School life celebrated

Memories spanning 80 years of school life in Warkworth have been captured in a documentary that will have its world premiere at the Warkworth Town Hall on Saturday, June 29.

Bullrush & Mudpies is a 70-minute-long film, produced by local filmmaker Jon Waters, assisted by volunteer Nicola Jones. Three generations of the Waters family and two generations of the Jones family attended the school so the project was dear to both their hearts.

The idea for the film emerged when the decision was made in 2016 to demolish the original Warkworth School buildings, which had stood on the site since 1947.

“I was gutted when I heard the old school was being ripped down,” Jones said. “It was an iconic building of our town and so significant in so many peoples’ lives.”

Every time I watch it,
I laugh and I cry …
it is such a heartwarming experience.

PTA chair Kate Moore

PTA chair at the time, Georgia Barnes, supported the idea of recording the significance of the old buildings and their place in local education, and Jones says it just snowballed from there.

The film is a montage of images and interviews with former pupils and teachers, some of whom have since passed away. Among those remembering their school days are Don Sinclair, Maureen Young, Warren Agnew, Judy Waters and Jamie Thompson.

Although it is specific to Warkworth School, many of its themes will strike a chord with anyone who was at school in NZ in the 1900s and early 2000s. There are stories of milk monitors, Marmite and chip rolls and, of course, mud pies and fiercely contested games of bullrush.

Waters said an enormous amount of time was spent on research to ensure the film was as accurate as possible and properly reflected the participants’ memories and opinions.

The Warkworth Museum was thanked for allowing the filmmakers to access its archive of photographs, and the Board of Trustees and PTA were thanked for taking “a great leap of faith” in contributing to some of the costs.

But there is no doubt the project was a labour of love for Waters and Jones.

“We started filming in 2018 just before demolition started and shot every weekend for a couple of months,” Jones says. “There’s a little history to set the scene and then the rest plays out like a normal school day – how kids got to school, playtimes, favourite teachers and so on. Jon locked himself away in his little garden shed for months to do the editing.

“We feel we’ve created a beautiful little gem of a film.”

There will be two screenings on June 29 – one at 2pm and a later screening at 7pm. Money raised will help refit the junior school sandpit. Tickets are $25 and they can be secured by emailing bullrushandmudpies@gmail.com or can be purchased at the Warkworth School office. Tickets are selling fast, so organisers are urging people not to delay.

A trailer can be viewed online. https://shorturl.at/d7MN2