Chronicle-1957

reciting silently the prayers which each man must recite. No women are ad mitted. These men are worshipping the unseen Allah, whose son Mohamet came to earth to help mankind. They acknowledge Abraham, Moses, David and Christ and their religion seems not greatly removed from Christianity—apart from the one vital exception that Mahomet came as a sinner, not of virgin birth, seeking to perfect himself. Christ was perfect. Sitting on the carpet in various places were men and boys learning the Koran, or being instructed by teachers. Their five pillars of belief are; (I) Allah; (2) Prayer;(3) Fasting;(4) Almsgiving;(5) Pilgrimage to Mecca,and their religion "Islam" means"Peace". Both in the temple and in the mosque we had to remove our shoes, and at the mosque worshippers had to wash all exposed parts of their bodies at a great bath before going in to pray. We were Impressed by their sincerity. THE EARLY DAYS On March 23rd Mr. Gram and Mr. Reece gave us a talk on the Early Days at Kearsney, and the school's founder. We were very interested, because none of us knew much about the "Old" Kearsney, and a good many did not even know of its existence. Our Founder, Sir Liege Hulett, came to South Afric1a00 years ago, and eventually built the house which became our first school. We learnt that Sir Liege's father had been a schoolmaster, and this probably influenced him into turning the now empty house into a school. His later home in Durban was always "open house" for members of his own family,for Methodist ministers,and for Kearsney staff. Kearsney, founded in 1921, existed in its old quarters for 18 years. The grounds about the school were exceedingly beautiful, with trees of all varieties, shrubs, and flowers. The scent offlowers, tea and honey filled the atmosphere and the environment was a very pleasant one for boys to grow up in. Both speakers emphasised the "Happy Family" atmosphere. Head, staff and boys lived under the same roof, their life uninter rupted by visitors,for they were over 50 miles from Durban. In this way the school developed a character and tone that was very high. We learnt about the little train that plied backwards and for wards from Stanger, about the Chapel and its bees, the ghost of Lady Hulett, the annual Plays, the oranges, mangoes, tea and honey, the visit ofthe Earl of Clarendon,and the very high standard achieved at Sport. We were also told about some of the leading characters who passed through the school. We were left with the impression that Kearsney must have been a very pleasant place to live in, and it is little wonder that older Old Boys affectionately refer to it as "home". Botha's Hill must have seemed very bleak and unattractive by comparison, until our own grounds were developed. 229

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