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Historic Poverty Bay and the East Coast, N.I., N.Z.
Progress of Education
Progress of Education
From One-roomed Shacks to Many-sided, Modern Institutions
The first public school in Poverty Bay—the Gisborne Central School—stood on the north-west corner of Childers Road and Lowe Street. It was opened by the Auckland Board of Education in February, 1872. W. Dean page 360 Lysnar, the first master, received a salary of £150 per annum, and, to supplement his income, he also conducted a night school. Mrs. Lysnar received £10 per annum for teaching sewing. Instruction was required to be non-sectarian, and attendance could be made compulsory. As the householders objected to pay an education tax of £1 per annum, fees were charged; children under 8 years, 13/- per quarter; above 8 years, 26/-. In addition, 6d. per quarter was charged for slate pencils and 1/- per quarter for pens and ink.
In 1872 the pupils were: William and Maggie Mill, Joshua Adams, Charles, David and Ellen Dunlop, Fred. Goldsmith, Annie and Eustace Langford, Mary and Edward Kennedy, Gavin and Alexander Wyllie, Robert and Ellen Robb, James Stevenson, Florence, Ernest, Edith, Arthur and Bertie Reed, Elizabeth, Thomas and Mary King, Theodore and Arthur Greene, Oliver Goldsmith, Louisa and Rachel Forbes, Mary Ann Donoghue, Martha Dolman, Alice Steele and members of the Lysnar family.
Only after much hesitancy Captain Porter, T. Adams, H. E. Webb, H. Steele and R. M. Skeet agreed to act as a committee in 1873. During the previous year a balance due to W. King for building the school, the cost of lining it, and a home for the teacher—£300 in all—had had to be raised mainly by donations. Only £10 had been received from the board to meet maintenance expenses. A ladies' committee had held a “treat” to obtain funds to replace some broken windows and meet the cost of cleaning the school. To obtain a stove, the chimney had been taken down and the bricks sold. A committee could not be obtained in 1874, and Captain Porter, Dr. Nesbitt and the Rev. W. H. Root were appointed commissioners. On 8 June, 1875, Mr. Lysnar became the teacher at the native school at Omahu (H.B.). He was succeeded by J. Hay, of Port Awanui.
In 1876, Mr. Root complained that it was impossible for the teacher to do justice to 85 pupils huddled in a small room. A school to accommodate 125 pupils was then built in Derby Street at a cost of £468. Mr. Hay resigned in August, 1876, and was succeeded by G. Maberley, of Thames. The schools in Poverty Bay and on the East Coast now came under the Hawke's Bay Board of Education. During Mr. Maberley's term the Gisborne school was enlarged and the site was doubled in size, the residents bearing the cost of most of the additional land. In 1882, Thomas Morgan became headmaster. His staff comprised: J. H. Bull (first assistant), Miss Davison (headmistress), Miss McIntosh (infant teacher) and Misses R. Forbes, E. Oatridge and M. F. Hall and Masters J. Haughey and F. Faram (pupil teachers). By 1884 the roll number had grown to 450. A secondary department was established in 1888, and the school then became known, for some years, as the Gisborne District High School.
When Mr. Morgan retired in 1892 his place was filled by J. H. Bull, whose first assistant was A. Cuthbert. Some of the children were taken to Christchurch in 1901 to join in the welcome to the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George V and Queen Mary). Mr. Bull found the strain of his work too heavy and resigned in December, 1901, to take over the position of chief assistant. Successors in the headmastership: F. J. Rowley (1902–23), J. McLeod (1923–33), J. Shimmin (1934–41), B. Anderson (1941–43), O. R. Olsen (1943–46), W. E. Donnelly (1947—).
The movement to provide the school with a bath (which was opened on 24/10/1908) had its origin in a suggestion made by Mr. J. S. Wauchop, then a member of the teaching staff. Funds were raised by entertainments, appeals to the public, and a State grant. Whilst Dora Alice Griffin, a daughter of the Rev. C. C. Griffin, was in the bath on 26/1/09, page 361 she had a seizure and sank. Her mother, a sister and a friend were unable to effect a rescue. Attracted by their cries, three young men rushed to the scene and recovered the body. Unavailingly, three doctors tried for two hours to restore life.
Two serious misadventures interfered with the school's activities. On Boxing Day, 1904, the main building was destroyed by fire. A new school in two storeys was built in brick. It was designed to accommodate 550 pupils and cost (including furniture) only about £5,000, whereas the Intermediate School, designed to accommodate only a slightly larger number of pupils, and built in 1940, cost more than £40,000. Damage was suffered by the new Central School during the severe earthquake in September, 1932, and it had to be strengthened.
In 1904 the junior cadet system was made applicable to the school. Several companies of senior boys were formed, and, with a staff of officers, placed under Major J. Kinder (assistant master in the secondary department), who became O.C. the whole of the cadets in Poverty Bay. The uniform portion of each cadet's attire consisted only of a jersey and a cap, and each was given only a wooden rifle. On 5 December, 1908, the cadets from the town and country schools held a mock battle—“The Battle of Graham's Hill”—at Ormond. Captain R. Cole led the attackers, and Captain J. McLeod was in charge of the defenders. The cadets were taken to the New Zealand International Exhibition at Christchurch in March, 1907, and encamped on Hagley Park for about a week.
Technical classes were established in Gisborne following upon the presentation of a report which Mr. W. Morgan (chairman of the High School Board) invited Mr. Rowley to supply in 1902. Two years later the board erected a two-storey wooden building and a woodwork room at the rear of the District High School, and some trade and commercial classes were established under the supervision of Mr. Morgan. In 1915 control of the technical classes was transferred to the Hawke's Bay Board of Education, and their scope was considerably widened. Until he retired in 1923, Mr. Rowley was director. His successor (Mr. McLeod) carried on the classes till the end of 1923. Mr. Lancaster then took charge, and, when he left the district in 1933, the classes were removed to the High School. In June, 1949, there were 505 evening class students. The first public school on the Flats was built at Ormond in 1874. Mrs. T. W. Bilham opened a school in an old store at Patutahi in 1879. As 12 children—the minimum number required to enable the school to qualify for official aid—were not available, she took Mr. S. Locke's advice and borrowed from adjacent localities sufficient children to make up the deficiency for the opening day. Edward Claude Bolton (“The Father of the Country Schools Movement in Poverty Bay”) opened schools at Matawhero, Waerenga-a-Hika and Maraetaha in the early 1880's. His next venture was at Te Arai (1885). He had a small school at Te Karaka in 1886, but, after only a brief stay, went on to Makauri.
In 1902 there were country schools as under: Matawhero (J. Marshall, head teacher), Patutahi (J. C. Woodward, 1889–1918), Makauri (R. Cole), Waerenga-a-Hika (W. McClure, 1887–1903), Ormond (H. E. Ingpen, who was followed by J. McLeod), Te Karaka (P. Sefton), Muriwai (F. C. Faram), Te Arai, later Manutuke (A. Crawford) and Whangara (E. C. Bolton). Shortly afterwards Mr. Bolton opened a school at Kaiteratahi.
Up till 1902 there was only one public school—the Gisborne Central—for the town and suburbs. It had a roll number of 760, including between 20 and 30 pupils in the secondary department. The Mangapapa School was opened in 1903 under the control of W. J. (later Mr. Justice) Hunter. In 1907 the Kaiti School was built, and J. H. Bull was placed in charge. page 362 The Te Hapara School (F. C. Faram, headmaster) followed in 1911. Awapuni School (with O. R. Olsen as headmaster) was opened in 1927.
Public schools in Poverty Bay and on the Coast, with respective roll numbers, in May, 1947, were:
Arero (14), Awapuni (140), Bartlett's (44), East Cape (11), Gisborne Central (648), Hangaioa (13), Homebrook (21), Ihungia (8), Kairoa (11), Kaiti (387), Koranga Valley (11), Makaraka (91), Makarika (32), Makauri (90), Mangapapa (342), Manutuke (161), Mata (18), Matawai (63), Mihiwhetu (9), Motu (20), Motuhora (25), Muriwai (85), Ngatapa (53), Ormond (127), Otoko (32), Paparatu (14), Patutahi (163), Pehiri (17), Pouawa (8), Puha (51), Rere (30), Tauwhareparae (11), Te Hapara (283), Te Karaka (primary 220, secondary 105), Te Puia (42), Tiniroto (11), Tokomaru (102), Tolaga Bay (primary 287, secondary 27), Tubua (18), Waerenga-a-Hika (47), Waerenga-o-Kuri (19), Waikereru (8), Waimata Valley (12), Waingake (11), Wharekopae (9), Whatatutu (105) and Wheturau (19).
Biographical.
William Dean Lysnar (born in London in 1821) was trained at St. Mark's College, London. Before migrating to Sydney in 1856 he lived for some years in the United States. From 1859 till 1864 he conducted the “Lyceum” private school in Auckland, his pupils including the children of some of the most influential families. Upon his return to Auckland after teaching in Poverty Bay and Hawke's Bay, he opened a private school, known as “Eden Hall.” He visited London in 1897 to lay before the Royal Geographical Society some very old charts of Africa, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific which one of his Dutch (or Flemish) forbears had taken to England in 1714. The date which he assigned to them was 1587 A.D. They are now held by a granddaughter (Miss W. F. Lysnar), of Gisborne. Mr. Lysnar died in July, 1911.
John George Henry Bull (born at Bunningyong, Victoria, in 1856) joined the staff of Gisborne Central School as first assistant in 1881, and became headmaster in 1892. Whilst he had charge of the sixth standard 50 per cent. of the scholarships made available for the Hawke's Bay Education District were gained by pupils taught by him. On eight occasions in nine years the Hawke's Bay Caledonian Society's gold medal for the most proficient pupil in the education district was awarded to a pupil in his class; on the other occasion one of them tied for the trophy, but it was given to the other competitor because he was the younger. In October, 1902, he became headmaster of Waipawa School, and, in 1907, first headmaster of Kaiti School. From 1918 till 1924 he was secretary to the High School Board. He died on 28 September, 1945. A son (Noel H. Bull) was elected Mayor of Gisborne in 1941, and still (1949) retains that position.
Gisborne Intermediate School
Opened on 20 May, 1940, the Gisborne Intermediate School ranks among the best designed schools in the Dominion. It is constructed of wood, but the facade of the main block is finished in plaster. There is accommodation for 600 pupils. A model flat, equipped with modern appliances, is a feature of the upper storey. On the opening day the school roll contained the names of 440 pupils drawn from Standards V and VI of the five town schools to become students of Forms I and II. Eligible pupils from country schools now also attend. On 1 June, 1949, the roll number stood at 573. F. R. Slevin, B.A., M.C. (headmaster of the Intermediate School at Napier) was the first headmaster. He resigned in 1945 to become headmaster of the Normal Intermediate School at Mt. Albert, Auckland, and was succeeded by R. McGlashen, headmaster of the Nelson Park School at Napier, who had also served as an inspector for two years under the Hawke's Bay Board of Education.
Gisborne High School
The first Board of Governors (appointed in 1886) comprised: Archdeacon W. L. Williams (chairman) and Rev. J. McAra (Government representatives), A. Graham and C. A. de Lautour (Gisborne Borough), J. W. Johnson and D. Johnston, junior (Cook County). Since 1914 the Hawke's Bay Education Board has also had a representative, and the parents of pupils two representatives. In 1886 the Hawke's Bay Education Board decided that the rents from the school endowments would not be sufficient for some years to maintain a high school in Gisborne. [These endowments were valued at £6,858 in 1886 and at £64,293 in 1937. The net income from all high school endowments is now pooled, so that schools with endowments are, to-day, no better off than unendowed schools.] On 28 February, 1888, secondary classes were inaugurated as a department of the Central School. There were, at the start, 17 secondary pupils: Frank Henderson, Percy Matthews, James Poynter, Edward O'Meara, James Young, Claude Stubbs, Jessie Hall (Mrs. McKenzie), Mabel de Lautour (Mrs. Hughes), Edith Faram, Emma Dixon (Mrs. Captain Chrisp), Fanny Baker, Robert Scott, Blanche Bouillon, Reg. Skipworth, Nellie Steele, John Graham, Harold Lysnar, and, later in the year, Claude Morgan. Among the second-year pupils were H. H. de Costa, D. Watt, Colin Dunlop, Wellwood Reeves, Louis Sherriff, Hilton Lysnar and Lily Witty.
The first master to control the higher classes was E. H. Mann, B.A., LL.B. In September, 1906, he resigned to enter the legal profession. John Kinder was appointed to the vacancy, but, two years later, he also deserted the teaching profession to practise law. In his outline of the history of the school up to 1936, C. H. Bull says:
“Mr. Mann's name is inseparable from the activities of the District High School. He was a graduate of London University and a thoroughly efficient master who possessed a wealth of sarcasm which amounted to a gift and enabled perfect discipline to be maintained without resorting to corporal punishment.”
During 1895 the High School Board treated the secondary classes as a separate high school. A room was rented from the parishioners of Holy Trinity Church. There were then 22 pupils. A fee of eight guineas per annum was charged. Financially, the experiment was a failure. The board was then permitted to erect a building to accommodate from 30 to 40 pupils in the Central School grounds, and was assisted by a capitation grant of £2 10/- per pupil by the Hawke's Bay Education Board. Miss Mills, the first lady assistant, was appointed in 1899.
The present high school was opened in 1910 with a roll number of 136. In 1917 the assembly hall was added, and further extensions were made in 1920, 1925 and 1927. The workshops and home science block were erected in 1934. Four additional classrooms, a new science laboratory, and an agricultural science laboratory were completed in 1940. There were 800 pupils in June, 1949. Arthur Raglan Gatland, B.A., was the first principal (1909–12). He was succeeded by Frank Foote, B.A., B.Sc., whose term ranged from 1913 till 1931. C. H. Bull says:
“During the 19 years Mr. Foote controlled the destinies of the school the roll grew from 93 to 484, and we are indebted to him for the solid foundations of school life laid down during his long period of good and faithful service. His interest in his pupils his powers of discipline and his attractive personality combined to make him an ideal headmaster, and hundreds of old students remember him to-day with affection and respect.”
The next rector was James Hutton, M.A., LL.B. (1932–43). He sponsored the extension of the functions of the school to embody those of a Technical High School.
“At the time of Mr. Hutton's appointment,” Mr. Bull remarks, “the school had reached the point where the development of its functions could be safely launched. page 364 The present pupils and those of the future will owe much to the ability and the enthusiasm which characterised Mr. Hutton's work in extending the usefulness of the school and providing for the district an institution catering for all forms of post-primary education.”
During the Second World War Mr. Hutton served as a Lieutenant (Special) in the Royal New Zealand Navy, at first as education officer and, later, as rehabilitation officer, at Devonport Naval Base. He received the M.B.E. award in 1949.
James Leggat, M.A. (formerly of Hastings High School and New Plymouth High School) succeeded Mr. Hutton in October, 1943, upon his return from war service overseas, where he held the rank of lieutenant-colonel and gained the E.D. award.
Miss J. R. Barr, M.A., was the first senior mistress. Her successors have been: Miss J. Knapp, B.A., Miss J. Stewart, M.A., Miss D. Stewart, M.A., Miss M. Prestwich, Miss E. E. Stephens, M.A., Miss E. M. McCarthy, M.Sc., Miss R. Mason, M.A., and Miss C. Gunther, M.A., Dip.Ed.
Notes.
A separate high school for girls was included in the Fraser Government's “Ten-year Regional Plan” (1946).
The Rectory, a hostel for boys, was opened in 1911, and Ayton House, the girls' hostel, in 1916.
The swimming bath (opened on 3 March, 1927) was sponsored by the Old Students' Association and built, at a cost of £3,000, as a memorial to the 36 old boys who made the supreme sacrifice during the First Great War. As a memorial to the 93 ex-students who gave their lives in the Empire's cause in World War No. 2, £3,000 is to be raised to provide a grandstand, dressing rooms, etc.
Chairmen: W. L. Williams, 1885–93; W. Morgan, 1893–1905; C. A. de Lautour, 1905–11; J. W. Nolan, 1911–13; E. H. Mann, 1913–25; A. Forde Matthews, 1925–26; L. T. Burnard, 1926—.
Secretaries: C. A. de Lautour (honorary), 1886–1905; W. Morgan, 1905–17; J. H. Bull, 1918–24; C. H. Bull, 1924–44; R. Ogilvie, 1944—.
Roll of Duxes
Boys: 1909, G. Redpath; 1910, W. H. Grant; 1911, A. M. Rhinesmith; 1912, A. M. Rhinesmith; 1913, J. P. Porter; 1914, A. F. Fyson; 1915, G. E. Lees; 1916, R. S. Aitken; 1917, A. Murray; 1918, K. A. Woodward; 1919, J. R. Lockie; 1920, D. F. Aitken; 1921, T. Phillips; 1922, L. H. Thompson; 1923, J. J. Jelinek; 1924, J. T. Campbell; 1925, L. E. Schwabe; 1926, G. E. McDowell; 1927, C. Lowndes; 1928, K. Sheen; 1929, J. H. Scott; 1930, K. H. Black; 1931, A. Webster; 1932, H. L. Baker; 1933, W. Pyatt; 1934, R. T. H. Adlam; 1935, D. A. Leslie; 1936, M. N. Ensor; 1937, B. Gibson; 1938, R. Upton; 1939, D. F. Nelson; 1940, R. J. Dow; 1941, G. E. Monk; 1942, C. E. Vance; 1943, D. E. Poswillo; 1944, T. C. M. Lonie; 1945, W. M. Bourke; 1946, H. G. Cole; 1947, M. F. Dunphy; 1948, A. Leggat; 1949, J. D. Thain.
Girls: 1909, L. Harper; 1910, M. E. Moore; 1911, M. E. Moore; 1912, A. M. B. Butterfield; 1913, A. M. B. Butterfield; 1914, M. Langlands; 1915, R. B. Schwabe; 1916, K. N. Hueston; 1917, G. Mitchell; 1918, E. G. Hueston; 1919, C. S. Burns; 1920, E. Black; 1921, K. Hei; 1922; S. M. Foote; 1923, S. M. Foote; 1924, Tai Ngata; 1925, L. Harding; 1926, H. Holmes; 1927, E. W. Johnstone; 1928, B. Dunbar; 1929, A. Burdett; 1930, V. Richardson; 1931, K. Edmundson; 1932, C. E. Burch; 1933, B. N. Thompson; 1934, B. N. Thompson; 1935, I. M. Baker; 1936, B. Bignell; 1937, H. Meredith; 1938, E. Cameron; 1939, E. Talbot; 1940, N. Parkinson; 1941, L. Ching; 1942, P. R. Dunphy; 1943, B. Darling; 1944, N. Broom; 1945, G. E. Poswillo; 1946, N. Tarr; 1947, M. W. Smith; 1948, S. McAneny; 1949, M. J. Crawford.
University Scholarship Winners
University scholarships have been gained as under:
1909: G. Redpath, J.U.S.; W. P. Dunphy, cred. 1911: May Moore, cred. 1912: A. M. Rhinesmith, J.U.S. 1913: J. P. Porter, cred.; B. Butterfield, cred. 1914: C. Butterfield, Military schol. 1916: R. S. Aitken, J.U.S.; A. Blackburn, Military schol. 1917: R. S. Aitken, S.U.S. 1919: J. R. Lockie, J.U.S. 1920: J. R. Lockie, J.U.S., and D. F. Aitken, J.U.S. 1922: A. B. Tiffen, cred.; L. H. Thompson, cred.; T. Phillips, cred.; Sadie Foote, cred. 1923: J. J. Jelinek, J.U.S.; Sadie Foote, cred. 1924: J. T. Campbell, J.U.S. 1928: D. Sinclair, cred.; B. Dunbar, cred. 1929: Patricia Lusher, cred. 1930: K. H. Black, cred. 1931: K. H. Black, U.E.S.; H. L. Baker, U.E.S.; I. J. Thompson, cred. 1932: H. L. Baker, U.E.S. 1933: Barbara N. Thompson, cred. 1934: B. N. Thompson, U.E.S. 1942: C. F. Vance, cred. 1944: T. C. Lonie, U.E.S.; Nanette Broom, cred.; H. Baker, cred.; A. B. Forsyth, cred.; page 365 W. M. Bourke, cred.; J. S. Walker, cred.; Rayma G. Phillpots, cred. 1945: Glenys Poswillo, cred.; W. M. Bourke, cred.; Olwyn Millichip, cred. 1946: R. P. Kelly, cred.; H. G. Cole, cred. 1947: J. F. D. Patterson, cred.; Margaret W. Smith, cred.; W. P. Riley and A. R. Vail, Military schol. 1949: J. D. Thain, U.E.S. cred.
Brilliant Pupils
Humphrey F. Parker, a pupil of Gisborne Central School, topped the primary schools scholarship list for New Zealand in 1906, and was granted a Queen's Scholarship. He went on to Nelson College. Whilst he was taking a course in engineering at Canterbury College the Great War of 1914–18 broke out, and he left for England to study aeronautical engineering, qualifying for the letters A.F.R.A.E. Soc. He became chief engineer to the McKinnon Chain and Hoist Manufacturing Company at Buffalo (U.S.A.) and a research worker in the U.S. Bureau of Standards.
Born in New York, Albert Martin Rhinesmith came to New Zealand with his parents in 1901. His father became a naturalized British subject. The son attended Gisborne D.H. School, was awarded the Hawke's Bay Caledonian Society's medal for best primary school pupil in the district, was dux of Gisborne High School twice, and, in 1912, gained a junior university scholarship. At Otago University he obtained his M.Sc. degree. He was nominated for a Rhodes Scholarship, but the fact that he was of foreign birth disqualified him. Enlisting at the end of 1916, he gained the rank of second lieutenant. He was killed in action in France on 24 July, 1918.
James R. Lockie, who received his primary education at Gisborne Central School, won junior university scholarships in 1919 and 1920, and culminated his university career by gaining the degree LL.M. He became clerk to the County of Ayr, and, in 1943. was awarded the O.B.E. for outstanding work in organising A.R.P. defences. In 1945 he was appointed principal officer of the establishment and organising division of U.N.N.R.A.
James T. Campbell was dux of Te Hapara School and of Gisborne High School. In 1924 he won a junior university scholarship. Entering Otago University, he won a travelling scholarship and the Ross Fellowship. At Edinburgh University he gained his Ph.D. degree. He then accepted the position of Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at Victoria University College (Wellington).
An ex-student of Gisborne High School, Robert Stevenson Aitken (born at Wyndham) gained a Rhodes Scholarship in 1923. He headed the list for New Zealand when he won a junior university scholarship in 1916, and was again at the top when he won a senior university scholarship in 1917. He qualified M.B. and Ch.M. in 1922 at Otago University. At Balliol College (Oxford) he won the Owen Williams Research Scholarship and took the degree Ph.D. He gained his M.D. in London and was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. Dr. Aitken then became Reader in Medicine and assistant-director of the British Post-graduate Medical School of the University of London. He was appointed Regius Professor of Medicine at Aberdeen University in 1937. Otago University honoured him, in February, 1948, by selecting him as its Vice-Chancellor. Dr. Aitken and D. F. Aitken (who won a junior university scholarship whilst he was a pupil of Gisborne High School) are sons of the Rev. James Aitken, M.A., who, for 19 years, occupied the pulpit of St. Andrew's Church, Gisborne, and who, upon his retirement, went to reside at Home.
James Paterson Porter, B.Sc., M.I.C.E. (a son of Dr. W. P. Porter, who formerly practised in Gisborne), studied at Otago University upon leaving Gisborne High School. He was trained in engineering at University College, London, and gained the Chadwick Gold Medal in municipal engineering and hygiene. In 1927 be joined the staff of London County Council, and, in 1948, was appointed chief engineer to the Auckland Metropolitan Drainage Board.
Harold L. Baker, a student of Gisborne High School, twice won a junior university scholarship. Entering Victoria University College, he gained his M.A. degree, the Sir Robert Stout Scholarship and an overseas scholarship in modern languages. He was nominated by Victoria College for a Rhodes Scholarship. His studies for the degree Litt.D. at the Sorbonne in Paris were interrupted by the Second World War. He then became superintendent of education in the Falkland Islands.
Keith Sheen (a student at Gisborne High School from 1924 till 1928) holds the degree Ph.D. He was nominated for a Rhodes Scholarship. At present (1949) he is on the teaching staff of the Boys' High School at Dunedin.
Notes.
A Native school was opened at Whakato in July, 1872 (F. J. Carrington, master). Kaiti Native school (T. Bryant) followed in September, 1872, and, then, Tolaga Bay (S. A. Parker), December, 1872; Tokomaru Bay (R. Warner), December, 1872; Waiapu (Captain Gleadow), 1873; Akuaku and Te Araroa, 1874. Other early Native schools on the East Coast were: Port Awanui (1875), Hicks Bay and Wai-o-matatini (1876), and Rangitukia (1880). In 1876, 19 of the 22 students at To Aute College belonged to the East Coast districts—one hailed from Tokomaru Bay, 12 from Tolaga Bay, 3 from Poverty Bay and 3 from Wairoa.
By 28 February, 1949, 70 boys had been assisted either with a scholarship or a bursary, at an aggregate outlay of £3,300, by the Barrington Miller Educational Trust, which was created by William Barrington Miller to assist boys born in New Zealand and resident in Gisborne or any one or more of the counties of Cook, page 366 Waikohu, Uawa, Waiapu or Matakaoa for not less than 10 years (or such less period that the Trust might decide upon) who wish to have the benefit of some higher form of education, but not necessarily restricted to scholastic training. It is anticipated that the fund will, eventually, aggregate £45,000, and provide an annual income of £1,500.