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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District]

Educational

Educational.

The provision made for primary and secondary education in Canterbury is on a larger scale than in other provinces. The special circumstances of the foundation of the Canterbury settlement, and the reservation under the Wakefield system of a fixed portion of the public funds to educational purposes, ensured from the beginning that the interests of education would be carefully guarded. Paradoxical as it may seem, Canterbury, the Church of England settlement, was the first of all the provinces to simplify its public education system by making it undenominational. The success of the settlement at the very outset attracted colonists of all sects and creeds, and in a very short time it was found impossible to regard the educational problem purely from the point of view of the Anglican Church. One of the first difficulties with which Mr. Godley had to cope was the discontent of the settlers, who found that the education facilities to which one-third of the land fund was supposed to be devoted, had not yet been provided. The want was met largely by private enterprise. By the time that representative institutions were established in Canterbury, there was, in addition to Christ's College Grammar School, a High School in Christchurch, another in Lyttelton, and a school of some sort at Timaru.

Photo taken and lent by Mr. J. J. Collins, of Collins and Harman, Architects.First Domicile of Christ's College.

Photo taken and lent by Mr. J. J. Collins, of Collins and Harman, Architects.
First Domicile of Christ's College.

The Canterbury Provincial Council passed the first Educational Ordinance in 1857. An inspector of schools was appointed, fees were authorised, and the sum of £2000 was divided between the Church of England, the Wesleyans, and the Presbyterians. The different religious bodies were authorised to control the schools that they had established. Besides Christ's College Grammar School, which claims separate notice, the most important of these early denominational schools was the High School, founded by the Presbyterians, and presided over by the Rev. C. Fraser. Mr. Charles Cook, whose name is still honourably connected with the cause of education in Christchurch, was for some time the headmaster of the High School. But it was soon found that the State must make regular provision for education on a comprehensive scale. In 1863 a Board of Education was accordingly appointed, with authority over existing and future schools, and the power to decide on applications for grants of Government money in aid of schools. In 1864 the local school committees were invested with large powers, especially with authority to levy a school rate for the purpose of raising in each district onefourth of the cost of its school, as three fourths of the cost were borne by the general education fund. Denominational schools received special assistance, and arrangements for religious instruction in the various district schools were left to the local committee. In 1871 the educational laws were consolidated, and primary education was established on a firm basis. The provincial schools, with certain exceptions in Christchurch and Timaru, were subject for general purposes to the boards of education, and for details of management to the local committees. School fees were to end in 1873, and the funds were to be raised by an education rate with a maximum of £2 per year. The grants to the denominational schools were continued, the Grammar School and two page 20 High Schools receiving about £250 each per year. But in 1873 the strong feeling which divided the advocates of secular education from the denominationalists broke out into open strife. The secular party triumphed at the general elections, and in 1873 the Council passed an ordinance granting to the Superintendent the power to proclaim education districts, and withdrawing all provision for denominational schools. The measure was put through the Council by Mr. W. Montgomery, and in spite of strong opposition, the secular system was finally adopted.

As early as 1863 attempts had been made to raise the standard of education by inspecting the work of the teachers. A commission, including Mr. H. J. Tancred (afterwards Chancellor of the New Zealand University), Mr. Saunders, and Mr. Rolleston, was appointed for this purpose. Later, the Board of Education arranged, through the Provincial Council, that teachers should be imported from England to fill the post of principal at some of the chief schools. These teachers, selected by Lord Lyttelton and Mr. Selfe, did a great deal to improve the educational methods in the schools of the province.

After the abolition of the provinces in 1876, the Education Act of 1877 transferred the function of the boards of education to the Central Education Department at Wellington. Mr. C. C. Bowen, then Minister for Education and member for Kaiapoi, framed the Education Act for the whole colony, embodying in it all that was most valuable in the Canterbury provincial system of school training. In Canterbury the successful working of the Act was largely facilitated by the energy and ability of the two secretaries of the Board of Education who came into office after 1876— the late Rev. W. Habens, subsequently Inspector General, and the late Mr. J. Colborne-Veel. Even then the administration of the board schools was a matter requiring unusual experience and special knowledge. In 1857 only £2200 was voted for schools. By 1873 there were eighty-four school districts, and the total vote for the year for building and other purposes was £72,000. This large sum was no longer derived solely from local rates and the general funds. The Provincial Council had wisely determined to provide for the future expansion of the system by the reservation of land. By 1875 51,000 acres had been reserved, and the resulting revenue, derived chiefly from the lease of 100 acre blocks, became part of the income of the Board of Education. Another important step in the way of providing for the future, rather than the present, of the system, was the foundation of the Christchurch Normal School as a training college for teachers. In 1874 £14,000 was voted for this purpose. In 1875 the building was finished, and stands not only an ornament to the city, but a lasting monument to the foresight and wisdom of those who founded the province's system of primary education. To the successful working of the general New Zealand system— free, compulsory, and secular, with the boards elected by the school committees —Canterbury, through the Hon. C. C. Bowen, the Hon. W. Montgomery, the Hon. H. J. Tancred, the Hon. W. Rolleston, the Rev. W. Habens, and the Hon. W. C. Walker, has contributed more than any other province in the colony.

The work of the Education Board has developed so fast within later years that it has become necessary to divide the province into two board districts— North and South Canterbury—divided by the Rangitata river. By the end of March, 1900, there were under the control of these two boards 268 schools, taught by 275 males, and 420 female teachers, and attended by 25,392 scholars. In Christchurch alone there are four schools (East and West Christchurch, Normal, and Sydenham) in which the average daily attendance is considerably over 1000. Another view of the magnitude of this educational work may be gained from the fact that for 1898 nearly £71,000 was expended in teachers' salaries, and the total expenditure for the year reached £101,000.

The Canterbury Education Boards make great exertions to bridge the gap between the primary and secondary schools by the offer of scholarships which enable the winners to receive free education at a high school. This method of reward is based on the generous scholarship system established under the Provincial Government. In 1899, the last year for which figures are available, North Canterbury offered thirtyseven scholarships, and South Canterbury, twenty-nine. This total of sixtysix scholarships was divided between thirty-eight boys and twenty-eight girls. The scholarships for North Canterbury are tenable for two years; and in 1899 nineteen of them were worth £40 a year, and eighteen £20; in South Canterbury the tenure varies, and the scholarships themselves vary in value from £28 to £2 [gap — reason: illegible]10s. In 1899 Otago had fifty-one scholarships, while Auckland gave eighty-two (forty-nine for boys and thirty-three for girls), tenable for three years. Canterbury, however, easily distanced the other provinces in the amount expended by the boards on scholarships in 1899. In Canterbury the total amount spent was £1856 12s 5d, while Auckland, with a larger number of scholarships, spent only £1779 7s 11d, and Otago spent £1275 12s 4d. The junior and senior board scholarships, if taken successively, will enable a primary school pupil to have four years at the High Schools free of charge, with current school expenses covered, and so to enter for a junior university scholarship with every hope of success.

Outside the primary school system there are a large number of private schools in Canterbury. In many cases these compete successfully, not only with the primary schools, but even with the best secondary schools. In addition to the Boys' High School, the Girls' High School and Christ's College, which are attended by about 600 pupils in all, there are in Christchurch one girls' private school, with about 100 pupils, one mixed private school with about ninety pupils, and one boys' private school with about 100 pupils. From all these schools pupils in the upper forms pass the University matriculation examination every year; a proof of the high efficiency of the city's best private schools, as the large number on their rolls is a proof of the importance attached by all classes of the community to secondary education. In all there were in Canterbury in 1899 sixty-two private schools, attended by 2969 scholars. The Roman Catholics supported twenty-one schools in the province, with a roll of 2054 scholars.

No reference to the educational institutions of Canterbury would be complete without some extended notice of Christ's College Grammar School. The College —it was for many a year the only college in the province—was an integral portion of the original church settlement, and the scheme of its foundation page 21 is outlined in the “Canterbury Papers” issued before the “Pilgrim Fathers” reached these shores. The work began—in both the “public school” and the “collegiate” departments—early in 1851, in the Immigrants' Barracks at Lyttelton, under the care of Dean Jacobs, who was connected with the institution ever after till the time of his death, in February, 1901. In 1852, as the colonists moved across the Port Hills into the plain, it became necessary to transfer the school to Christchurch. A little building, which stood till April, 1901, at the corner of Lichfield Street and Oxford Terrace, opposite St. Michael's Church, was the scene of the infancy of Christ's College. As the school grew it became necessary to think of a more permanent location. The west side of Cathedral Square had been set apart by the Association as the college site. But on the advice of Mr. J. E. Fitzgerald, then Superintendent, the governing body obtained from the Provincial Council ten acres between the site of the Museum and the Avon— incomparably the best position that could have been found. When the college was incorporated in 1855 it was endowed with one-fifth of the lands originally set apart by the Canterbury Association for the support of the church; and a long list of scholarships and valuable prizes were already offered by generous patrons of the establishment. In 1858 the school, now numbering fifty, moved to its new home. The “big schoolroom,” the most historic of all the schoolhouses, was erected in 1863, and round it have grown up an imposing pile of buildings. The successive headmasters—Dean Jacobs, Mr. Broughton, the Rev. Chambers Harris, Mr. Corfe, the Rev. F. A. Hare (still chaplain of the college), Mr. Bourne (the present principal) have all made the mark of energetic and conscientious work upon the annals of the college. For many years it was the unchallenged leader of the secondary schools of New Zealand; and even now, when the competition in educational circles is so keen, it holds its own as one of the best and most successful secondary schools on this side of the world. Many of the 2000 pupils that have passed through the college have played a prominent part in the history of these colonies, and it can be safely said that none of the “old college boys,” from the colony's present Agent-General downwards, ever think of the “old school” without a glow of pride at the thought that they have had some share in its eventful and inspiring history.

Apart from the primary, private, and denominational schools of Canterbury, there is the provision for university education. From the first the Provincial Councils had seen the necessity for setting aside reserves for this purpose. By 1872 some provision had been made for the three “schools” suggested in the plan of the founders of the settlement in the “Canterbury Papers”: the “classical” school, the “school for technical science,” and the “Agricultural College.” In 1873 the Council passed an ordinance incorporating a “Provincial College,” and amalgamating all the “secondary education” reserves for its support. Canterbury College thus came into existence with revenues derived from about 350,000 acres of land, divided as follows: Canterbury College, 101,640 acres, reserved 1873; School of Technical Science, 103,000 acres, reserved 1873; School of Agriculture, 100,950 acres, reserved 1873; Boys' High School, 9220 acres, reserved at various dates; and the Classical School, 8953, also reserved at various dates. To these were added later the Girls' High School, with 2578 acres, reserved in 1878; and the Medical School, with 5000 acres, reserved in 1877. These funds are administered, and Canterbury College is controlled, by a Board of Governors, originally appointed by the Provincial Council, later elected by the graduates of the college, and now chosen in part by a mixed constituency of graduates and teachers, and in part nominated by the Crown. By 1874 professorial chairs had been established in Mathematics, Classics, and English, and Physical Science. While these preparations for academic work were being made, an unofficial body known as the “Collegiate Union” arranged for lectures to be delivered by various qualified teachers in classics, mathematics, science, and literature, and did valuable work by rousing interest in secondary education and preparing the way for the new professors. Since 1874 the college has gone on steadily extending its sphere, with unqualified success. The Classics Chair was separated from the English Chair in 1880; there is a Natural Science Chair, a Chair of Modern Languages, and lectureships have been established in Music, Geology, Political Economy, and Jurisprudence. The Engineering School attached to the college, and located in one wing of the splendid main building, now prepares students for the degree in engineering; and the lecturer in electrical engineering is an old student of the school. The other educational establishments controlled by the Board of Governors are the Boys' High School, Girls' High School, and School of Art, while the Agricultural College, at Lincoln, founded by, and once administered from Canterbury College, is now separated from the parent institution.

Dean Jacobs. (First Headmaster, Christ's College).

Dean Jacobs.
(First Headmaster, Christ's College).

It is no exaggeration to say that all these schools and colleges have been managed with great ability, and have achieved a remarkable degree of success. Canterbury College itself can justly claim to be the most successful of all the colleges in the colony affiliated to the University of New Zealand. Since its establishment 118 of its students have gained the M.A. degree, and 164 the B.A. degree. Since the foundation of the New Zealand University ninety graduates in arts have received firstclass honours; forty-eight of these belong to Canterbury College, and all seven double first-class honours were gained by Canterbury College students. Of the 152 senior and Tinline scholarships page 22 awarded under the present regulations eighty-four have been gained by students of this college. Of the twenty-four Bowen prizes awarded for historical essays, eighteen have been gained by under-graduates of Canterbury College. No other New Zealand University College record can be said to approach this. The popularity of the college and its dependent institutions is borne out by the statistics of attendance. There are about 300 students attending the various lectures at Canterbury College. The Girls' High School was founded in 1877, and the Boys' High School in 1881. For many years these institutions have gained a large share of the junior university scholarships open to all secondary school pupils throughout New Zealand. In 1899 there were 225 pupils at the Boys' High School, and 134 at the Girls' High School. The School of Art was established in 1882, and the attendance at lectures in 1899 was over 160. The classes at the Engineering College were attended by 103 pupils; and it may be noted that the provision for higher technical training afforded here is extended on a lower level through Sloyd classes at the Boys' High School, and various lectures at the School of Art. It may be safely said that all these institutions are amply justifying the purpose of their founders and the large expenditure of public money which their support involves.

The Agricultural College, at Lincoln, fourteen miles from Christchurch, originally founded and administered by the Canterbury College Board of Governors, is now governed by a body of seven members, of whom one is appointed by the Governor, three are elected by the Canterbury members of the Legislature, and three by the Agricultural and Pastoral Associations of Canterbury. The present members are: —E. C. J. Stevens, G. Jameson, W. F. Buckley, R. Rainey, H. Knight, J. Rennie, and R. H. Rhodes. The buildings, erected in 1880, are amongst the most splendid and imposing in the colony. Their erection cost over £20,000, and they provide accommodation for a director and teaching staff and for forty-five resident students. The college is surrounded by 660 acres of land, which is worked as a model farm. An elaborate course of instruction is followed in theoretical and practical agriculture; and the low scale of fees places a most valuable course of training within reach of most of those young colonists who are likely to profit by it.

In addition to the Christchurch secondary schools there are high schools established at Rangiora, Ashburton, Timaru, Waimate, Akaroa, and Temuka. These are supported partly by fees, partly by small endowments, mostly due to the foresight and liberality of the Provincial Government.

On the whole the province of Canterbury can justly boast of the completeness and efficiency of its educational system, both in primary and secondary branches. No other province has spent so much money and enthusiasm over education with such excellent results; and though the intentions of the founders of the settlement were soon modified by the force of circumstances, Canterbury has done much to realise
Pioneer Bishops, Standing: Bishops Selwyn, Harper, Abraham, Patteson, Sitting: Bishop Williams.

Pioneer Bishops,
Standing: Bishops Selwyn, Harper, Abraham, Patteson, Sitting: Bishop Williams
.

their original conception of education as the foremost factor in colonial civilisation.