Reunions

28-29 FEBRUARY 2019 Rangi Reunions

Tēnā tātou katoa. Koutou kua ikapahi mai, tēnā koutou. Nau mai ki tēnei hui.

On behalf of everyone at Rangi Ruru, it is my pleasure to welcome you to your Reunions. It’s lovely to see you all and thank you for coming to this special occasion.

This weekend we welcome the classes of 2000, 1990, 1980, 1970, 1960, 1950 and 1940. We love that we can join with you and welcome you back during this special time. You are an integral part of our school and our history. The things you do or did, no matter what they are or were, have helped shape what this school is today, and we look forward to celebrating and reminiscing with you. - Dr Sandra Hastie, Principal

FULL REPORT

Bridges, Trolls and the Stuff In between

One of the best things about a reunion weekend is sharing stories. Stories are fundamental; they have existed from the beginning, they can be a single sentence or spread across multi volume tomes.

I hope you were all read stories when you were little, and that in turn you read stories to children, grandchildren, and random strangers if the first two categories don’t apply.

What are the fondest memories you have of your childhood stories? Were you captivated by Cinderella and the thought of a prince chasing you with a glass slipper? Was there a wicked little goblin threatening to snatch your firstborn child? Or was it a real life story about an adventure you had right here, at this school, a moment where you shone, (I’m pausing here strategically so you can recall that right now) or a moment where you fell short, an embarrassment or a disaster even (How long do you need?) - Felicity Williams

FULL REPORT

“At reunions, we want to catch up on what our old friends are up to, but there can be a temptation to assess how our own life’s journey compares. Have they met someone they want to settle down with? How happy are they? What job or career are they in? It can be difficult to come along to a reunion if you’re not in a great space, if you’ve been unlucky in love, you’re unemployed, or you’re struggling with your health or mental wellbeing. If that’s you in any way, then I pray you might be held in love in this place, in this ‘Wide Sky Shelter.’ I hope that as Rangi girls, you had the chance to consider the school motto, seek the heavenly things, and that has helped shape how you feel about success and what is truly valuable. “ - Reverend Charissa Nicol, School Chaplin

FULL SERMON

Over 70s Luncheon

RROGA president Felicity Williams chats with these alumnae about their school days.

Claire Hubbard (Hinton)

I arrived at Rangi in Form 4. The history teacher had a very quiet voice. One day, she sniffed the air – ostentatiously! “Someone has been disturbing an orange!” she said. It was me of course peeling it under my desk and I had to tiptoe up to the rubbish tin and dispose of it. Then I tiptoed back. But I couldn’t resist doing it ostentatiously as well. For that, I got sent to the headmistress!

‘You had a bit of spirit’ I say to her.

‘I had a bit of something!’ Miss Paul was the acting Headmistress at the time. ‘Claire, I’m very disappointed in you.’ She made me feel like a worm. Miss Paul had a dog called Jimmy. The dog used to curl up outside the door. She always wore the gown, she and Mrs Patrick, both of them always wore the gown. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole reunion; we were all looked after so beautifully.

Anne Civil (Fleming)

Miss Thomas taught us all dancing. She also taught at St Andrew’s and Christ’s College. She had an annual dance – to go to Miss Thomas’s dance, it was an event. There you meet the other dancing scholars, it was exciting. We wore school uniforms to the lessons, but to the dances, dresses or skirts and blouses.

We wore blue velvet dresses on Sunday evenings. You could choose your collar; lawn, organza, or a nice crocheted one if you knew someone to make it for you. ‘Plié!’ Miss Thomas would say and we all pliéed, for all we were worth. We learned ballroom dancing and the art of ballet. There was always a poor unfortunate girl who ended up having to partner with Miss Thomas! There was a terrible feeling when you saw her approaching from the other side of the room. She would take the man’s part and we would do the girls. She wore heavy lyle stockings as I remember. The lessons took place in the old hall – beside Kings dormitory upstairs, the eastern part of the building. I remember at one of the dances, someone turned the lights off, probably a boy, she got into a big flap, she couldn’t see what was happening or who was doing what with whom! “Turn the lights on’ she said immediately, must have been all of 30 seconds!

Laddie (Lesley) Ballantyne (InnesJones)

I remember Miss Gray – ‘Do not clean your nasal cavities at the table.’ She would poke us in the back with a bony finger to make us sit up straight.

I was a boarder for about three years. My parents lived in Christchurch, but they thought boarding would be a good idea. The matron was Miss McMillan. They called her ‘the mountain,’ and when the mountain spoke you didn’t waste any time.

Every morning there was a medicine queue – for all the aches and pains. We got the same medicine for everything, no matter what was wrong with you. A young boy used to bike up once a week loaded up with sanitary pads in his bike basket. He would have been about 15 years old, I think. He came from Dodds Pharmacy in Merivale. I left the Boarding House and was a day girl for my last two years.

Miss Gladys Gray; I remember clearly, she used to wear a short brown gym frock – it was like a uniform. She was sports mistress, and later the house mistress. The boardroom of today was an exercise room back then. We had to walk with books on our head. To try and be ladies. She had a loud voice. I can hear her saying, ‘Go to the top of the ROOM! pronounced ‘Rhuum’ and back again.’ We did what we were told!

Judy Laidlaw (Corbett)

I attended from Form 4 in 1951. I was a boarder, my family lived in Kaikoura. Miss McMillan, the matron, was pretty strict, but fair I suppose. A big tall lady, so we were all in awe of her. Before her, there was Miss Gray. If we slouched in our chairs in the dining room, a finger would poke through the slats and we would straighten up. No words were needed.

Those who needed to, would tiptoe down to feed ‘Pete’. Pete was a big fiery furnace in the basement. We threw all the sanitary pads into the furnace. That was that.

Class of 1950

Back Row (L to R) Catherine Petrie (Whitehouse), Judy Laidlaw (Corbett), Beverley Loe (Wyllie), Lesley Moore (Lewthwaite), Anne Civil (Fleming) Front row (L to R) Brenda Mather (Urquhart), Margaret Leefe (Davison), Janice Bell (Masters), Claire Hubbard (Hinton), Lesley Ballantyne (Innes-Jones), Rosemary Pointer (Clifton-Mogg)

Class of 1960

Back Row (L to R ) Helen Tait (Tait), Barbara May (Jarman), Erin Jamieson (Law), Prue Todhunter (Allan), Marie Michael (Ludeman), Alison Parsons (Parsons), Sue Fairbairn (Aitken), Janet Gough (Bates), Gay Ball (Thompson)

Middle row (L to R) Margaret Emerson (Craw), Christine Hurley (Kelly), Sue Bretherton (Bretherton), Angela Thomas (Garland), Janice Sidey (Black), Jenny Fright (Ladd), Nicola Cresswell (Anderson), Margaret Black (Angus), Jane Hayes (Maskew), Front Row (L to R) Beverley Barnes (Barnes), Trish Hall (Charman), Paula Rogers (Matthews), Angela Aitken (Tosswill), Robyn Nicholls (Douglas), Penelope Burrows (White), Beth Wynn-Williams (Morris), Denise Clouston (Fox), Hilary Cornwell (Edgar), Karen Bradley (Skellerup)

Class of 1970 From L to R Marylou Ralfe (Walter), Heather Branch (Black), Anne Bibby (Streeter), Robin Tylee (Haines), Jane Jeffries (Jeffries), Debbie Banks (Anderson),

Wendy Dunstan (Smart), Christine Cheyne (Marshall), Susie Tocker (Murie), Pamela Gardner (Black), Susan Craw (Habgood), Annette Woolley (Bain), Kathryn Fitzsimmons (Turnbull), Janet Wallace (McCaw), Jocelyn Syme (Syme), Robyn McNicholl (Collins), Juliet Gray (Gray), Karen Munro (Allan), Angela Brown (Lewis), Deborah Hardy (Roberts), Linda Gardner (Kidd), Linda O’Neill (Free)

Class of 1980

Row Four (L to R) Danielle Fowler (Holmes), Karen Skinner (Gray), Tessa Ryder (Ryder), Brigid Shamy (Lee), Nicky Hayman (Kennedy), Anthea Prentice (Murray), Sarah Lissaman (Lissaman), Annabel Tudehope (Gerard) Row Three (L to R) Julianne Johns (Johns), Dianna Malcolm (Leslie), Rebecca Riddell (Holderness), Sharon Heslop (Heslop), Miranda Goodwin (Coates), Fiona Hernon (Murray), Jane Yeatman (Hayman), Sarah Wouters (Grigg), Kate Oakley (Jacobs), Vicki Templeton (Sloss), Anne-Marie Hodder (Michael), Melanie Irvine (Paulden), Lisa Loneragan (Houghton), Louise Woolf (Bull) Row Two (L to R) Wendy Edge (Carpenter), Anna Polonowita (Gardner), Ruth Taggart (Fincham), Anna Thompson (Sloss), Anna Marshall-Lee (Penlington), Susan Morrison (Morrison), Jo Batchelor (Batchelor), Janet Chamberlain, (Chamberlain), Tanya Mansell (Stratford), Emma Luxton (Campbell), Sarah Caseley (Caseley), Cathy Falconer (Browne), Jacqueline Copp (Rudd), Rachel Turner (Chamberlain) Front Row (L to R) Fiona Moulai (Wright), Gendie Woods (Spiller), Vicky Strange (Strange), Sandra Blackwell (Lundy), Stephanie Marsden (Marsden), Helen Galilee (Galilee), Lorna Morice (Urquhart), Anne Finlay (Porteous), Robyn Prinsep (Prinsep), Cathy Hamer (Hamer), Alexandra Terris (Garrick), Jacqui Anderson (Burnell), Victoria Ryder (Garrick), Nicola Parker (Begg)

Class of 1990 BackRow (L to R ) Rebecca Hansen (Fenwick), Nicola Young (Skelton), Sarah Mason (Mason), Anna Shipley (Shipley), Annabel Wallis (Hutchinson), Andrea Hopping (Bryant), Betsy Spigel (Spigel) Cherie Kneebone (Shadbolt) Middle row (L to R) Dominica Cresswell (Bedo), Nicola Whyte (Kinzett), Anna Young (Brown), Jane Guermanoff (Davis), Michele Spark (Chatterton), Rachael Okey (James), Heidi Oliver (Vincent), Katrina Mullin (Jackson), Tamara Tait (Tait), Emma Elley (Paton), Kiri Pani (Pani), Lainie Smith-Mortlock (Smith), Truus Adams (Sheenan), Sarah Percy (Hurd) Front Row (L to R) Louise Trevella (McIvor), Cath Baker (Grant), Kirsty Cox (Macdonald), Olivia Glausiuss-Reid (Glausiuss), Megan Smith (Smith), Gendy Davis (Bradford), Anna King (Cook), Rebecca Hitchcock (Spence), Anna Condell (Midgley), Melinda Henshaw (Henshaw), Kirsty Stewart (Stewart), Karen Whiting (Amor), Sarah Bailey (Bailey), Hilary Munn (Jones)

Class of 2000

Back Row (L to R) Rosalind Acton-Adams (Acton-Adams), Rebecca Woodhouse (Parsons), Sarah Lock (Paton), Charlotte Mackenzie (Mackenzie),Bex Hayman (Murray), Diana Fridd (Rowe), Fiona Bennetts (Bennetts) Front Row (L to R ) Lucy Laming (Dodgshun), Rachel Wilson (Curd), Pippa Deans (Ensor), Gabrielle Love (Mills), Gemma Aburn (Aburn),Jessica Glassey (Todd), Olivia Spencer-Bower (Spencer-Bower) RROGA NEWS I 2020 055

From The Archives

Samuel Sasai: a lifetime shaped by the generosity of Rangi Ruru students

Contributed by Johnann Williams

Over the years, the staff and students at Rangi Ruru have collected money to support many causes, groups and organisations; an important tradition and training in philanthropy that continues to this day. From about 1916 until 1936, this support had a human face as the school provided for the education of Samuel Sasae (or Sasai), a student from the small village of Tantalau on the island of Malaita, part of the Solomon Islands group of islands.

As a child, Sam was baptised by the missionary Albert Mason, who served for many years with the Melanesian Mission. It was the Revd. Albert Mason who was responsible for sending Sam to the Mission’s school at Pamua. New Zealand schools provided financial and material support and were encouraged to take a personal interest in the Mission’s students, and thus began a relationship that lasted for over 20 years.

One of the aims of the Melanesian Mission was to encourage boys (and a few girls) to leave their villages to be trained at the mission schools where teaching combined evangelism, education and industrial skills, with the aim of returning young men to their villages to establish their own schools . In the school history, Rosemary Britten wrote “as well as collecting money, the girls wrote to him and sent shirts and ties and, once a cricket ball. He wrote letters of thanks in careful English.” To the young ladies of Miss Gibson’s school, Sam must have seemed incredibly exotic. At that time, Malaita had a somewhat sinister reputation for headhunting and inter-tribal warfare. In contrast, Sam appears to have been a soft, gentle man who went on to fulfil all the hopes the Gibson sisters must have held in supporting him. Having completed his schooling, Sam returned to his home village where he taught a school with “forty-odd native boys and girls”. He was ordained as an Anglican Deacon in 1934, and continued to teach and minister to the surrounding villages. In 1937, Sam had the opportunity to visit Christchurch as part of the team of young Melanesian Clergy and Brothers undertaking a mission on board the supply/mission ship the Southern Cross. The visit must have been almost overwhelming for the young man from the remote Pacific island. What would then have been a huge crowd of 2000 met the Southern Cross when it docked at Lyttelton and a special train had been laid on. The Rangi Ruru girls had been very excited to hear of his coming, and no doubt Sam had been looking forward to visiting the school that had given him so much support. Ironically, in the light of our recent experiences with the COVID-19 lockdown, the school had just been placed in quarantine by the Ministry of Health because one of the boarders had polio. Instead, Miss Ethel took some of the senior girls to hear Sam speak at a special service at the Cathedral, and they had the opportunity to meet him afterwards. They reported that he had been very shy and overcome in the presence of so many girls.

Sam gifted a hand-carved, shell-inlaid cross he had made to the school. He is reported to have returned home with several games such as snakes and ladders to delight the children, and draughts for the more serious.

He went on to undertake further theological training and was ordained as an Anglican Priest in 1938. The Misses Gibson provided a generous gift of £25.00 to their protégé which enabled him to be fitted out with a complete set of communion vessels (in travelling case), altar linen and vestments. As well, they went to some trouble to locate a copy of a picture of St Mark that Sam had admired while in New Zealand, finally obtaining one from Florence and sending it on to Sam’s village in Malaita where it was probably the object of some fascination!

Over the following years, Sam’s ministry was marked in ways which would have pleased the Gibson sisters. His name appears in the church papers of the day and they would have noted his activities. He was one of the first clergymen to encourage the women of his area to join the Mothers Union, a group that gave women access to mothercraft classes and support, despite the opposition of the menfolk to anything that might help their women. He argued for a low cap on the ‘bride price’, to make it easier for young men to marry without going into debt. During the war, with the Japanese occupation of the Solomon Islands, his mana was such that he was asked to take care of the ‘treasures’ from the Cathedral for the duration. He served his people faithfully and sacrificially. The Revd. Philip Baker, who served with the Melanesian Mission, wrote admiringly of Sam giving his whole income for one year to God despite being no longer strong enough to do any hard, physical work and being dogged with ill-health. Sam and his people were responsible for a big part of the money collected in Melanesia towards the Auckland Cathedral. Appreciating what he had been given through education under colonisation, he stood out against the destabilising post-war forces of the Marching Rule movement (not an easy position to take). Philip Baker mentions that Sam and his wife had only two daughters who survived infancy. There is record of a Phyllis Sasae, who was educated at the same school Sam had earlier attended, working as a nurse in one of the Mission hospitals. Perhaps she was Sam’s daughter. Philip Baker later married Patricia Copeland, a Rangi Ruru student, 1936-1941, who served as a nurse with the Mission. Their daughter, Theodora, also attended Rangi Ruru.

Sam remained on the clergy lists until 1971. Now, one hundred years after Rangi Ruru undertook to support a young Melanesian student, attitudes to the Missionary endeavour and colonialism have shifted, but there is no doubt about the life-changing gift of an education. Even today only 60% of the children in Sam’s island group have access to a primary education. The economy of the island is still largely a subsistence one, but education gives choice, and having been granted the gift of an education and faith, Samuel Sasai chose to share that gift with his community, and to serve that community for good for his lifetime.

Notes: In the course of working on material relating to closures at Rangi Ruru in times of epidemic, the reference to Samuel Sasai came up and, realising what a long interest the school had had in his support, I thought it would be interesting to see if his story ended there, or if there was more, as indeed there was. i. Sasai also appears in records as Sasae, and Tantalau as Tangtalau. Malaita was formerly known as Mala ii. http://www.solomonencyclopaedia.net/biogs/E000089b.htm iii. Britten, R., & Rangi Ruru Girls' School Board of Governors (1988). Rangi Ruru: Rangi Ruru Girls'

School, Christchurch, New Zealand, 1889-1989. Lincoln, NZ: Te Waihora Press. (p. 65) iv. https://kinderlibrary.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/7735#idx161346 v. https://kinderlibrary.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/7745#idx161435 vi. https://kinderlibrary.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/8169#idx168855 vii. Britten, R., & Rangi Ruru Girls' School Board of Governors (1988). Rangi Ruru: Rangi Ruru Girls'

School, Christchurch, New Zealand, 1889-1989. Lincoln, NZ: Te Waihora Press. (p.65) viii. Southern Cross Log: Issue 57, October 1937 ix. Southern Cross Log: Issue 56, July 1937 x. St Mark the Evangelist by Fra Bartolommeo xi. The Reaper: March 1938 xii. The Church News: Issue 8, May 1941 xiii. Southern Cross Log: Issue 49, June 1955 xiv. Church & People: March 1957

Sources include: Rangi Ruru Girls’ School Magazines and the school history, Rangi Ruru Kinder Library (Church Papers Online) Papers Past (National Library of New Zealand)