. , Corp. Serpell, S. L. , Capt. Harle, D. A., Lieut. Sole, L . P., Corp. Hoby , S., Sergt. Stoddart, J. H., P vt. Corp. K idd, R. D. , Warren, L. A., Pvt. . Pvt Kelly, '1'. White, R. W., Corp. Cor.p. E., Kimbell, WOUNDED. AdLam, R. C., Sergt. Armstrong, E. , Sergt. Baker, S. G. , Pvt. Beck, G. M. , Q.M.-Sergt. Beck, W. C ., Sergt. 'Bellringer, L., Pvt. Billing, F. H. , Corp.

Blanchard, E. P., Pvt. Bly.t he, H., Gunner. 'Bradbury, N. , Sapper. C1ifl', A., Pvt. Cliff, J., Pvt. Cutfield, E., Sergt.-Major. Day, E. , Sergt.

ROLL OF HONOUR.

Dc1ding, E. C., Sergt. Dipmse, A. W. , Corp. Bllerm , E . B ., Corp. Bllis, W ., Pvt. Espiner, R. H., Lieut. Ewing, K. S ., Lieut. (twice). Fair, C. W., Corp. Fraser, H. , Sergt. Glasgow, B., Sergt. Grayling, S., Pvt. Hamblyn, C. J ., Sergt. Hawke, F. C., Pvt. Haworth, L. G., Pvt. Hendrickson, C., P vt. . Hill, L. G. , Sergt. Howell, I. J., Sapper. Rowel!, N., l'vt. Hooker, L. W., Sergt. Hurle, S., Capt. Jenkinson, W. H., Pvt. Kirkby, V., Pvt. Knight, G., Trumpeter .

Little, N. F. , Lieut. Linn, B. , Corp. Lusk, D. A., Lieut. }Iackie, H . J ., Pvt. !Hander, G. , Trooper. 1\'Iatthews, A. B., Sergt. i'llalone, T ., Trooper. l\latthews, N. , Capt . }!onteath, R. M ., Pvt. .!\Iorshead, H. B., Pvt . l\Iulloy , W. , Pvt. :IIcConnell, T., Corp. 2.\Icl saac, A. R., Lieut. Okey, \V. P ., Sergt. Patterson, W. B. , Pvt . R ichards, L. C., Sergt. Simmons, W., Trooper. Smith, L., Lance-Carp. Stanley, E. C. , Corp. Tuohy, T. V. , Pvt. West, V. W. , Pvt. \Vhitham, E., Sergt.

ON ACTIVE SERVICE. Alexander, W. , Pvt. · Arthur, W., Pvt. Avann, L., Pvt . ~\.very, H., Lance-Carp. Avery, F. S., Pvt . Armstrong, Y.l., Corp . Baker, F. R., Lieut. Bayley, C., Lieut. Baylcy, A. R ., Lance-Carp. Bates, '1' .. H. , Pvt. Bacon, C. L . Corp. Bacon, A . T., Lieut. Barker, H. , Pvt. Baillie, R., Pvt. Berry,-., Pvt. Blanchett, R., Lance-Carp. Blanchett, W., Pvt. Blanchett , P., Gunner. 13lyde, W. H., Pvt . f3lundell, K., Pvt. Blundell, R., Pvt. Beck , G. M., Q.M.-Sergt. Bradbury, G.,- Pvt. Bruce, F. A., Lieut . Brokenshire, R. , Sergt. Borrie, S., Pvt. Buxton, T. , Capt. Bollinger, H ., Pvt. Callaghan, F. F., Gunner. Candy, G. S. S., Pvt . Catanach, W., Pvt. Carter, S. G., Pvt. Cartwright, A., Pvt.

Chappell, N. M., Pvt. Clarke, E. F., Lieut. Clark, H., Pvt. Chong, G. , Pvt. Coker, A. C., Pvt. Cook , H. L., Lieut . Corkill, T., Pvt. Cla.ridge, A. R., Lieut. Clemow, F., Pvt. Colson, E . D. , Corp. Cornwall, C., Major. Court, S ., Pvt. Drake, 8. F., Pvt. Dumbleton, A. G., PTt. Ewing, W. H. G., Pvt. Faris, E. I. , Capt. Foote, S. G., Sergt. Foote, G., Pvt. Fordyce, W. B. , Pvt. Gray, R. B., Pvt . • Gray, A., Pvt. Grayling, F. 8., Pvt. Gibson, C. T. E., Pvt. Grant, A. H. , Corp. Grant, I. P ., Lieut. Ga.ukrodger, R ., Driver. Goss, L., Lieut. Gibbons, J., Gunner. < Gibson, H. B. (Flying Corps). Hancock, 'R,. T. , Pvt. Hawkins , G. J., Lieut. Hedley, E., Pvt. Heppell, W Pvt.

ROLL OF' HONOUR.

Healy, N. R., Pvt. l'aul, G., Sergt . Healy, A., Pvt . Paul, Stan ., Sergt. Heldt, J. A., Pvt. P earce, H., Pvt. Hempton, M ., Pvt. P epperill, C. E. , Pvt. Hill, 8. A., Sergt. P erry, N., Pvt . Hill, W. , Corp. P erry, W. L ., Corp. Hine, H. , Flying Corp~ . Pott, I. W. , Trooper . Hirst, J . B. , Corp. Pot t, Joe, Pvt. 路 H eldt, F., Pvt. Pott, G. H., Lieut. Hobson, F ., Pvt. P1路idham, C., Uapt. Hooker, H. S., Driver. Putt, :c. H ., Pvt. Hooker , G. B ., Pvt. tJuilliam, N., Pvt. Hawkes, T. , Pvt. (.,Juilliam, R . H., Lieut. J ackson, R. M., Sergt. .Ltenaud, H ., Pvt. J effries, D ., Pvt. l{oope, L ., Pvt. Jennins, L. C., Sergt.-.Major. Roope, J ., Pvt . Johnson , H. N. , Pvt. ltudd, L. W ., Pvt. Kelly , \V. F.u Lance-Corp . ltusseli, G., Q.M.-Sergt . E:ibby, H.. , Sapper. Ryan, L. , Pvt. King, 'f. iL., Pvt. i:lalway, G. F., Trooper. Laing, R ., Pvt. ::lea rle, V. H. , Lieut. Laugmuir, E .. , Pvt. ciinclair, R. J. B. , Lieut. Lovell , L ., Pvt. i:lkelton, N ., Pvt. Lucena, H. L., Flying Corps.i:ltandish, I. T. , Lieut.-Col. Luxton, W. 'I. , Flying Corps. Standish, A . R ., Lieut. Linn, D. , Sergt. Stanton, V. W ., Pvt. -Vlarfell, A., Pvt . Stoddard, B. , Pvt . .:\. larfell, L ., Pvt. Stohr, L . B. , Sergt . .\olace, F., Pvt . Sykes, D . 8. , Pvt . ~J.ander , J . H., Lieut. Sykes, G. M. , Pvt . J.\ILar tin, V. H. 8., Pvt. Stapp, A. D., Driver. Mackenzie, R. W. , Lieut . Taylor, G. D . H.., Pvt. ~le uli , P. , Flying Corps. Teed, '.!.' . L. , Corp. Medway, J. , Trooper. Thompson, A. R. ~Iartin , G. H ., Pvt. Throssell, F. , Gunner. Monk, A. G., Sergt. Tunbridge, P. A. , Gunner. Morey, .Alf., Pvt . Tuohy, '.!.'., Pvt. 1\Jorey, A. W ., Pvt. \\'est, B. F ., Pvt. MacDiarmid , A. M., Capt. West, R ., Pvt. McKay, 0. , Flying Corps. 'vVest, V. 0. , Pvt . .McArthur, A., Sergt. \Y eston, I. W. , Pvt. McMuiTay, V. S. , Corp. Wells, Decimus, Pvt . McAllum, L., Pvt . \Vhitaker, G. L ., Pvt. Murray, K en ., Flying Corps. White, 0 . J. , Pvt . Mace, L., Pvt . \\'hite, K . S. , Pvt . Matthews, B.. , Corp. \\'infield, D. , Flying Corps. Norman , B., Pvt. Woodhou se, R. , Sergt. Olson , E. E ., Pvt. Woods, A. , Pvt. O'Driscoll, A. J. , Pvt . Wright, C. G. R. , Pvt . Oliver, P . 8., Pvt. Wright, P ., Pvt. O'Brien, 0. A. E. White, A ., Pvt. Paterson, D ., Pvt. Whit<:ombe, Fred. , Sergt. P aterson, H. , Pvt.

'rhe above lists are not complete, and very possibly there are serious omissions and enors of det ail. For any information or corrections the business manager of the " Taranakian" will b e very grateful.

IN MEMORIAM .

ARTHUR HAMILTON AMBURY. •• ;3/n ~emorittm."

.AR'fHUl{, HA:MIL'fO N A:MBU:I{,Y, an Old Boy of the School, gave his life on M i. Egmont on June 3nl in an heroic attempt to save a climber who had slipped on the ice. He and his wife, with two other friends, were on the lower slopes, when calls for assistance were heard above . H e took his wife to the track and then proceeded with a rope to the assistance of his friends, who had gone up in search of the dimbers in trouble. B e had just met them at an altitude of 6300 feet when VVilliam Edward Gourlay, in the rear of the descending party, slipped on the ice. Arthur Ambury, who had only an alpenstock, attempted to save him, but both ·were swept from the steps and were killed almost instantly after. It was a fine deed to attempt, a· his. chances of success were very small, but h e acted without hesitation. His heroifnn has been 1'ecognised by the Royal Humane Society, and · a caim commemora ting the deed is to be erected near the }lountain House by the public of the town. A fitting m emorial is to be erected also at the School during the course o£ the year. Arthur .Ambmy was b01n at Cheltenham , Engiand, in 1881, and came with his p::uent1:1, J\lr. and Mrs. Arthur Ambury, to New Plymouth in 1893. He was at the School from 1895 to 1899, and on leaving entered his father' s busines . vVhile at school he played football, a-nd, :;tJ3 - an Old Boy, was always keenly in tm·ested in eh ool sports, being invariably a spectator <tt all our football matches. He played footbnJl and hockey with town teams, and w<~s a memb.e r of the U nited, Fitzroy and Park T enni s Clubs at various times. He was interested in music and was a member of the :Male Choir tilll1is death. He was a member of the St. John's Ambulnnce (holding his medallion) and was a keen worker in the local Ambulance Corps. His cheery nature endeared him to all, and much sympathy is felt py t4y School for his widow and four little children and his bereaved parents, who lost their only rem~tining son in France recently. The School r ealises that it ha s lost one of its best supporters and friends, ana his memory will long be Tevered. ·

tN MEMORIAM. 46 RAYlVIOND JOHN AM:BURY, second son of lVIt . and Mrs. Arthur Am bury, of New Plymouth, was born at Cheltenham in 1886 and came to New Zealand in 1893. He entered the School in 1901 and l eft in 1905, h aving matriculated. He followed the engin~ering profession for five years, and afterwards studwd ~t Knox College, Dunedin. He then accepted the pastorate of the Wanganui East Baptist Church and left New Zealand \vith the 32nd Reinforcements. He was killed 'by a German sniper on August 30th, 1918. Raymond Ambury was the brother of Arthur Ambury, who sacrificed his life on Egmont in the tragedy of June 3rd of this IJ'ear, and the sympathy of the School is with his wife and his relatives. He will l ono路 be remembered for the keen interest he took in ~ort and fo-r his unassuming, sympathetic nature. W. E. DOCKRILL.-Yet another Old Boy has fallen a vcitim to the influenza scourge. vV e refer to W. E. Dockrill, eldest son of M:r .. E. Dockrill; who for many years was Chairman of the New Plymouth High School Board. Mr. Dockrill, who was only 35 years of age; was a boot importer and retailer, and bad built up a very successful business in town. Though of a very quiet and unassuming nature, he had won the respect of a wide circle of friends. He was particularly interested in the welfare of the School, especially in regard to sport. A brother of M:r. Dockrill's-Captain J. Dockrill, who is also an . Old Boy, is on active service in France with the R .A .M.C. We extend our sympathy to his bereaved parents in their loss. SYDNEY F. DRAKE.-We very much regret to hear of the death of a very popular Old Boy in the person of . Syclney F. Drake. H e was admitted as a. pupil to this School in Pebruary, 1914. Prior to this he had completed his primary studies at the State School in Inglewood . During his last year at the School he was on8 o路f the Prefects, and was also a member of the Pirst Football Fifteen. He pla.yed as wingthreequarter, and on the football field possessed a great turn of speed: during the 1917 season he scored some very brilliant tries. He was an extremely keen athlete , and was sadly mi ssed from t h e sports' fielcl on his departure. To his sorrowing relatives we tender our sincere sympathy.

ANNUAL STEEPLECHASE.

(R. M. Rockel.) The Annual Steeplechase was run o:ff on October 18th on the W aiwakaiho Golf Links. This is the first time that we have used the golf links; so the times given below cannot be compared with the times- of last 'year's an d preceding steeplechases. The course also was very much smoother, except on the sandhills, but had the great advantage of being visible from the golf-house. 'rhis, we hope , will greatly increase the interest taken by visitors. This year it was decided to hold two steeplechasesone for the juniors and one for the seniors. The junior course was about 21 miles and coincided with the senior course, with the sandhills and beach cut out. The senior course was 4! miles lon g. The course was marked out by fl ags and a paper trail through the sandhills, as time did not permit any training on the acutal course . 'l'RE JUNIOR STEEPLECHASE. In t he junior event there were about 60 competitor s. The limit boys had three minutes' start, and the final la y between three of them. H. l!'ookes, a little fellow of 9 years, ran spl endidly throughout and won by a narrow mar gin from K. Fox, with J. Cornish third. Fifty boys finished the course, and there was barely five minutes between the first and l ast home. 路 The following were the first twenty to finish:Min. 1. l<'ookes, H. .... ... .. .. ... 3 2. Fox , K . .. .. .. .......... . ... 3 ............... .......... ........ 3 .... .. .. .. .. ... 3. Cornish 1j .............. . 4. M.ac Diarmid ... 5. Hoby, A. ..... ........ ... .. 1! ............... 6. Walker .............. ...... . 2 ........ .. .... 3 .... .. .. .. ..... 7 . .Paget 8. Browne ........ .... .. 3 ............. 9. 8canlan, J'. . .... ... .. ..... J. ........... .... 10. Madmy , D. .. .......... scr . ............... 11. Scanl.an, B. ........... . .. .. 1! ........... .. .. 12 . .M.cNeill, C. ...... ..... ... 1! ..... .. .'....... .................. 1! ...... ...... ... 13 . Sladden 14. Campbell .... ...... ... scr. .............. . 15. Blundell .. .. .. ............ 1 ............... 16. List ....................... 3 ............... 17 . Bellringer, R ............. scr. .... .. .. ..... .. 18. l<'ookes, G. .......... .. ..... 1! .. .. ........... 19. /Ballantyne .... .. .. ........ scr . ............ ... 20. Jeffries ...... ... .. .. ..... scr ................

Min. 15.55 16 Hi.20 14.55 15 15.35 16.40 16.50 14.5~

13.53 15.40 15.45 15 .47 14.26 15.2H 17.29 14.32 16.10 14.40 14.41

ANNUAL STEEPLECHASE.

The ten best actual times !rom scratch were: 1. .M.ackay, D. 2. Camp bell 3. Bellring er, H, 4. Ballant yne 5. J effries G.- Jury 7. Gibbs, B. .. .. 8. Jackson , J. 9. Edands on .... 10. C01·kill

oooooOOOOo .

00 00

0000

00 00

00 . .

ooOO

o o OO

0000 00

00 . . . . . . 00 00

OOOOoooOOO

. . 00

OOoo

,.oooo

...

000000

oooooooo oo

000000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00

oooooo •

00 . . 00 . .

oooooooooooooooooo

Min. 13.53 14.26 14.32 14.40 14.41 14.45 14.55 15.30

: oo . . oo o o o o o o ·

00.

...... .

15.3~

00.

15.40

00.

THE SENIO R COMPETITION. In the senior compe tition there were about 190 starters, the limit boys having· five minute s' start. Startin g from near the pavilio n, the boys ran straigh t down to the beach and were in full view practic ally the whole of the way. Then they disapp eared behind the sandhi lls and had to run a .consid erable distanc e on the sand, which was very heavy . going, coming into view again near the cliff overlo oking the :mouth of the ;W aiwaka iho River. The leader at this stage had an advant age of 50 or 60 yards. The compe titors now remain ed in view of the spectat ors. The second man gradua lly caught up the l eader and they ran the last mile or so abreas t at a good paqe. As they came closer to the crmvd they were. recogn ised as Alien and Dix on, and they were fully 100 yards ahead of the field, which was strung out for some distanc e. They kept togeth er until near the end, when Dixon collide d with, and fell oyer, a sheep which happen ed to cross his path. It was unfort unate, and robbed the race of what would undou btedly have been an excitin g finish. About 140 boys fini shed,· eight minute s being about the differe nce between the first and last boy home. The first twenty to finish were : · 1. Allan, R 2. Dixon 3. Hair, .G. . .. 4. Hair, .D .. 5. Hoberts , H. .. .. 6. Snowdo n 7. Boon. B. OOOo

oooo

...

Min

ooOOOOOOOO

oooo

oooooooooooooo

oooooooooooo

. . . . oo

••

...

. . . . . 00 000

oooo

0000 . . . . . . . . 00000

8 . Hogg 9 Wright. 10. Jo'nas .

o o· o o . .

00 . . . . 0000

00 . . . . . . 00

o o o o ·. . . oo • o o o

00.

OOOOoo"'

26.40 27.25 27.15 27.25 2B 26 .37 24.B (fastest time) . 5 .... 29.25 3 27 .35, 4! .......... 29.17 OOOoOO •

OOOOOOOO

oooo oo o o ·

oooooooooooo.,

oo·

0000 . . . .

Min.

3! 4 ... . 3;. 3! 4 .... 2! scr .

•

oooooooooooooo•

0000

oo . . . oo

....

00000000•

oooooooooooooo.

oo oooo

" 0 0 .. . .

00 0 0 .

00 o o . . . .

00 • • •

GUNN ER L. W . HOOK ER.

" 0:"11

A CT IVE SERVIC E."

LIEUT . D. A. LUSK.

ANNUAL STEEPLECHASE 11. 12. 13. 14 . 15. Hi . 17.

18. 19. 2·0.

Min. Jackson, S . ............ .. . 3! ............ .. . Knapman ............ . ... . scr .............. .. Morton .. ....... .. ........ 3 ...... ...... .. . .Renaud .... .. ............. .scr. .. .. ...... .. .. . Allemann .. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .... 1! ....... .... .. .. Waiter .. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. 2~ ..... .. .. .... .. 'l'rain ...................... 3 ............. .. Cavaney .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. 4! ............. .. Wyborn .. .. .. . .... .. . .... 2 ............. .. 0' Hallo ran, L ... ........ scr ... ............ .

49 Min. 2Cl.17 25 2il.10 2Cl.l~

26.47 27.47 2il.20 30 .5 27.36 25.38

SCHOOL NOTES. (D. G. D. ·M ackie.) On June 27, Mr. Foston, a travelling lecturer, gave us a very interesting lecture on North Auckland, a district o£ which most o£ us knew little. His lecture was illustrated by a set o£ excellent lantern slides, which helped us to. understand more easily the nature· of the country. The lecture aroused keen interest in some o£ the boys, who thought the Peninsula would be a good place £or a holiday tour. On Tuesday, October 8th, Keith Clemow met with a nasty accident, which, fortunately, was not attended by serio11s consequences, as he was motor-cycling to School after dinner. He was accelerating hi s engine so as to get up the Gover Street hill. At the corner of Gover and Pendarves Streets his machine hit the radiator o£ a car coming out of Pendarves Street, with the result that he was thrown against the kerbing. He su stained a broken nose and a gash above the left eye. However, he quickly recovered :md wa.s back at School again about three weeks later, minus the motor-bike. 'rhis Term, two paper chases have been held. The first went down Cameron Street, behind Marsland Hill, to the beach near Kawaroa Park, and left the b each again near Eliot Street. Th e seco-nd was along the beach from East End to the mouth of the \Vaiwak aiho, along Devon line, up the Old Hospital Road to ·L emon Street, aJJ cl then to School. In neither case were the hares caught, but in the second, one of the hares twisted his ankle. Every 'rerm sees an extension of the work done in the Gully. The widening is constantly pushed forward, but there has been too much wet weather £or great improvements to be made.

SCHOOL NOTES.

A "stunt" which greatly accelerated the work in the Gully was the institution of a competition. The Form which won the competition was to get the :Friday o:ff before exeat; but, owing to "flu," and the false declaration of Peace, we all had a holiday. The h alf Term holiday was to have been Monday, November 11th, but the School was closed on Thursday, November 7th, till Monday, and then we were again closed for another week. All this suspension of work was due to the influenza epidemic. Numerous have been the celebrations this Term. The first one was the rejoicing at the surrender of Bulgaria on October 7th. The following }<londay we were given a holiday. The ne:s:t celebration was for the surrender of Turkey on Thursday, OCtober 31st. In this connection we got Friday afternoon as a holiday. The third celebration was for the armistice witl1 Austria, on .Mo-n day, November 5th. In the afternoon our Cadet Company paraded and was marched down town to the front of the Public Library, where a large meeting of to"nspeople was addressed by His Ill orship the Mayor. After we were dismissed, a ''crocodile" was formed, and soon kerosene tins were obtained and a tin-can band was formed. Another tin-can band was alsn mobilised on Friday, November 8th, to celebrate Peace, as a telegram had arrived to that e:ffect. A couple of hours later we found there was no official telegram, so all were deeply disappointed. Naturally, when Peace was offi9ially dedared on Tuesday, November 12th, our tin-can band again turned out in force; and in the afternoon the Cadets paraded and marched do"n to the Railway Station, where a large gathering of townspeople and returned soldiers was addressed by the Mayor and Colonel \V eston. On \V ednesday, November 13th, a day of thanksgiving was held. A procession, in which our Cadets took part, marched from the Railway Station to Pukekura Park via Eliot Street. An appropriate service was held and addresses given. On Monday, November 11th, l=ton. Boon met with an accident at the corner of De,-on and Eliot Streets . Luckily the accident was not serious, as next clay he was on crutches with only an injured foot.

SCHOOL NOTES.

51 On June 26th, Mr. Tait, a returned soldier, who had seen service at Gallipoli, gave, after school, an exhibition of juggling and balancing in the temporary assembly hall. His feats were splendidly clone, and his apparatus was of the simplest. For weeks-aye, and for monthsafterwards, balancing sticks, knives, bats, chairs, etc., and jugg-ling with plates, balls, etc., were 'the order of the day. During the Second T erm the School Orchestra turned out to- play at the distribution of prizes by the North Taranaki Swimming Centre. The function took place in the Good Templars' Hall. The Hawera A. and P. Association at its Winter Show offered prizes for the best essay on the "Advantages of Higher Education." The competition was open to The subject was a somewhat the whole of Taranaki. difficult one upon which to write either an attractive or impressive essay. The first prize was won by N. 路waddle, the third by R. Syme, a.nd D. Saxton' s essay was highly commended. On August 1st and the two following days the School was visited and inspected by Messrs. Oresswell and Parr, the Education Department's Inspectors . A thorough inspection was made, and the candidates for Senior Freeplaces received special attention. Just at the same time Mr. 路wynyard left and Mr. Day joined the School. \Ve take this opportunity of farewelling Mr. Wynyard, and of expressing regret at his departure . We wish him every success in his business venture, and trust that he will look back upon his stay with us with a certain amount of pleasure. We are fortunate in securing the services of Mr. Wynyard as our Commercial Instructor in place of l'llr. Falconer, who has gone to \.V an gan ui. We welcome to the sta:ff l'llr. N. Day, an Old Boy of the School. Mr. Day has had much experience and much success aR a teacher in primary school work. We trust his stay with us will be a long and pleasant one. It is pleasant to see Old Boys on the sta:ff. On August 5th the Cadets paraded and marched down to Everybody's Theatre on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Declaration of War. Appropriate addresses were given, and the usual patriotic resolufion was carried.

SCH OOL NOT ES.

The even t of the seco nd half -yea of the Nels on Coll ege and Auc klanr has been the visi t d Gra mm ar Sch ool foot ball team s. The se tria ngu lar spir it of keen and frien dly riYa lry, tour nam ents fost er a and prev ent the grow th of any spir it of isol atio n or self-sati sfac tion . In evell'y way it is a goo d .thin g to mee t scho ol s. \V e 1'\in()er!'lly hop e that othe r team s and othe r eng aged in som e such tria ngu lar ever y yea r will see us taile d acco unt of the tour nam ent con test . A ~ore dewill be foun d m the Foo tbal l Not es. On Octo ber 15th , a dep utat ion Citi zens ' Com mitt ee wai ted on Sir of mem bers o.拢 the Hon . D. H. Gut hrie and aske d for Jam es Alle n and the a Gov ernm ent subs idy of pou nd fo路r pou nd on the amo unt rais ed by the Committ ee. The :Ministe r s gavt\ the dep utat ion a frie ndly hea ring and prom ised to do w1a t coul d be clone. The Min iste rs vi si t ecl the new buil ding and insp ecte d the plau s, q:x pre~Eing them selv es in term s at the pub lic spir it disp laye mos t com plim enb ry d in 路con nect ion witl l the Scho ol. Afte r the mee ting with hav e just; lately been muc h disappo the Min iste rs, we inte d to hea r that only 拢10 00 h as been pla ced upo n the liam ent. The Com mitt ee is, how ever e.sti mate s by Par, rela xing no effo rts to secu re a larg er sum . On Octo ber 12th , the Red Cros by the Sch ool. All the prod uce sold s :1la rt was run was give n by boy s and pare nts, and the selli ng was und erta ken by thos e conn ecte d with the. Scho ol. The re ptiti ons o-r raffl es. A goo d day 'swer e no gue ssin g coma very mat eria l sum bein g han ded busi ness resu lted in in to the fund s of the Soc iety .

It is now cer'-ain that the new sem bly H all will be read y for occu clas s room s and Asning of nex t Term . Sinc e the firepati on at the beg inpon uy clas s room s at the Rac ecou we have had tem keen ly anti cipa ting the ple.a surr rse, and we are no-w of well -equ ippe d and suit able acco mm odat ion. As the acco mpa nyin g pho tograp h show s, the buil ding is han dsom buil t on a site com man ding a mag e in desi gn, and is nifi cent view . The room s are larg e, mod ern in desi faci lity for up-t o-da te wor k. Thegn, and prov ida ever y ticu lar will ena,ble us to carr y onAss emb ly Hal l in paraban don ed for oYer two year s, and the gym nast ic wor k <for scho ol con cert s, prize, nigh ts, is amp ly larg e eno ugh and the num erou s purpose s for whi ch it is requ ired .

PRIVATE T. CORKILL. PRIVATE H . LINN.

TROOPER V. L. STANTON. PRIVATE G. SYKES . "ON ACTIVE SERVICE."

TROOPER H. BLUNDELL . PRIVATE D. SYKES.

SCHOO L NOTES.

53 During the influen za epidem ic the boys remain ing m the House s, sgme 48 in numbe r, procee ded to the :\Iount ain. They occupi ed the old House and the Cottage, and manag ed to make very comfor table quarte rs for themse lves. Prefec ts an<l orderli es for each clay were appoin ted, and some very fair talent in the cookin g line discove red. Unfort unatel y it was wet most of the time, so excur,; ions were limited, but on the few fine day s glissad ing, climbi ng and explor ing in the gorges were in full swing. The only difficu lty lay in the commi ssariat department, for appetit es were dist.inc tly good and transp ort, owing to the diseas e in town, distinc t1y bad. Howev er, all had a very good time•, and the object of the trip, freedom from the ' flu , was achiev ed. Like all other institu tions , the School work has been largely di sorgan ised this T erm by the influen za epidem ic. In its f•arly stages quite a numbe r of boys suffere d from mild attacks , but fortun ately we escape d with no serious cases. \V e were compel led to cease work on Novem ber 6th, and finally decidf,cl on medica l advice to clo se down for the year. As a result, Prize Night, Sports Meetin g, Sports Dinner , and all the usual School functio ns of the year-en d have l1acl to be abando ned. A.s most of the 'boys respon sible for article s in the Magaz ine have b een. ca lled home., we must crave the in!lulgen ce of the reader if the presen t numbe r does not rea ch the standa rd of preced ing ones. We sincerely hope that before long the last traces of the epidem ic will h ave disapp eared and that we sh ctll be able to· have an uninterrupt ed year's work in our new buildin gs. The fire which destroy ed the class rooms took place in A.ugus t, 1916, and since then we h ave been housed in t empora ry quarte rs at the. Raceco urse. We have been fortuna te in getting such sa tisfact ory aecomm odation so close to the House s and hav e been able to cany on work with a minim um of disonra nisatio n. For the use of the Raceco urse buildin gs the;· School is much indebted to the Tarana ki Jockey Club , whose kindne ss to us we must acknow ledg e with gratitu de. · Vve must also express our thanks to Mr. J. Dlewm an, the custod ian of the course , and to .J.Irs. Blewm an, for their unfaili ng courtesy and kindne ss. 'rh e presen ce of the School there must h~w e interru pted their work to a consid erable extent, but th ey have ;\lwnys assi8tec1 us in every pos ible way.

SCHOOL NOTES.

On Tuesday, October 8th, we received a visit from the Rev. A. 'f. Thompson, M.A., . B.D., the newlyappointed travelling secretary of the British and Foreign Bib1e Society. After roll-call he addressed the assembled School for ten minutes or a quarter of an hour. He emphasised the ever-increasing issues of the Bible in an ever-increasing number o.£ languages . The Society now publishes the Bible in over 500 different languages. The vVar has· made great demands upon the resources of the Society, and millions of Bibles and Testame.:nts have been issued to troops of all nationalities. It is worthy of note that not even in Berlin and Vienna have the hostile Governments closed the depots of the Society. vVe have to acknowledge two bequests to the School by Old Boys who gave their lives for the Empire in France. B. Kslly, who left in 1914, bequeathed £10, which is to be devoted to the purchase of a Cup for competition in the Schools of the Empire match. He was especially interested in shooting, and was a member of the School team in 1914. E. Mason, who left in 1913, bequeathed a similar sum, which will purchase a Cup for competition in the Athletic Sports, in which he was particularly interested .

SHOOTING NOTES. (E. Boulton.)

In the First Term, during practice for the Imperial Challenge Shield Competition, arrangements were mad e to count some, of the scores for the School Shooting Championships. In all the Cup Competitions each competitor fired twice at both bull' s-e.ye and figure ta-rgets, his Imperial Challenge Shield Competition score counting as a third shoot. Only msmbers of the Senior Shooting Team were allowed to fire for the Searle Cup. The following are the scores for the Senior Cup : -

R. G. B. E. R. C. G. G.

•

COMP.l!IflTION FOR THE "SEARLE" CUP. 1st Shoot. 2nd Shoot. 3rd :::>hoot. AverName. Bull Fig . Hull. l'"ig. Bull. .l!'ig. Total. age . I. Harrison . . . 45 46 47 48 282 47.00 50 46 44 45 271 45.17 J. W Boon . . . 44 43 50 45 47 45 44 44 268 44.o7 H. Grayling... 43 45 Boulton . .. . . . 46 41 47 46 43 40 263 43.83 48 45 C. Greiner ... 41 43 42 42 261 43.50 41 47 W. Morey .... 41 42 44 45 260 43 .33 45 45 F. Bayly ...... 40 42 43 43 258 43 l\J 35 3() 250 41,()7 45 44 L . O'Halloran 47 43

SHOOTING NOTES.

The competitions for the. Junior Cup were decided under the same conditions as those for the Searle Cup, with the exception of the figure-target shooting, which was deliberate instead of rapid. / The scores for the Under 16 Cup prese.n ted by Mr. Hamblyn are as follows:COMPI!;T11'ION FOR THE "HAMBLYN" CUP . 1st Shcot. 2nd Shoot. 3rd :::>hoot. AverName . Bull. Fig. Hull. l<'ig . Hull. .l!'ig. Total. age. R . Musker 45 44 50 50 43 44 276 4().00 L. Ab bott . . .. .. . . . 46 46 47 45 42 42 268 44.()7 A. Candy ..... .. .. 45 43 48 45 43 39 263 43.83 B. Burkhardt . "" 45 41 47 44 40 42 259 43.17 E . Pearce .. ....... 38 38 45 47 47 44 259 43.17 lt. Botham ley 42 39 46 45 40 41 253 42.17 R. Hair . .. . .. . . .. .. 41 38 45 44 41 39 248 41.33 M. Barak .. .. .. .. . 39 41 39 39 40 45 243 40 .50 • F. ~Vil li ams .. ... 43 36 42 46 34 35 236 39.33

rrhe following are the scores for the ·Under 15 Cup presented by Mr. Loveday : COMPEa'ITION FOR 'l'HE "LOVEDAY" CUP . Aver1st Shoot. 2nd Shoot. 3rd 8hoot. Bull. lfig . .Bull. .l!'ig . Hull . .l!'ig. Total. age. Name. 276 4() .00 44 43 50 44 50 45 lt. Musker 268 44.67 42 42 45 47 46 46 L. Abbott .. . 263 43.83 39 43 45 48 43 A. Candy ......... 45 44 259 43.17 47 47 45 38 E. Pearce ........ 38 248 41.33 39 41 44 4o 38 R. Hair .. .. ........ 41 243 40.50 45 40 39 41 39 39 M. Brrrak 235 39.17 36 34 45 45 37 H . Honeyfield ... 38 34 235 39.17 34 46 42 3!:i F. Williarns ... ... 43 ~Iusker thus wins both the Hamblyn and the Loveday Cups. He has shot consistently well throughout the year; and by making the possible of 100 points has set up a record which will never be beaten. There. were only six competitors for the Under 14 Cup presented by Messrs. ~IcLeod and Slade; nevertheless there was keen competition for first place. The following are the scores : -

COMPETITION FOR THE "McLEOD AND SLADE" CUP. Aver1st Shoot. 2nd 8hoot. 3rd i::lhoot. Bull. Fig. Bull. .l!'ig. Hull. .l<'ig. Total. age. N.ame. 43 41 254 42.33 43 42 43 42 L. Pease . 37 41 245 40.83 44 42 42 R. Crawshaw ... 39 40 45 243 40.50 39 39 39 41 M . Barak 38 36 237 39.33 46 41 37 A. Moyes ....... .. 39 34 34 235 39.17 42 46 3o F. Williams .. .. .. 43 39 31 214 35.07 i3li 37 38 G, Carr ....... .. .. . 33

SHOOTING NOTES.

COLONEL WESTON'S LECTURE.

A~ soon as the Championship had been decided, thefinal for the Junior Handicap Medal was shot off. During the First Tenn , when the ::Uedal shooting was completed, it was fo und that Abbott and R. Hair tied for fir st. place, both firing from scratch and scori ng 91 points . The shoot-off resulted as follows:-

vidual knew little of what wa.s ocouiTing outside of his company. The division, however, is t he smallest unit on t he field , and it is to divisions that t he line is apportioned.

Hu ll.

Name. Ab bott R. Hair .. .. ..

l<'igure. Total. Average. 42 41

84 . 80

42 40

During the present Term several practices have been h eld on the Rewa llewa Rang e, and it was proposed . to shoot off for the Championship Belt and the Lady Godley Cups towards the end of the 'rerm. Owing to the premature closing clown of the School, however, these competitions had to b e abandoned. Th e. return match with the New Plymouth Defence Rifl e Club, to be fir ed at 500 and 600 yards, was at first postponed owing to wet weather, but is now further postponed indefinitely . . \ i\Te hope1that next year's team will give a good account of itself when it meets the Rifle Club. With re.gard to the Imperial Challenge Shield competitions, the only information available so far is the following cable:For the Imperial Challenge Shield , presented by Colonel l<'enn ell, a South Afncan, 888 teams competed in the senior division .and 575 in the junior division . New Zealand wins eleven prizes. The Senior Naval Cadets at Fremantle won the senior shield with an average of 95.8, t he Naval Brigade. Hobart, being second with 92.6. t h e Naval Brig.ade . Thursday Island, being third with 92. The New Plymouth High School, Sydney Naval Brigade, and Cairns tied for fou r t h place with 91.3. Bisley Farm School won the Junior ·Shield "'it'h 94.5. Ne1Y Plymouth High School being third with 89.6.

COLONEL WESTON'S LECTURE. (R. Syme.) On October 30th, Colonel Weston, who has been at the Front for over three years, kindly came up to the. School and gave us a mo st interesting lecture, illustrated by a map on th8 black-board. After expr essing hi s pleasure at being enabl ed to give an address, Colonel Weston first gave an explanatory .account of the composition of an army , from army corps down to company. He emphasised the fact that it was a 11·ar of companies, as the indiI

Colonel Weston then went on to descri be the battle of La l3asse Ville, which took place on July 31st, 1917, a nd was part of a concerted attack from the sea to tl1e Lys, with the object of breaking the enemy 's line . The German line in this particular sector was very strong, with frequent machine-gun posts. The British line was here h eld by the 1st Taranaki Company, which "·as only notified of the impending attack two days before, and this necessitated hunied preparations . Arrangements were made as to a barrage . Great care was required here, aud especially in the hedgerows to the north, to avoid hitting our own men. Two rapid-firing mortars were brought up near th e h edgerows, which constituted a seriou s obstacle to the advance. Communications were provided for by . runners, and, in one place, by an underground cable to headquarters. .l:!;verything wa:s prepared for the attack at 3.50 in the morning of the 31st. · On this morning, the guns opened on a lront of 50 mileti, and our men went over the top. Unfortunately the weather was .atrocious, and it is doubtless due to t'his that a more successf ul outcome of the day:s battle was not attained. The taking of the village was assigned to t he West Coast troops, under Uapt.ain NlcKinnon. lt was taken with a Tush , but there wati some streetfighting at the east ern end. To the north, however , t he Wellington troops , under t he able leadership of Li eut. Biss, were held up by the hedgerows, where were two mac'h ine-guu s. One of his sections was practically .annihilated . A diversion, however, was made by the timely a dvance of Sergeant Andrews up the railway line, Oil the flank of the hedgerows, which enabled the machine-guns to be taken by frontal attack; whilst the garrison, after several had fallen from fl anking fire, surrendered . All obJectives were now reached in this region. Dispositions had no11· to be made for defence against a counterattack. 'l'hree platoons were stationed in tl1e village, and positions consolidated. Sever e as the losses in the attack had been they were equalled by tho se iJI ClilTed in holding the village. 'l'h~ losses were grievous , and may be attributed in some part to the weather. 'I'hne German counter-attacks-one cleverly made under cover of t he bank of the Ly s-were beaten of!' by means of a barrage , which had bee n arranged for beforehand : whilst those who had fo ught were relieved and marc'hed off to the rear. .Many di stinctio ns were gamed that clay by ol:ticers and by men. One V.C., several D.C.M..' s, and no less than 22 M.C.'s • were a1,arded for consp icuou s valour.

COtON~t

W:ES'i'O:N'S . LECTtJR~.

Colonel \Veston, whilst unable, owing to lac!' of time, to give a further account of the battle , finished an interesting evening by detailing the composition of the Wellington Battalion. At the dose of t he add-ress he was thanked by Mr. Moyes, '"ho called for t llr('e hearty cheers . '.Phese were given , and, with the applause for the lecture, .sho"·ed how we appreciated the address. Colonel vVeston , in reply , said that \Ye should be proud to bear the glorious name of New Zealanders. Our country had a great and noble future, and was packed, not only by the great traditions of Britain, but also by our own in the making. In conclusion, he said that each and all we must do our best to uphohl the name Ne"· Zealand will have. The proceedings closed with the singing of the National Anthem.

HOUSE NOTES. (K. Q. iRoberts.) 'l'his year, owing to- the fact that the School was closed earlier than usual at very short notice on account of the prevailing influenza epidemic, many important School functions have had to be postponed until the First Term o-f next year, and consequently there is rather a dearth of news for this number of the ''Taranakian,'' and this· section of the Magazine has had to suffer in common with others. During the "\Vinter 'l'erm we had seven weeks of almost unbroken wet weathe.r , and, in consequence, many Boarders, in o·r der to conserve their supply of School clothes, had to appear in various other garbs, thus producing a very variegated appearance. 'l'he incessant wet also had a rathe.r detrimental effect on the recently excavated dug-outs, several of which collapsed, engulfing wheelbarrows, shovels, etc., in their fall. Curiously enough, one' of these was called the ''Dew Drop(ped) Inn. " 'l'his weather culminated in a few days of the coldest weather experienced here for many years. However, "it is an ill wind that blows nobody any good," for one day it was so cold in our temporary quarters on the Racecourse that we had to cease school 'for the day. On this oecasion we had a general tidy-up, · and also brought rocks up from the Te Henui River. These were placed • in Hendrie Street, where they were utilised in carrying out improvements; rockeries were constructed and an

•

HOUSE NOTES.

59 entrance to the new house built. In addition, several tJ.·eei- ferns and young oaks have been planted beside the street. They are all thriving excellently, and are a great improvement to the appearance of the grounds. Mr. Wynyard left us during the Second~l'erm to take up business in town. His place as a Boardmg Master was taken by :Nlr . N . Day, an Old Boy, to whom we all ex tend a hearty welcome. Over at the Racecourse, the almost invariable cry · of the Boarder with respect to books, written exercises, etc. is: "I left it over at the. house, sir." This monotonous 'cry has now become a standing joke, and is particu- · larly noticeable in certain cases . One _YIA. youth, for instance, regularly every Monday m01·mng, for a whole Term left his Latin prose "over at the house" instead of bringing it to class, so that the house seems to have become a kind of limbo. For a lon"' time past we have been short of lockers, but t hese hav~ now been supplied. The little old darkroom has been demolished, and fifty spacious new lockers built in the original locker-room. These were apportion ed to the Senior boys, while the original locke rs were moved into the old 'Prep. Room and allotted to the younger boys. Central Boarders were runners-up in the 1st Junior FootbaU Competition, which was won by the Day Boys' team. Boarders' B won the 2nd Junior Competition. During the Second Term, a few of our number were strick en down by a mild attack of chicken-pox, and had perforce to withdraw from the gay .scene for a short time. The afflicted ones, none of whom, judging by appearances, were very bad, spent a most enjoyable week or so convalescing in the sunshine on the balcony amidst all the luxury of rugs, armchairs and books. A_ youth who is e.v idently a keen follow er of the " movie" world, one clay handed in for the post a letter with the following address:l\IIISS JA.GKIE SA.UNDERS, Balboa Film Producing Coy., Long Beach, CALIFORNIA.. It is surmised that his object wa s to obtain the photograph of this c'elebrated film star, which, doubtless, he in clue course received and ·now admires in his leisure moments.

HOUS E NOTES.

}..t the b cgiuuing of the Thinl Tcnn, the occupants of the clonnito.rieR were chauged round, ,u that all the houses \Yere e-,enly matched as far as cricket ~as concerned. 'l~his was done for the purpose of or ganising a competition, but owing-to bad ,weather, the Inter-Form Gully Oompetitiou, anJ trainiug·_ for the Spoits, a start could uot be mnde before the influenza, was upon us.

A number of Boarders atteucled the Girls ' High School Annual D<mce, and, as is always the case at this · function, one and all thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Our own long-night dance was held at the end of the Second T erm .at the closing of the Dancing Class. An excellent waJ:-map of the vV estern :Front has been put up iu the. corridor , and up until the signing of the armistice by Germany, the daily ad-,ances were marked. vVe were thus enabl13J to ·see clearly what splendid work was being done th ere, and to follow closely the course of the important eveJlts which took place immedi~ ately previous to the signing of the armistice. Howeve_ the sphere of action h as since moved b eyond the. limns o£ this map, and another one, showing a good slice of the "Vaterland ," will be necessarJ ·to keep us in touch with coming events. In common with most other places in the world, we have received a visit from the "bacillus infl.uenzre"; considerably oY er half of the Boarders were smitten, but fortunately, owing to ihe care and promptness exercised in dealing with the epidemic, all the cases were of a mild nature, and before the Christmas holidays commenced, the house was ou ce again quite clear of cases. In order to pre.v ent the atta ck spreading, tlte H en lth Department thought it advisable tbat the School should be closed from W ednesllay until the following Monday while the buildings were being fumigated , and that the Boarders shouid be ke.pt within bounds for a few tlay;;. However, when the beUs nmg and the sirens whistled on :l!..,riday morning proclaiming (falsely, ns it tumed out) , that Germany had ·sunenclered, we were allowed to break the la.tter r estriction, <lDd were sooj) all, except the unfortunate patients, taking pai·t in the rejoicings. Not the least important in cident in connection with th e "flu" was the taking of a toni c "three times n day after food. " One morning we saw R large glass bottle on one o:f the. breakfast tables, and immediately guessed what it was £or.

SERGT. L. B. STOHR. LANCE-CORP. C. S. S. CANDY.

DRIVER R. J. KIBBY. CORP. V. S. McMURRA Y.

" ON ACTIVE SERVICE."

HOUSE NOTES.

61 its what 'l'here w3;; great apprehens.iou among us a;; to contents would taste like., but aft~r the :first dose we realised that there was no ea use for alarm. For some time now owing to the war we have uot been able to get a really good boxing instructor, but t il.is year we were fortunate enough to obtain the services of :1lr. Dun] op. Mr. Dunlop h as had wide professional expe.r ience in the art of self-defence, and is also " physical culture e:s:pert, so that under his guidance, boxing ht< s receiYed a new stimulus. Unfortunately , as we dosed clown several weeks earlier than usual at the end of the Third Term, the Boxiug Championship s could not he held this year. In place of the usual gymnastics we are at present doing physical drill. This has been greatly hampered by wet weather, and, in consequence, the physique has no doubt suffered deterioration, but a complete set of modern gymnastic apparatus is now on order, and will be installed in the hall in the~ new building by the beginning of next year, so that there \Yill soon be an end to one of our greatest hardships. v\Tith the coming of suml1ler, tennis has begun again, but this game, like almost all other sport', has been seriously hampered by the unusually wet season. 'fhere are one. asphalt and two grass courts available for play this year. Two concerts were held in the old Prep. Room during the Term, and both, in spite 10f the inevitable unrehearsed items , were keenly appreciated by the audiences. 'fhe :first was given b:v the Day Boys, and the sEcond by Day Boys and Hoarders combined, the former supplying the instrumental and the. latter the vocal part of the programme . 'l'he humorous sketches giyen by a well-known quartette were a f<>ature of both concerts. There was also an impromtpu concert hdd one eYening while the "flu" was raging. The beginning of next year will see the back of many of our hardships, one of the chief among which is the want of proper accommodatio n for the Library. Since t he fire, the Library has been bu:ffetted from pillar to post, and is now occupying temporary qu arters in the despised, but nevertheless all-important, tin shed. However, now that the additional wing is being added to the new School, the Library will soon b e once again set up in qu:uters worthy of the name "Library."

CAMERA CLUB NOTES. (J. Kingston.)

. Towards the end ·of the year there was an increase m ~he number of members, the roll now standing at 46. Owmg to the unusually ha~ weather it was impossible to do as much photog.raphlC work as would otherwise have been the case. An e.xtra covering of ruby fabric has. been plaCJ;ld over the _wmdows and lamp, making our temporary. dark-room as hght-proof as possible. Towards the end of the Term photographs were taken of all the football teams. In spite of the unfavourable weathN· t)le res:u~ts we~·e on the whole very satisfactory. The; competiho:n this Term consisted of four photos taken a?ywhere m New Zealand, one section over quarter-plate Size and O?e under quarter-plate .. Some very fine entries were recmved. As usual, those m the smaller size were more numerous. The results were:. Over Quarter-plate : 1 B. Horn er, 2 S. J ackson, 3 J. Kmgston. . Under Quarter-plate : 1 L. H.icharclson 2, B . N oakes.

CRICKET NOTES. The House matches arranged for the Term had to be postponed on account of the most unseasonable weather. in 9ctober and later because of the prevailing epidemiC. rhe only matches played were the usual practice games between the 1st and 2nd XI.'s . Details of these are given below. ~he ch~ef int~rest this Term has lain in the experimentmg with smls for wickets suited to this fickle climate.. \1\_T e, found that a mixture of blue papa with lo cal sml , hgntly dressed on the turf O'ave for surface ~ncl durability a highly satisfactory res~lt. Consequently It see~n s that we may now hope to bani_13h the old matting substitutes ~ncl get reasonable wickets to play on. The matches wluch have been played on the new wickets have been most pleasurable and productive of vastly improved batting. 1st XI. v. 2nd XI. 1st XI.-1st innings 89 (Sinclair 12 Hine 19 Greiner 15). ' ' . 21!-d XI.-,-1st inn.ings 60 (Mr. Willis 16, Wyborn 9). Smclan 2 Wickets for 2, O'Halloran 3 for 14, Greiner 5 for 40.

CRICKET NOTES .

63 1st XI. v. 2nd XI. 1st XI.-1st innings 104 (Willis 17, Sinclair 11, Os borne 11, O'I-Ialloran 17, Saxton ~~. Pope 11) . 2nd XI.-1st innings 29 (\V ebster 9). Greiner 2 !or 14, O' Halloran 5 for 8, Sincla.i r 3 for 5. 2nd XI.-2nd innings 72 for 7 wickets. O'Halloran 5 for 11.

CONCERT CLUB. ~t the beginning of the Second Term a general meetmg was held to elect a Concert Committee. The following were elected :-1\Ir. McKinne·y (chairman), K. Clemow, D. Saxton, :i\1. Osborne, C. Morey . The year's work has been characterised not so much by an increase in the number of concerts given as by the improved quality of the various items rende1·ed. So much so has this been the case that it was fully intended to hold a concert towards the end of the year in the Good 'femplar Hall in aid of the School Building Fund. But we left School so huniedly on account of the influenza epidemic that it was quite impossible to do anything ·of the kind. 'f~e first concert, which was h eld early in the Term, was g1ven by the Day Boys. It may be remarked here that this yea1· the Day Boys have taken a much keener interest in the Club than ever before. Formerly the great bulk of the work fell on the Boarders. But this has changed m arkedly for the better. 'fhe programme was as follows : -

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. G. 7. 8. 9.

10. ll. 12. 13. 14. 15.

Pianoforte Solo . . . . . .. . . .. .. .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. .. . . N. liellringer. Recitation .............. ................ .. .............. C. Noble. 'Gello Solo ... ... ...... ...... .. ........... ............ R. Hockel. Song ................ ..... .... .... .............. .... .... H. liarton. Recitation .... .. ............... .... ....... . E. Uoleman. Ularionet bolo ................ ... .... ................ K. Ward. Song ........ .. .. .... .... ..... ........ ......... .. ....... lt. lYlcltae. Violin Solo ... ... .... . ................ .... ............... S . White. Pianoforte Solo ............. ....... ... ........ ........ R. Ho by. lnterva,l. Pianoforte Solo ....... .......................... N. Bellringer. 'Cello Solo ..... ... .... .... .. ......... ......... ......... H. Hockel. Recitation ........... ... ......... ..... ..................... K. Neal. Clog Dance .. .... .................. ... .......... ...... R. McH.ae. Clarionet and> Violin Duet K. Ward and S. White. Dialogue. "The .Photographer ," V. JJ enny-Brown, B. Johns, K. Clemow, U. Morey.

CONCERT CLUB.

Later on, about half-way through the Term, a second concert was given, this time by a combined team of Day Boys and Boarders , the latter rejoicing in the name of "Moonsh iners. " Every evening between tea and "prep ." there could be heard for weeks previous the melodiou s strains of the company practisin g. The public passing by must surely have guessed that the mountai ns were in labour; and truly more than a "ridiculo us" mouse was born. The program me was as follows·: Pianoforte Solo .............. .......... ........ ... .. .. S. Hay den. R ec'itation ...... .... .. .... .... ... ........... . ....... .... K. Neal. Duet ...... .. . ....... .. .. .... .. .. .. ... B . •Jolms and C . .Morey. Song ...... .. ....... .... ...... ............ ...... .. ..... H . Harton. Pianofort e Solo ... ... .............. .. ........ .. . N. Bellringer . 'Cello Solo .......... .... ...... .............. .. ... .... R. Hockel. 7. Dance ........... ..... .............. .. .. ........... .. .. H . .McRae. 8. Clarionet .a nd Violin Duet .. .K. ·ward and G. Brunette. Interval. 9. Opening Choruses ........ (a) Entrance of Hing Boys. (b) Are we all here ? 10. Song . . . . .. . . . . . " Moonhgh t Hay" . . . M.. Cachemai lle. 11. R ecitation .............. ... .... .. . ........ .... L . .Pease . 12. Kip ling ·walk . . . .. ....... ... . . ...... .. .. . ..... ...... .'.. B. Horner . 13. Humorou s Sketch , ... H. John s, K. Clemow, C . .Morey, B. Sturtevan t, A . Candy. 14. Song .. ........... "Th e Midshipm ite" ...... A . Huchanan . 15. Song .... .. ...... " My Sunbeam Lou" ..... .... D. Saxton. 16. Song ..... ...... .... " Joan of Arc" ..... .. .. . .. ... B . .Moore . 17 . .Recitation .. ........ .............. .. .. .............. ... . A. Candy. 18 . Choru s " W e Pushed 'fhem Through the Window" Company. 19. Song "Bells of Peace" .. ..... . G . Hugh.s on. 20. Closing Choruses .. . (a) China Town (b) Good Hye-ee. l.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

FOOTB ALL NOTES . (B.

~I.

Johns, C. A . Noble, J . W. Jillett:)

·with the passing of the ·w inter Term another football season ha s closed. This season has seen us once more definitel y entered into the sphere of Seconda ry School football, a triangul ar tournam ent having been held with Aucklan d Gramma r School and Nelson College. This year the First XV . has been fairly successf ul, although only runners- up for the Northern Uharnpio nship of the Taranak i Rugby Union. The forwards were

FOOTBAL L NOTES 65 a heavy, hard-wor~ing pack, and in a~most every .match quite equal to theu oppon~nts. Their most notl~eab le fa ult, however , was a certam amount of slowness m following-u p. The backs, several of whom were sorne'Yhat light-we ights, were a fast lot and compare d, on the whole, favourab ly with back teams of former seasons . DurinO' the season the First XV. played 1'1 matches : 5 were wo~, 2 drawn, and 4 lost: points for 82, against 108. In addition to these matches several ?'ames were played against Old Boys and town tea:t;ls on Sat~rdays. The followin g were the members of the F1rst XV.: Forward sAtkinson .. . . .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. . l:luchanan .. . .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. . Knapman ...... ....... .. .... . Saxton .. . .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. O.sborne ........ ............. .. Hurkhard t ... .. .... . ......... Calder .. . .. . .. .. .. . .. . .. .. .. .. . Wing forwardBoon Back s-.liamling ......... .. ..... .... .. Wills .............. ........ ~ .. .. Willis .............. .......... . Hrackebu sh . .............. .. . l:leckbessi nger .. .... .. .. ... . .McKay . .............. . ... . . .. . Smart ............. .. . ..... ... . Kmergenc ies-l:loulton ... ..... .. ............ . .liowell ........... . .......... · Ave rage for forwa rds ....... .... ..... ...... .. Average for backs .. .. . .............. ....... .. Aver age for team .. ........ ...... ............. :

st. 9 12 9 11 11 13 10 11

lb. 8 4! 1

13 ~

5! 4

9 3 8 0 10 5 10 1 8 11 1111 10 0}

9 0 8 13 1111 9 13 10 6.6

The Junior Grades have, thi11 year, s110wn much enthusia ·rn and amono· these are many players of much promise. ''rhese will bform a ·vah~able recruitin g: ground for the First XV. next year. Th1s season a J umor Cornpetition was arranged for North Taranak i, for which competition the School entered two teams. The Second XV. were a solid hard-wo rking team, but were unfortun ate in outside matches . The forwards were a good pack, but the backs. were somewh~t disappointing , on the whole. The Thud XV. wa , m all respects, almost as good a. team as. the. Seconds . Indeed their backs appeared , at times, to be a httle supenor.

FOOTBALL NOTES.

FIRST XV. v. STRATFORD (Won 6 to 3). This match, which was played at Stratford on June 19th, was played in a drenching wet day on a very sloppy ground. Consequently play was largely confined to the forwards.

FIRST XV. v. W AIT'A RA (Lost 5 to 6). On August 8th the team travelled to vVaitara and met a very heavy team on a sodden ground. In spite of the wet, heavy hall the backs attempted some passing rushes, one of which resulted in a score. McKay converted. \Vaitara scored two tries . FIRST XV. v. ROVERS (Won '13 to· 8). This match was played on the Racecourse on July 18th. Rovers opened by scoring near the corner, hut failed to convert. A little later School equalised matters by a penalty goal. In the second spell Rovers gained a converted try, while Hamling and Osborne scored for School, both tries being converted by .lYicKay. FIRST XV. v. WAI:NIATE (Won 9 to 6). On Saturday, July 6th, the team travelled to Hawera to try conclusions with W aimate. The ground was in rather bad condition both on account of the rain and on account of a match having been played just previously. In the.Crst spell W aimate scored twice, neither try being conver~ed. In the second spell the School backs opened out the game in fine style. \Vaimate was kept for nearly the whole spell on the defensive, while Hamling scored twice and Beckbessinger once for School. FIRST XV . v. WANGANUI OLD BOYS '(Won 8 to 3) . This match was played on the Recreation Ground on July 27th. A good exhibition of Rugby was given by both sides . The teams• were very evenly matched, and both sides had a fair share of defence and attack. W anganui, playing one man short, immediately set up a vigorous attack, and Harrison at full-back had plenty to do to save. Several times the visitors nearly got over, and their persistence was finally rewarded by an unconverted try by Rowe. The second spell opened with up and down play, and soon the scores were equali eel by a penalty goal kicked by McKay. An attack by the visitors was spoil~d by a passing rush by the 1School forwards, and the ball was forced out at the Wanganui 25. From the throw-out Hamling secured the ball ancl raced over the line. McKay converted, and the game closed without further scores.

FIRST

x..£ v. TECHNICAL COL·LEGE (Won9to3).

'rhis match was played on the Racecourse on July 4th. During the first spell School made a forward game of it, but in the second spell they made use of a strong wind behind, and the backs began to throw the ball about. Two tries were gained, one of which McKay converted. FIRST XV. v. ROVERS Drawn-No score . This match was tplayed on the Recreation Ground on June 27th. The wet weather and the sodden state of the ground rendered any back or open play out of the question. After much forward play up and down the field the whistle went with no score on either side. FIRST •XV. v. STRATFORD (Lost '10 to 6) . Played on the Racecourse on July 25th . The Stratford team played well and the· individual players were all in good form. The School team did not show as much clash as u sual. The game closed with the score in favour of Stratford , who deserved their victory. The School score was mll.de up of a try by 'Hamling and a penalty goal kicked by McKay. FIRST XV. v. TECHNICAL COLLEGE (Drawn 3 to 3). On August 15th. School met the Technical College on the R ecreation Ground. Neither side scored in the first spell, but in the seco;p.d spell each side got over the line. Boon scored for School.

FOOTBALL NOTES.

SECOND XV. v . STTIA'l'FOR.D D.H.S. (Lost ·8 to 0). On J uly 18th, the team travelled to "Stratford and played in a high wind. School had t h e wind in the first spell, but were unable to score. · The second spell opened with lip and down play till Kettlewell scored from t he line-out. A few minutes later Thorpe got across the line. Connell converted. l SECOND XV. v. S'rll.ATFORD CADETS (Lost 8 to 6). This match was played on the R acecourse on July 25th. In t he first spell School, playing with the wind behind .them , scored twice, ·M ackie and Greiner being responsible. N eilher try was converted. In t he second spell Collins · kicked a penalty goal for Stratford, and ,\iter a passing rush Anderson.· scored . Connell converted. SECOND XV. v . ROVERS JUNIORS . (Drawn 3 to 3). In the first spell Hoftmann secured the ball from a cro ss-field kick and scor ed for Rovers . The kick at goal failed. A little later Whittle secured the ba1l near halfway and ran clean t hrough the Rovers and scored between the posts . The kick failed. In the second spell th ere was no further score . SECOND XV. Y. C1IFTON J UN.IORS (Won 11 to 3) . Clifton came in on a Saturday and played a friendly match on the Racecourse. In the first spell School played with the wind, and Knapman and R.enaud each scored, neither try being converted. In the second spell Procter scored for Clifton and Smart for School. Denny13rown converted the latter. THIR.D XV. v . 'I,'ECHNICAL CALLEGE II. (Won 39 to 0). From the first it was .evident that School was the better team. Tries were gained ·by K. Clemow (4), L. O'Halloran (2), Fox (1), Boon (1), -walker (1). 0£ these tries Hine converted six.

COY. SERG T-MA JOR G. E. CUTF IELD . " ON AcTIV E SERV ICE."

LIEU T. R. G. B. SINC LAIR .

FOOT BALL NOTE S.

THI RD XV . v. ROV ERS II. (Wo n 16 to 3) . Play ed on the R:-cr ea tion Grou nd on July 25th . In the first spell after glve and take play O'Ha n ear the posts . Hine faile d with the kick . llora n scored spell Rove rs score d, whil e School acldecl13 In the secon d sc?r.e. Tries we~e obtai ned by Hi?e (1) andpoin ts to their Hme and Gray lmg each conv ertm g one of Gray ling (2), th e latte r. THI RD XV . V . SThA TFO RD D.H. S. FIRS T. (Los t 9 to 0). Play ed on the Race cour se on Aug ust The grou nd was very sodden and slipp ery, and 8th. ing the game . Cons eque ntly the back s had rain fell durthe attac k. Strat ford score d three time s inlittle to do in spite of the f'tub born defen ce put up by School. The aud slipp ery ball certa inly told again st our heav y grou nd lighter team . TRIA NGU LAH TOU RNA MEN T . . (B. M. John s .) Tow ards the end of the footb all season, grea men t prev ailed when it was made know n that t excit ea tourn amen t had been arran ged betw een Auck land Gram mar School, Nels on College, and ourse lves, and that the matc hes were to be playe d in 路N ew Plym outh . On Frida y, Aug ust 23rd , the Mast ers and a num ber of the boys assem bled .on the whar f to welcome the Gram mar Scho ol team on its arriv al from land. The boys who were bille ted were intro duce d Auck to their hosts . On the Frid ay after noon the Aucl dand team went to the Spor ts Grou nd for a shor t pract ice. Satu rday brok e rathe r cloud y, and with every prospec t of bein g an ideal footb all clay. The morn ing was spen t in show ing the visit ors the sight s of in the after noon the open ing matc h 路 of thethe town , and 路 comp etitio n was playe d befor e a large num ber of spec tator the game was in prog ress, the Nels on Colle s. Whi le rived , after trave lling by slow train from ge team arW anga nui. 'l'he team was brou ght to the Park in time conclusio n of the matc h. At the conc lusio to witn ess the n of the game the Nels on team was taken to the Scho ol, wher e the mem bers were met by their hosts . In the even ing the visit ing team s were enter taine d hy the Scho ol at Ever ybody 's Pictu res.

FOO TBA LL NO T ES.

On Sun day mo rnin g t_he team '1 s attended_ a -bf er\ . St 1I , ' and m the afte rno serv1ce at • · ~ my s, < asse m .a , f mo tor-caron s wer e wm~ tlng the Sch ool , whe re a ~um b erdo t1 cou ntr" t tal-e the m for a spm \Va itar a was n le J • . fi~· st ~r isitecl the n I nglrou ewood, and the .ret urn JOU Tllt1 m ade thro ugh Egm on. t _Vil lag e. 'rhe out mg -was gre a yy en joyed by all the visi tors . . On :Monday afte mo on the ma teh betw ee;J Auckl~~d Gra mm ar Schoo ~ and N elso n Cdol l; w~~hdoeSd~~' h~~o~~ t h e eve nin g a din ner was 11e1 a e ' ' of the visi ting team s. · h Auc kla ml tea m left for On Tue s cl ay mor:nm g P "nlm erst on by the e:sp ress. e At 9 .o ' clo ck tlle Nel son S b. 0 1 1 car wer e asse m ble d w:i l:o ! 'er y o·ood, t h e tl:?am spe:1 t num ber of th e visi tors gom g an enJoya ~ ay, q up to the sno w . On \V edu ~sday, the day . of th·e fi:ral m.a.tch , the wea the r ,...-as not at all pro mis mg , as a hg~t fell all t he mo rnin g. HoweYeT, the rain men ced and hel d off dur ing the cea sed bef ore P ay comafte rno on . In the e-yenin o· the Nel son and the Scb ool team s we re ent me d a t o <1 d·anc e b y t 'lle :NJe"· .Ply., mo uth bra nch Ot theerta Nel son Col leg e 01<1 Bo ys' Ass ooa bon . On the foll owi ng mo rnin g the re wtts a larg e gat her in g 3 the stat ion to farewe11 the Nel son tea m.

~~af.~k~a;~:~~~~;<tk~~1~on~. ~ltbo~~~~ the~l'eadther

l<lly

RE SU LT S OF }.f:/-\.TCHE S. Au ckl and Gm mm aT Sch ool .-W on 2. Poi nts gai ned 15 , poi nts aga ins t 13. Nel son Col leg e.- Won ]. Poi · t nts gai ned 16 , pom s aga ins t 31. Hio·h Sch oo l.-\ Vm1 0. Poi . a 19 . nts gam e 0 , pom t s aga ins t 66. HIG H SCH OO l, "· AU CK LA ND Gl=tAMMA.R . The openinO' ma tch of the tou rna me nt was pla ted on the Spo rts G~·ound on S<1 huda¥, A.~gust ~4t~j ,Cond rt· wer e idea l the "'ro und belD g m gooc or er an ~l~:o!!ather cool ~nci. dul l. Fas ter, h eav ier and cleve~·e r tha n the loc al bac ks, the visi ma chi ne-like pre cisi on. . It tors handle~ the . bal l WJt~ the ir atta ck, as -well as to tl1ewas to the .mm sive ncs s o wea k tac} dm g of the loc al

F'OO TBA LL NOT ES.

71 bac ks, tha t the y owed the ir vic tory . ' r h:: forw ard s wer e fair ly eve nly mat che d. The to 10. llfr . Joh nst on refe ree visi tors won 1y 53 poi nts d . The gam e was pla yed in fou r spells of 20 min ute s eac h. Almost :from the kick -off tast e of th eir abi lity . A fine , Gra mm ar School gav e a pas s by Bacleley gav e Kro nfeld an ope nin g, and h e sco red lou gh con ver ted . For a sho afte r a fine run . McC ulto the forw ard s, but a pas sin rt tim e pla y was confined sco ring his sec ond try, and a g bou t res ulte d in Kro nfe ld aga in . Bad eley con ver ted thefew min ute s late r h e sco red latt er, and the firs t qua rter end ed: Gramm~r Sch ool 13, Hig h School 0. On cha ngi ng ove r, Hig h field, whe re Kro nfe ld inte rce School wor ked pas t mid sco red . 'l'he n from a sera mb le pte d a pas s and nea rly Pea r t got ove r. The loc al forw ard s the n too k a han d, and a free kic k by Mc Kay fail ed. A pas sing rus h by the visi tors was inte rcep ted by Ham ling , and a fe-w min Sch ool fOl'wards res ulte d in a ute s late r a rus h by Hig h con ver ted . Bac k pla y by the sco re by Atk inso n. .i\IcKay by Bad eley , Str etto n sco red , loc al tea m was intercep ted A litt le late r a kic k from the and J\IcC ullo ugh con ver ted. ruc k by Cra wfo rd lan ded a nea t goal, and hal f- tim e sou nde d. Gra mm ar Sch ool 21 , Hig h Sch ool 5. Gra mm ar bac ks got mo vin Kro nfe ld and Bad eley sco red g, and in qui ck suc ces sion Hig h Sch ool forw ard s wor ked htu d, and Ham ling to . by Str etto n was che cke d by ok pla y to t he 25 . A rus h Bec kbe ssin geL A pas sin g bou t saw Kro nfe ld sco re aga in, Hig h Sch ool forc ed pla y to the and :McCullough goalecl. ma r clea red , and Mc Cul lou gh visi tors ' com er, but Gra msco red . Alm ost imm edia tely Str etto n sco red from a passin ~ rus h, and Bad eley ma de a fine atte mp t to con ver t. 'rhe thir d qua rter end ed: Gra mm ar Sch ool 42, Hig h Sch ool 5. A lon g kic k by Mc Kay fou nd tou ch at the 25 . A pas s by Mc Kay was inte rce pte d by Gri erso n, but Wi lls stop ped him , and the loc al forw ere d Au ckl and 's full -ba ck, andard s, foll owi ng up, smo thcon ver ted by Mc Kay . Gra mm a sco re by Osb orn e was seo red . In the cop.cluding ·tagar reta liat ed, and Kro nfeld tain ed the adv ant age . Bro wn es Gra mm ar Sch ool mai nsco red two tries, the latt er bei ng con ver ted by :McCulloug The gam e end ed: Gra mm ar Sch ool 53, Hig h Sch h. ool 10.

FOOTBALL NOTES.

GRAJ\H1AR SCHOOL v. NELSON COLLEGE . This match, which ended in a win for Auckland, was played on the Park Sports Ground on Monday) Aug. 26th. The ground was wet and slippery, and Grammar were unable to toss the ball about, as they h ad clon e against High School. Added to this, Nelson's tackling was yery deadly. The first quarter of the match was almost with out incident, the teams being fairly evenly matched . The only score gained during this quarter was by .Mill, t h e Nelson c<tptain, who got over after a fine swerving nm. - N elso n 3; Auckland 0. The second quarter saw Nelson almost contin ually on the defensive, but good ta ckling and good general defence frustrated Auckland's attempts to score . During this quarter Auckland tried several penalty kicks, but owing to the condition of the ball these failerl. On resuming after half-time Auckland gave several glimpse.s of their Saturday's form, but all rush es were stopped by t he Nelson back s. Grammar had four shots at goal , but all failed. From a scrum on Nelson's comer , Wright worken the blind side, and da sh ed across . Th e kick missed, and the third quarter ended-Nelson 3; Auckland 3. \Vith t he last quarter the critical time had arrived, and it was evident that Grammar were putting new vigour into their play. Twice, sweeping passing rushes went right up to the line, but excellent tacklin(J' by Nelson stopped them just in time. Th en Grien;on, the Aud: bnd captain, got ove1·, and the next score was registered by Bacleley . Both kick s failed. From a scramble on th e line' Peart got the ball, clivecl right over the scrum, and scored near the posts . McCullough converted. Kronfeld next g·ot over near the corner, _but the kick fell short. The final try was registered by Brown an d converted by Bacleley. The game ended-Auckland Grammnr Sch ool 22: Nel son College 3. Mr. C. H. Wynyard refe.reerl . NELSON COLJ.1EGE v. HIGH SCHOOL . Th e final game of the t ournam ent was played on \Vecluesclay, August 28th , when Nelson College defeated School by 13 points •to 9. The teams were very evenly matched, and in many respects the game was the most interesting of the series.

CORP. R. MATT H E WS. PRIVA TE L. LOVE LL.

D. WINF I ELD ( Fly i11g Corps). PRIVA TE L. McALL UM. "0:-< A CTIVE S E RVICE ."

GUNN ER C. T UNBR IDGE. PRIVA TE H. RENAU D.

... FOOTBALL NOTES. 'jj Sch ool ope ned up alm ost imm edia tely and mad e gre at e:fforts to bre ak thro ugh N e!so .Be ckb essi nge r an ope nin g, 'bu t n' s defe nce . 'W illis gav e acro ss the line , lost the ball . the latt er, afte r a fine r un At the qpe nin g of ·the seco das hin g nm , but was held up nd qua rter , Mil l mad e ·a . · · fe"i lh.inutes late r, he got the on the line . How eve r, a Q.ashed righ t thro ugh . The try ba.ll from the loose and soo n afte r had Nel son on the was con ver ted . Sch ool defe nsiv e, and Mc Kay kick ed a fine pen alty goa l. s clos ed the firs t half , wit h sco res -N elsO'll 5; Hig h Thi Sch ool 3. Mc Kay alm ost dire ctly afte cleveTly from the scru m and r l'es umi ng, man oeu vre d who sail ed ove r nea r the cor ner pas sed to Bec kbe ssin ger , · das hin g pas sing rush es, but . Nel son atte mp ted som e sist ed by the Sch ool forw ards .thes e wer e suc ces sful ly reThe last qua rter was full of exc item ent. Sch ool was · awa rde d a free kick , and Mc Kay , from a diff icul t ang le, plac ed a fine goa l. Nel son Sch ool 's 25, whe re Mil l sco redwor ked dow n into Hig h ano the r try, whi ch was con ver ted, mak ing the sco re 10-9 in fav our of N elsori. Sch ool wor ked har d to equ alis e, but Nel son kick ed hig h and clea red the ir 25. Sut her land soon got awa y and mad e an ope nin g for Bax pla y foll owe d, and the finalter, who sco red. Des ulto ry sco1'es sto od- Nel son 13; Hig h Sch ool 9. Mr. J . J obn ston refe reed . Dur ing the mat ch, Har riso .Jic Don ald and Lan gbe in (Ne lson n (Ne "· P lym out h), ) had to leav e the field owi ng to inju ries . .

PR EP AR AT OR Y N OT ES .

....

. ...

'l'hi s last hal {ye ar has bee n Sch ool inci J.en ts. The cele bra wit hou t any ver y mar ked smT.e nde r · of Bul gar ia, 'rurlr.eytio·n s on acc oun t of the and Aus tria and the sign ing of the arm isti ce b:y Ger man y can sca rcel y be call ed Sch ool eveu.ts, how eve r hist ory of the wor ld. On en.c i,mp orta nt the y are in the had a hol iday and join ed the h occ asio n, of cou rse, we The unu sua lly wet wea the r hasrowel of tho se rejo icin g . of our out side acti viti es . Eve inte rfer ed wit h man y to som e exte nt. For the firs t n foo tbal l had to su:ffer Jun ior Inte r-fo rms Com peti tion tim e the Pre p . won the ; whi le in out side mat che s we had a fair mea sure of suc cess .

PREPARATO RY NOTES.

OwinO' to the continued wet weather there have been very littleb cricket practice and no outside matches. The unavoidable postponeme nt of the .Ann'?-al Sports, Boxino· etc owinO' to the influenza ep1denuc has enabled us bl ., b to put an unusual amouut of energy m to our sch oo l work . So much so has this been the case that a new teacher has been appointed. We wish to "-elcome Miss Camp bell, and hope that she will have a pleasant and long stay with us. We have ·now three teachers in the Prep. The roll number stands at 88 at the end of the year, and it has been found necessary to provide three rooms for us. Vve wonder whether we shall reach three figures next year in our own old quarters. · We were all shocked and grieved towards the end of the year to hear of the deaths of 1\Ir._ McDonald and of :Mr. Kidd, both of w ltom, though they. never actually tauO'ht us were very well known to us m other ways. Th:y ah~ays had our highest respect and were very -popular with us. \Ye feel that we have lost two real friends. So far the weather has been too cold and stormy for swimming . But next year will show what the Prep. can do in the water. This year the Proficiency Ce.rtificates have been awarded on the class results obtamed throughout the year. Out of twenty candidates eighteen obtained Proficiency Certificates , while two failed. 'l'he names of those successful are: R. Arthur, F. Butler, A. Ben.dall, H. Christie, R. Dolby, C. Drader, S. Fookes, J .. (hhbs, J Jackson B. I1ash D. 1Iackay, K. Neal, J. Pndeaux, Palmer; T. Pen~, 111. Robertson, F. Williams, L. \Vebster. It will be seen that we have a very quiet record sinee the l ast number of the Jlagazine; but we hope .th~t the First Term of 1919 will be one much :fuller of mCident. 0

AGRICUL TURE. It has been often said that Agriculture i the foundation stone of our national life and progress. Therefore a sound and · a widesp1ead knowledge of it. is highly impOl·tant. It is of greater importance no'\T, for 011 the products of the land our Dominion must primarily depend.

AQRICULTUR E.

75 At the School these facts are kept in mind in connection with agricultura l education. Attached to the School are grounds to the extent of 15 acres, which are placed at the disposal of the Agricultura l Class. This enables extensive experiments to be carried out and as Taranaki is pre-emi11ently a dairying provin'ce topdressing o£ pastures and g,e neral treatment of p~sture receive much attention. Owing to the lack of artificial manures, comparative tests were not carried out this year, but all the experiments demonstrate d the beneficial res111ts obtained by proper pasture top-dressin<Y. A horsedrawn lime and manure spreader greatly facilitated this work. It may be noted that there was no lack of offers to drive the machine, the boys entering into the work \1' hole-hearted ly. In addition several paddocks were ploughed and cultiYated and, having been limed and manured, were sown down. The following crops are making good growth and should give satisfactory results-pot atoes, carrots, parsuips, oats, peas, beans. In a smaller plot, radishes, -lettuce, mustard, onions, etc., were planted. Several visits to farms and ghrclens were paid during the year. At Mr. Fnssell's, Waiongona , a pruning demonstrati on was given, and after'ITarcls an inspection wa!? made of the farm. A very instructive and enjoyab1e day was spent, and the thanks of the class are clue to ::\lr. Fussell £or placing his orchard at the disposal of amateur pruners. \Ve would also like to thank Mr. D' Arcy Robertson for allowing us the use of his trees for further pruning work. During October a shearing class '\\as held, the sheep being supplied by the Freezing W arks Co., at Smart Rd., through the kindness of the manager, Mr. Milne. This class proved very popular, and, it is to be hoped, an instructive one. It would be of considerabl e benefit to our prospective farmers were this class to become an annual one and extended in certain dire.c tions. Instruction in cow-judgin g was also given, and although our cows din not pos.Sess all the desired good quaJities, yet they served to demonstrate whnt to look :for in estimating the value of a cow, apart from her milking records. The indoor work included Agricultura l Botany, Agricultura l Chemistry, Dairy Science, Farm Bookkeeping, and General Agriculture . Owing to lack of suit-

AGRICULT URE. 7o able class-room s, apparatus , etc., some of the work had to be abandoned , but when the new buildings are completed this defect will be remedied. A welcon1e and mucl1 -needed addition was made to our supply of tools aud :farming implemen ts during the year, with the result that work has been carried out with greater efficiency . But ·several additions could yet be made with advantage , and we hope next year to have a complete outfit. · A word of praise is due the Preparato ry School boys for their keenness and good work in their section. By the time they reach the Senio-r Classes they should have a good knowledg e of agricultur e. Owing· to the influenza epidemic and the "Peace" holidays, some of the field work had to be abandoned , but a good start will be made next year to keep our farm in working order. Tbi;; year ail the agricultur al work has been clone under the supervisio n of the Taranaki Education Board's instructo'l'S, l\1r. R. A. S. Browne and :M:r. J. W. Connell. Mr . 13Towne spent a couple of months in camp at Trentham , but, on the conclusion of the war, retm·ned to 'l'aranaki. \V e sl1oulcl like to take this opportuni ty of welcomin g him back. During his absence, Mr. J. W. Connell , assisted 'by Mr. \V . Dean, had charge of the work.

CADET NOTES . (R. M. Rockel.)

Since the l a.st issue of the "Taranak ian" w~ have had platoon, section, and company drill. These have been carried out on alternate days except when special work has interfered . At the beginning of the Second Term ·a competitio n among the sections was held, and Sergeant- Major Hunt judged the finals. The results were as follow:1. Right half, No. I. Platoon- Platoon Com. D. F. C. Saxton. · 2. Left half, No. Ill. Platoon- Platoon Sergeant D. Denny-Br own. 2. Right half, No. IV. Platoon-P latoon Com. C. McKay.

PRIVATE L. HOFFMAN N. COHP. : H. H. BARKER. SERGT. G. B. HOOKER, P~ IVATE L. FUSSELL. LANCE-CO RP. S. COURT. " QN ACTIVE SERVICE,"

CADET NOTES

The N.C.O .'s classes hn.ve been continued by Mr. Ryder and Sergt ..- :Jia~or Hunt. 'rhese class~s have .been held for instruct10n m extended order dnll, artillery formation, and rifle drill. On Friday, October 11th, a short examination was held, on which promotions partly depended. During the last Term several promotions have been made to bring the N.C .O.'s up to full strength for the barracks. At the end of September we were fortunate enough to secure forty rifles. Although this number was not nearly suffi ient for the whole Company, one platoon was able to receive rifle instruction each parade.

I I

On November 7th, Lieutenant King, tl1e staff mu sketry instructor, came up from \Vellington to visit us. Those of the seniors able to parade he broke up into three squads; No. 1 containing the N.C.O.'s, which he himself took, and Nos. 2 and 3 made up of privates, which were taken by Sergeant-Majors Hunt and Crompton respectiveh. The nomenclature of the Lee-Enneld rifle and its parts, sighting, aperture and barleycorn, and loading -were taken. The class was to be continued on Friday morning, but just before we were to start, the false news of Germany s surrender came through; so there was no work done that morning. On October 28th, the Citizens' Band Committee asked us to put on a display of rifle drill. A. squad of forty boys were picked and drilled by Mr. llloyes until we had a fair knowledg~ of the drill. D. F. C. Saxton 路 then took charge, as he was to drill the sqtiad in Pukekura Park. The display was given during the afternoon at the Band Carnival. On August 4th, the fifth anniversary of the declaration of war, the rompany paraded on tbe School ground at 2 p.m . apcl marched to the Coronation Hall, where tbe Band and other units were to fall in. The parade then marc:hE'd through Devon Street to Everybody's 'rheatre, -where the public meeting was held. The next parade on November 4th, three months later, was to celebrate Austria's surrender. We fell in on the School grounds and marched to the Fire Brigade Station to join the procession, which then proceeded through Devon Street and Brougham Street to the Soldiers' Club, where the Mayo路r made the declaration. Afterwards the proce. sion marched once round the town and then dispersed.

CADET NOTES.

The next parades gave us still higher spirits . On November 12th, when the official news o£ the signing of the ::mnistice by Germany came through, there were wild scenes of rejoicing, 11]1ich slackened o:ff about mid-clay, when preparations were being made for the afternoon's procession. The School Company fell in as usual on the cricket ground and joined the other units at the Fire Brigade Station, from which we all proceeded to the Rai]way Station, where the Mayor made the declaration and CoJonel eston made a brief speech. On the £ollo11ing clay the units fell in along St. Aubyn Street and followed a tortuous route to the Recreation Grounds, where the Mayor and some of the public men of the town made short speeches after the Union .Jack had been saluted. The company was dismissed on th e grounds.

''T

In conclusion it might be added that it was intended to holll a miJitary camp und er Colonel Sleeman in Decem·ber, but 'owing to the closing o£ tlie School on account of the epidemic this was put o:ff.

BIRTHS. ELLElUI.-To :Jir. and Mrs. E. B. Ellerm, August 8th, 1918-a son. QUILLIAM.-To Lieut. and :Mrs. R H. Quilliam, April 7th, 1918-a daugllter. BEWLEY.-To lVIr. and Mrs. November lOth-a son.

Austin

Bewley,

HA WKINS .-On DecemlJer 11th , 1917, to Lieut. and l\Irs. G. .J. Haw kins_:_a son . HEPPELL .-On No,ember 15th , the 11i£e of N . 0. Heppell-a son .

MARRIAGE. SIMPSON-LEATHAM.-On September 18th, 1918, at St. Mary s Church, Keitha Alice Lentham to Trevor Chilman Simpson.