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First buildings, teacher, soiree and pupils at (Upper) Selwyn School
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TitleFirst buildings, teacher, soiree and pupils at (Upper) Selwyn School
DescriptionAt the second committee meeting, under chairman, Richard Westenra, the three tenders for the school and Master’s house were opened and ranged from £273 to £323. As all exceeded the grant, it was decided to re-advertise. This time there were 4 tenders and the tender of James Donald, from Prebbleton, of £227-10s was accepted by May 24th 1871.
The speed of construction was rapid and the Committee meeting of August 15th was able to be held in the school.
The committee was able to consider applications for a schoolmaster, as this position had been advertised in early August.
At the meeting on October 9th, it was decided that school hours be from 10am to 3.30pm and the committee was extended to 9 members. Later the committee also set the holidays including the winter holidays.
On 23rd September 1871, the Star reported on the Board of Education meeting in which it was confirmed that Richard Pole was appointed as master, although the Board did not appear to be completely happy with his credentials until early December.
Upwards of 150 people attended a soiree held on the evening of Thursday 5th October 1871 to celebrate the completion of the buildings. The tables literally groaned under a load of good things provided by the wives of the committee and other ladies.
Richard Westenra chaired a meeting that followed and was able to say that the response to the appeal meant that everything connected with the school was entirely free of debt and Pole, would begin his duties on Monday, and he trusted that the inhabitants would assist by sending their children regularly.
Speeches and readings were given by Rev A. F. Douglas, Charles Clark, John Gordon, A. Duncan, and Peat, which, with a song from Edward Rippingale, brought an instructive and entertaining meeting to a close.
The 35 first-day pupils on 9th October 1871 came from 17 families and moved into the one-roomed school. Most were farming families, but the Cossgrove and Wooding fathers were labourers and Joan Wilson’s father was a blacksmith.
Two of the families whose fathers (William Irvine & Edward Rippingale) served on the first committee will be briefly outlined.
The three Irvine children, Margaret (13yr), Robert Francis (10yr) and John William (6yr), had a considerable distance to travel as they lived east of where the railway line was to be, on a farm. The family, originally from the Shetland Islands, had come from Tai Tapu where the two oldest had attended school.
In contrast, Charles and Louisa Martha Rippingale were born in Christchurch and were the last two of nine children born to Edward and his wife Elizabeth from Essex. Charles was nearly 11 and his sister 8 when they started as first-day pupils. They were close to the school as their large farm was on the Great South Road and their father had given the 1 acre of land for the school.
Mike Noonan
Dunsandel Historic Society
Date4 February 2021SourceThe Ellesmere EchoLocationUpper Selwyn
DescriptionAt the second committee meeting, under chairman, Richard Westenra, the three tenders for the school and Master’s house were opened and ranged from £273 to £323. As all exceeded the grant, it was decided to re-advertise. This time there were 4 tenders and the tender of James Donald, from Prebbleton, of £227-10s was accepted by May 24th 1871. The speed of construction was rapid and the Committee meeting of August 15th was able to be held in the school.
The committee was able to consider applications for a schoolmaster, as this position had been advertised in early August.
At the meeting on October 9th, it was decided that school hours be from 10am to 3.30pm and the committee was extended to 9 members. Later the committee also set the holidays including the winter holidays.
On 23rd September 1871, the Star reported on the Board of Education meeting in which it was confirmed that Richard Pole was appointed as master, although the Board did not appear to be completely happy with his credentials until early December.
Upwards of 150 people attended a soiree held on the evening of Thursday 5th October 1871 to celebrate the completion of the buildings. The tables literally groaned under a load of good things provided by the wives of the committee and other ladies.
Richard Westenra chaired a meeting that followed and was able to say that the response to the appeal meant that everything connected with the school was entirely free of debt and Pole, would begin his duties on Monday, and he trusted that the inhabitants would assist by sending their children regularly.
Speeches and readings were given by Rev A. F. Douglas, Charles Clark, John Gordon, A. Duncan, and Peat, which, with a song from Edward Rippingale, brought an instructive and entertaining meeting to a close.
The 35 first-day pupils on 9th October 1871 came from 17 families and moved into the one-roomed school. Most were farming families, but the Cossgrove and Wooding fathers were labourers and Joan Wilson’s father was a blacksmith.
Two of the families whose fathers (William Irvine & Edward Rippingale) served on the first committee will be briefly outlined.
The three Irvine children, Margaret (13yr), Robert Francis (10yr) and John William (6yr), had a considerable distance to travel as they lived east of where the railway line was to be, on a farm. The family, originally from the Shetland Islands, had come from Tai Tapu where the two oldest had attended school.
In contrast, Charles and Louisa Martha Rippingale were born in Christchurch and were the last two of nine children born to Edward and his wife Elizabeth from Essex. Charles was nearly 11 and his sister 8 when they started as first-day pupils. They were close to the school as their large farm was on the Great South Road and their father had given the 1 acre of land for the school.
Mike Noonan
Dunsandel Historic Society
Date4 February 2021SourceThe Ellesmere EchoLocationUpper SelwynConnections
CollectionHistory of the (Upper) Selwyn SchoolOrganisationDunsandel Historic SocietyEvent150th Anniversary opening (Upper) Selwyn School
OrganisationDunsandel Historic SocietyEvent150th Anniversary opening (Upper) Selwyn SchoolAttribution
Researched ByMike NoonanWritten ByMike Noonan
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First buildings, teacher, soiree and pupils at (Upper) Selwyn School (4 February 2021). Selwyn Stories, accessed 24/06/2026, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/5245