History – Ringing in school changes

In a recent issue (MM December 13), notice was given that the old Warkworth Primary School buildings would be demolished to make way for the new. “We’re mindful that many people are emotionally attached to the school,” said Principal Mrs Holden, “and there will be a sense of loss.”

I cannot speak for others on that matter, but I feel confident in saying that older residents felt no sense of loss when the real “old school” in Percy Street was closed for classes in 1949. The old school, with its six classrooms, a staff room and a dental clinic, had long since burst at the seams when the new school on Hill Street opened in 1946. During the war, the overflow classes were housed in the small Anglican hall, the Methodist vestry, the gymnasium building beside the town hall and, for a short time after the Yanks left town, in a little building behind the town hall that was used as the American canteen.

By 1949, only one class remained in the old school. This was a Standard Three class taught by the indomitable Miss Clist in the room that had long been the infant classroom. The high, sloping ceiling had holes drilled in it in a decorative pattern. Sparrows had nested in large numbers between the ceiling and the roof, and each morning when Clisty unlocked the classroom door, she was confronted with straw and bird droppings all over her table, the desks and the floor. While cleaning up the mess she raged as only Clisty could, and, as her wrath was not directed at the children, they enjoyed the performance and looked forward to it as the morning’s entertainment. Finally, the last day arrived. A little ceremony included the last ringing of the bell, an honour undertaken by the youngest child in the class. The children gathered up their books and pens and, in a straggling crocodile, walked to the new school in Hill Street. The old school was used for woodwork classes, taught by the unforgettable Harry Bioletti, until it was finally demolished. Two classrooms were saved – one was moved next to Shoesmith Domain and served as the Scout Den, and the other went to Church Hill where it still remains as the brass band practise room. Of course, the powers-that-be had not taken into account that after the war, the returning servicemen would be eager to marry and start families, so the new school had hardly opened before it was too small to accommodate the baby-boomers, and prefab buildings popped up like mushrooms.

Maureen Young, Warkworth & District Museum
www.warkworthmuseum.co.nz