Page 11 - Kimihia Volume 2

Kimihia School Opens
“A new school at Kimihia, Huntly was officially opened by the Minister of Education Mr Kinsella, at 1.30 this after-
noon.
“The school has six classrooms, administration blocks and dental clinic.
“The headmaster of the new school which has been in use since the beginning of the year, Mr J. Lloyd, said
school had a roll of about 200 pupils.”
A ‘New Look’ School
Huntly -
Building a new school in brick was quite a
departure for his department, said the Minister of
education, Mr Kinsella, officially opening the
new Kimihia Primary School on Saturday.
The new school is built of bricks obtained from
Huntly.
“This is because the role here should stay at
200, or perhaps rise in the future, and
because brick is quite a cheap material in
Huntly,” he continued. “The trend today for
for an entirely new type of school with a
permanent block for the role it is thought the
school will eventually have, and transportable
classrooms to cope with the role when the area is
developing.”
“These are manufactured off the site and
can be picked up and placed at another school
when more accommodation is needed there.
At Turangi, the whole school has been put
together in this way,” said the Minister.
‘NODULES’
“In Hawkes Bay, schools are made from
‘nodules’ which are fitted together . . .” he
continued.
Mr Kinsella mentioned that the one-
roomed school-house cost $400 in 1897, and
this one was $100,000. The old school was
later transferred to the Crown at a cost of $30
for the legal fees.
“We first approached the Minister for a
new school in 1964,” said Mr R Holland,
chairman of the school committee.
SWIMMING POOL
“The new swimming baths will be started in
a short time, and this must be one of the few
schools to have enough money for this
purpose before it is officially opened,” he
continued.
Built in a rectangle around a play and
assembly area, the school comprises six
classrooms, administration block and dental
clinic. It has an informal play area down the
hill on one side of the school. It serves a
developing area.
Infant and senior pupils presented
folk-dances and a gymnastic group from
Huntly West School gave a fine display.
Sheryll Drew, the Head Prefect, presented
flowers.
the
Mr Kinsella Speaks
At School Opening
HPR -
“This is a new departure in
school building,” said the Minister of
Education, Mr Kinsella, opening the new
Kimihia School in Russell Road on
Saturday.
Mr Kinsella said the Kimihia School
was one of the first to be built in
permanent materials.
As the school population in the area
was expected to remain stable at its present
figure for many years, the Kimihia school
had been built of Huntly brick and the
buildings were permanent. Departmental
policy now was to erect school buildings
in the builder’s yard and transport them to
the school sites.
This meant that, if the school
population fell, unused classrooms could
be taken to an area where the population
was expanding; thus saving the taxpayers’
money. This system had been used when
building a school at Turangi.
Mr Kinsella instanced some parts
of Auckland where schools had been built
some years ago to cater for a peak school
population, which had since levelled,
leaving several empty classrooms. Luckily
these could be put to use.
The first school at Kimihia had
cost approximately $400 in 1897; today the
cost of the new school was more than
$100,000.
The first teacher, Mr Maurice Priestley,
had later become a school inspector and
left his mark on that profession - as no
doubt he had on his pupils.
Mr Kinsella urged the present pupils
to look after their school. It was their
school and the good name of their school
would be up to the people in it.
Parents and committee had done
a heartening amount of work toward
getting swimming baths and beautifying
the grounds, and the school could well
become first class.
Mr Kinsella then turned the key to
officially open the school.
He then granted all the teachers a
holiday on Monday - of course the children
would not come without the teachers!