Rare 19th century issues up for auction
Magazines were headmaster’s copies
The first 79 issues of The Wanganui Collegian, the quarterly magazine of Whanganui Collegiate School, have been repatriated from England by Henry Newrick, director of Heritage Art Auctions in Whanganui.
The 79 issues, covering the period 1883-1909, were collated and bound into three fine leather-bound volumes. These were presented to the then-headmaster Walter Empson upon his retirement in 1909 after serving 21 years as headmaster. Volume 1 was signed by all the school prefects in 1908, and Volume 3 by all the prefects in 1909.
The three-volume set is being offered for sale by Heritage Art at their upcoming 10-day online sale which begins March 28.
The school has preserved, in its museum, every issue of The Wanganui Collegian from 1883 until the present day, but the presentation copies are special because they are signed and were the personal copies of the school’s long-serving and muchloved headmaster.
The Wanganui Collegian
“Now that the winter is coming on, with lots of wet days, boys are very glad to have some way of exercising their physical powers indoors . . . Bannister and Hickson have a very graceful way of getting off the horizontal bar, namely, sitting on the bar and then falling backwards and landing on their feet on the ground.”
Walter Empson was headmaster of Wanganui Collegiate and served in that role from 1888-1909. He was perhaps the most inspirational and influential headmaster of Collegiate School.
Empson was born in North Hamptonshire, England, in 1856 and educated at Charterhouse before entering Trinity College, Oxford. He came to farm in New Zealand in 1884, then spent four years teaching at Collegiate School before taking on the role of headmaster.
A notable feature of his teaching style both in and out of the classroom was his use of the dramatic: For example, a bust of Julius Caesar which adorned his classroom, was
Excerpt from 1883
paraded around the school on the Ides of March.
“Upon his retirement in 1909, Collegiate Old Boys asked the headmaster (Empson) what he would like for a present,” according to Richard Bourne, an old boy of Collegiate from the early 1960s, who set up and has been looking after the school’s museum for 25 years.
“He replied, ‘Nothing for myself, but if you would like to build a chapel for the new school, it would give me much pleasure’,” said Bourne.
The old school was on Victoria Ave, and the new school is on the present site in Liverpool St, where the chapel foundation was laid in 1911 and the building was completed in 1912.
For more information on this, these books and other items in the sale go to www.HeritageArtNZ.com or email Henry@HeritageArtNZ.com.
The opening night of Sweeney Todd is fast approaching and the excitement and heat in Mrs Lovett’s kitchen is hotting up as the cast puts the finishing touches to this whirlwind of a story.
Penned by the legendary Stephen Sondheim and based on the 1973 play by Christopher Bond,
Sweeney Todd transports audiences to 19th-century London, where the streets are filled with whispers of a vengeful barber seeking retribution.
At its core, Sweeney Todd isa story of love and loss, centred around the tormented character of Benjamin Barker. But perhaps its most enticing aspect is the presence of Mrs Lovett and her infamous pies. Played with deliciously dark charm and great comedic timing by Debbie Penney, Mrs Lovett is the perfect foil to Sweeney Todd’s brooding intensity.
Tickets to Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street are available from the box office at the Royal Whanganui Opera House or online. Don’t miss your chance to experience the magic of one of Broadway’s most beloved musicals. Playing March 21-24.
The boy who asked for more Amdram, New Zealand’s oldest and longest-operating musical theatre, is staging Oliver! in October.
Based on Charles Dickens’ classic novel Oliver Twist, the musical is filled with unforgettable characters, stirring melodies and heartwarming themes that have captured the hearts of audiences worldwide for decades.
Amdram is inviting all performers, musicians, backstage crew and theatre enthusiasts to an information evening about the production on Tuesday, March 26, from 7pm at the theatre. Attendees will learn more about the production and audition process and how they can be involved.