Celebrating 61st with old Kamo High schoolmates
High school sweethearts – and their school – mark 61 years
When Raewyn McInnes alighted the Hikurangi bus on the second day at her brand new high school, Kamo boy Ross Douglas was waiting in the bus bay checking out the country bumpkins.
He liked what he saw. The two became an item and, still together 61 years later, the two foundation members of Kamo High School (KHS) will be celebrating both the 61st anniversary of their own relationship, and the school’s 61st anniversary this weekend.
Their three children and their grandchildren attended the school, with one a recent head girl, and their daughter is now a staff member. In addition, the founding principal was MC at their wedding eight years after they met.
In 1960, the school was brand new and an intake of 183 third-form (Year 9) students started.
“It was a pretty special year being the foundation students,” Raewyn said.
“There were only two other high schools [Whangarei Boys’ and Girls’] and this new school was going to be co-ed and we thought ‘wow!’ We had a nice green uniform and they had the traditional blue. We were the seniors all the way through.”
Zoning involved those within certain boundaries having no choice but to attend the new northern high school, unless they had an older sibling already at Whangarei Boys’ or Girls’ high schools. Raewyn, hailing from Hikurangi, arrived by bus where “city [Kamo] kids” waited in the bus bay checking out the new kids.
“We thought we’d check out all the country girls and I said to my mate, ‘Oh, she looks a bit of all right’,” Ross said.
Although they had their mix of good and testing times during those high school years – “like typical teenagers” – they married at 21, with their principal Bruce MacLean as MC. The two then trained as teachers and enjoyed long careers in Whangarei.
“Most kids had a really positive experience and we got to know the teachers really well. The school had its ups and downs but we’ve always thought it was a great school.”
The 60th reunion was originally planned for last year but Covid hit and a last-minute call was made to postpone a year. As a result, the reunion will be marking 61 years and around a dozen Australian-based foundation students will be joining part of the celebration via Skype.
The reunion kicks off with a school assembly this afternoon, followed by a barbecue in the evening. Tomorrow, a bus trip will travel around the school catchment area, with lunch at Tutukaka and a formal dinner with a planned Australian function to coincide via Skype.
The ex-pupils will be joined by some of the teachers from the era, including Mrs Chic Vercoe (nee Cullen). Foundation student Jan Boyes (nee Smeal) is also on the organising committee and has found that the last few reunions have
rekindled friendships with school friends who have moved away.
“The foundation year pupils at KHS were quite unique in that some of us really had no choice about where our secondary schooling would be, while others did have the option of enrolling at Whanga¯ rei Boys’ or Whanga¯ rei Girls’ high schools (if we had older siblings attending those schools). I remember a lot of parental discussion about the merits or disadvantages of a co-ed school, where focus on the opposite sex could hinder educational progress. We all survived, and most of us thrived.
“A significant number of this intake were from rural full-primary schools, so many of us
attended only two schools in our lives. Kamo Intermediate was not built at the time KHS
opened. Significant schools we know of today eg Tikipunga Primary and High, Totara
Grove, Hurupaki, were opened some time after KHS was opened, and today’s St Francis
Xavier was formed from a combination of St Mary’s and St Joseph’s Schools.
“As a small group in a new school, we felt we got special treatment. This varied from new textbooks to brand new labs and workshops.”
Boyes remembered the school being the then-new design H block, which education department officials thought would be suitable for the “baby boomers” who had just reached secondary-school age.
Raewyn said many of the foundation students pursued careers as dairy farmers, doctors, nurses and teachers, as well as local business owners such as Terry Hooper of Kamo Hammer Hardware, Tom Watson at Watco Plumbing, Jim Milne of Kensington Refrigeration, Denise McNaught of Johnson Richards Plumbers and Grant Adams of Adams Trimmer Insurance.
In their midst is Ron Dixon, father of professional racing driver Scott Dixon, and four foundation students have daughters who were Black Sticks hockey players.
Founding student Angela Low (nee Yates) had stayed in the area, with her children attending the school, and used her genealogical skills to track down many of the fellow classmates. About half the attendees this weekend will be hailing from outside Northland, including the foundation principal’s son, and Boyes and the Douglases were looking forward to some good catch-ups.
While they have lost a few members over the years, the class of 1960, all approaching their 75th year, plan to make the most of “what may be the last official reunion for many of them because of age and health”.