© Allied MediaUnveiling memorial gates at High Street School, Dunedin: Mr W.F. Abel (head master) addresses ex-pupils and pupils in the school grounds. Photo: <i>Otago Witness</i>, issue 3780, August 24, 1926, page 44 Fifty-two old boys of the High street school paid the supreme sacrifice in the Great War, and their names have been recorded on the memorial gates which were unveiled yesterday afternoon. The ceremony was conducted in the presence of all the present pupils of the school, their parents and a number of old pupils. Mr Garth Gallaway, chairman of the committee and an old boy of the school, said the old pupils thought that it would be fitting to erect these gates in memory of those who had gone away and had not come back. He mentioned the fact that most of the boys and girls now at the school would not remember the war, and that quite a number had not been alive at the time, but the gates would serve as an example to them — an example to follow should the need arise. Mr J. Waddell Smith, late headmaster of the school, impressed those present with the significance and the solemnity of the occasion. “They laid down their lives,’’ he said, “so that you and I may live in perfect peace and safety.” The chairman of the Education Board (Mr J. Wallace) said that those gates stood for two things: remembrance for those who answered their country’s call and did not come back and an example for the present generation to follow should the call ever come. Mr Gallaway then unveiled the memorial, and the Rev Hector Maclean led in prayer. The Last Post was then sounded. On behalf of the school, Mr W.F. Abel, the present headmaster, accepted the memorial. A song by the children and two verses of the National Anthem brought the ceremony to a conclusion. A vision of native beauty Unemployed are assisting in a very important and promising work on the lower part of the Mornington reserve above the High Street School. Part of this slope has been planted with about 500 large hornbeams and ash, and the part nearer the cable tram line is being taken up with a collection of beautiful native flowering trees and shrubs. To conjure up a vision of rare beauty in days to come, it is only necessary to mention that among these are ratas, pohutukawas. kowhai, broadleaves, ribbonwood and native beech. One damp spot will be planted with flax. Women will rise to JP role Barring a Parliamentary mishap — in the Upper House, perhaps — we are to have women on the magisterial bench. Clause 2 of a Government Bill reads thus: “A woman shall not be disqualified by sex or marriage from being appointed to be, or from being by virtue of her office, a Justice of the Peace.” Women will rise to the occasion, — some women. “It is not altogether a pleasant position,” one honorary member remarked; “because in a country district a Justice of the Peace may be called upon to sit on the bench and sometimes fine his own neighbour for some infringement of the law; and he also has to conduct inquests.” A lady coroner! — I await her advent. — by ‘Civis’ Scholarships £25 annually Two scholarships available for a boy and a girl to assist them in obtaining a secondary education are to be awarded under the will of the late Mr John Blair, of Mornington, a founder of the firm Nimmo and Blair. The scholarships are intended to assist orphan boys and girls either of whose parents shall be dead, in poor circumstances, qualified for enrolment at Otago Girls’ High School or Otago Boys’ High School, or at such evening school as the trustee may approve, of the value of £25 annually for three years. Preparing for prospects The prospects of the Kawarau scheme and the possible date of closing the gates are still the chief topics of conversation. Weekly new companies are making preparation for when the time arrives. Among the many gold-saving appliances being made the old Chinese cradle of early days is quite prominent, and three local firms, at least, have a number already made. Tin dishes, picks, shovels and gum boots are also in good demand. A good deal of heavier gear is also being assembled. — ODT, 14.8.1926
