History board revives memories
Memories of growing up in the Pleasant Point area came flooding back for Janette Young as a history board was unveiled at her former school in Taiko recently.
The 84 year-old was a pupil at Taiko School from 1941 to 1948 and reminisced with The Timaru Herald about her seven years there after the first of 16 school history boards for old school buildings in the district was unveiled by the Pleasant Point Schools Archives group at the Taiko hall.
The area was not always known as Taiko, nor was the school. It was called Tycho until 1940 when a number of place names were changed to the correct Ma¯ ori spelling to celebrate New Zealand’s centenary. Tycho Brahe was a Danish scientist in the 1500s which may be the reason behind the European naming.
Taiko was one of two Ma¯ ori shepherds who tracked down sheep stolen by James Mackenzie in 1855. The men alerted a farm overseer and he was captured, though the rustler managed to escape multiple times and was eventually pardoned.
Janette, and her brother rode their pony, Topsy, 3.2 kilometres to school across paddocks from the end of Hadlow Rd, where they lived on a 195-hectare farm. Riding a bicycle to school was an extra 2km on the tracks and road.
Topsy had a particular taste for gorse, often making the siblings late as she stopped and nibbled the flowers. Their father had suggested to her that she use a stick on the horse to keep it moving but they could not bring themselves to hurt their beloved pet.
The ponies were let loose in a field once the pupils arrived at school and at the end of the day the children had to catch them and saddle them up for the ride home.
Young went on to be commissioned to write the book The Tale of Taiko 1906-2006 for the centenary of the area. In it she writes the school opened in 1906 after John Armstrong donated the land for the single room building it was built on.
School holidays were adjusted so children could help at home with the harvest. Many households were basically self sufficient with hens, pigs and house cows which the children were expected to milk before and after school. The pigs ate most of the kitchen waste, Young said.
‘‘The school committee was wonderful and organised picnics and prize giving. We were all given a book each year. The highlight was the school concert.’’
Young remembers reciting the AA Milne poem, Has Anybody Seen My Mouse? and forever after being teased about whether she had found her mouse yet.
On the rare occasions an aeroplane went overhead the class was allowed to stop what they were doing rush outside and wave to the pilot. This only occurred three or fours times in her seven years, Young said.
Once a fortnight two of the older boys had to dig a hole in an adjacent field to the school and empty the ‘‘dunny tins’’. Two of the older girls had to clean the fire grate and prepare the fire for the following day as well as sweep the classroom floors. All the pupils who undertook these chores were given a small amount of cash at the end of the year.
Toilet paper was the tissue apples were wrapped in that was smoothed out and threaded together in stacks with a needle and wool.
‘‘In retrospect I don’t remember hand washing happening at all, ever, at school and there was only one tap from the rainwater tank, outside.’’
Her memories are not of school being an enjoyable place but of a particularly strict teacher/headmistress who used her walking stick to punish all and sundry for any slight or perceived misdemeanour.
‘‘School was not about fun, the best days were when the school’s inspector came and the teacher was nice to us and actually smiled and didn’t hit anyone. I can’t remember one laugh out loud incident at all.’’
Young does not recall any Ma¯ ori at the school and social studies did not cover any New Zealand history.
The two younger siblings in her family attended Claremont School because Taiko had closed in term 3 of 1948 and amalgamated with Pleasant Point. By this stage there were only eight pupils including young and her brother.
She finished her final primary school year at Waimataitai School staying with family friends. She spent her high school years as a boarder at Timaru Girls’ High School.
‘‘Acceptable’’ career paths open to girls at this time were typing, nursing, teaching or staying home on the farm. Young chose teaching and ended up working at local schools and became deputy principal of Craighead Diocesan School.
Looking back she thinks Taiko school gave her a strong learning foundation for later life so watching the unveiling of the information board was an emotional time for her.
‘‘It was a very large part of my life I must have walked through the school gate 200 times a year.’’
The Pleasant Point Schools Archives group plans to place history boards at all existing old school buildings in the Pleasant Point area.