Martinborough District High School.

Part One.
Reading Mate Higginson`s article and seeing a photo of the old school in the February Star brought back memories of my own school days at Martinborough. I started school as a 5 year old in 1930 with Miss Turner the infant mistress at the time and Mr. H.H.Sutton as Headmaster.
I remember some wonderful teachers in the primary department such as Rene Mahood Std 2&3, George Stunnell Std 4 and Tom Hardie Std 6. Every Monday morning all classes lined up in the corridor outside our classrooms to salute the flag and sing the national anthem.
The coldness of the old concrete building in the mornings of heavy frosts remain as an unpleasant memory. The central heating was very slow to heat the rooms.
Marbles in the first term was a big attraction. I remember Wally Roper or was it one of the Hawkin boys yelling out at the top of his voice “ You cheating B——“ during a game of “ Big Ring” not knowing that the headmaster Mr Goldsman was standing close behind him. This resulted in four of the best in the office.
Rugby was a big part of our lives even at that early stage. The senior classes were broken up into four houses for rugby. I was a member of the Huia house and the time we beat the Golden Eagles , the champion team called for real jubilation. The senior classes used to bike down to the bend for swimming in the Rumahanga often to find it in flood because of rain in the hills. Just as well there was no “Osh” in those days with the risks we took.

My pet hates were going to the school doctor on her regular visits and going to the dental clinic with Miss Dempster the the dental nurse. We used to call it the ‘murder house’. Our paths crossed again in later years when Miss Dempster was dental nurse in Featherston and I was on the school staff there. When I was at primary school it was during the years of the great 1930s depression and many families in Martinborough were struggling to make ends meet. I was embarrassed to go to school with patched trousers and bare feet but then most of the boys were like it. There was one boy called Billy Lee, who lived with his mother above the old butcher shop, and he always had sweets at school. Sweets were a real luxury in those days and we often wondered where he got them from or where he got the money to buy them. However we kept in good with him because occasionally he handed one or two out to us who were looking on with envious eyes. On looking back I realise we had excellent teaching in the primary department from very dedicated teachers. A full examination survey was held twice a year and school reports showed the actual marks you received out of a 100 or 50 or whatever and also your position in the class was recorded as well so parents knew exactly where you stood in relationship to your peers. This was in sharp contrast to some of the innocuous remarks you see on school reports today. In 1938 those who passed were presented with our primary school certificates by the headmaster Mr. D.C.Pryor and we would move to the Secondary Department of the school in 1939.

Bob Grant