Chronicle-1971

the entire Junior House complement was piled into the 1933 Chev and the 1948 Buick and of¥ we wentto afarm owned by Margarette's brother at Gillitts,there to picnic.Theonly drawback was that the housekeeper who had promised to provide lunch forgot all about it. Tremendous spear battles were joined, river reeds being the spears. Bodies fell into the streams, lunch of cold drinks, thick brown bread and butter and chunks of bully beef bought from the local trader was wolfed down and at about 5.30 a gang of weary but contented small boys returned to school,all to have a bath or shower and many to tumble into bed,too weary to bother about supper. In those days the juniors did not go to evening chapel. m i♦w m fit k 'X Junior House,1946. FUN ANDGAMES.During thistime,Botha's Hill suffered acute watershortages.Shower ing was often banned.The threat to cleanliness was overcome by filling the wheelbarrow with water, parking it on the lawn and this served the purpose admirably. Midnight feasts were common and so very secret. Often some small boys must have had a pleasant surprise to find, as they settled to the feast, that some kind but mysterious person had added some biscuits or cakes to the secret store.Pillow fights after lights out also happened and one night as I returned from School duty I was met at the gate by the prefect on duty with the news that the main stone block had suffered an attack by the combined forces ofthe cottage and the outside dorm. When Junior House looked as if it had been hit by a snow storm,from the feathers from the pillows,Margarette and the prefect walked in to stop it all. On my return each and every one of Junior House was annointed. Aboutthis time,Mr.Rutherford-Smith moved into his own home in Assegai Road and for the next6 or so years, Margarette and I ran Junior House ourselves,she as honorary matron. These were wonderful years. The prefects had their jobs to do and right well they did them. They led by their example.They saw to it that the boys were clean and properly dressed. They inspected finger nails, shoes and so on. Their main job was to run the House and see that the juniors developed into loyal decent people. How well they succeeded. In 1953 the cottage was used to house boys from the fourth form and in 1954 it housed four matric students who we hoped would earn very good matric results.They did.On the large grass field between Junior House and the Cottage, titanic battles of touch rugby took place. The two prefects and the 4th or 6th formers versus the rest of Junior House. Too often the prefects and their willing but few supporters disappeared under a mass of shouting squirming small bodies.Then the Board ofGovernorsspoiled it all by building the first new addition which almost doubled the numbers and made provision for an assistant master and a Matron. Pip Townshend,or Bonzo, moved in as did Mary Briggs as Matron. The days of Margarette or her mother,Mrs.Halsted acting as matron were over but whata marvellousjob they had done. The general standard was maintained. Trousers and blazers had been pressed every day and this continued. Buttons were sewn on and the Juniors were really a credit to the College, due entirely to the never failing efforts of Margarette, Mrs. Halsted and the prefects. The only people who realised the tremendous service given to those boys were those boys themselves. TIMEFORPLAY.During those years the boys had time for their own amusements;their own fun.Mrs.Best started small gardens and the College boughtthe produce grown.Mr.Osier joined in with a will and built his own garden there, growing potatoes. He, having been <G school master for a long time expected a nil return, and he got it. His potatoes were sold by the boys to the Kearsney kitchen. A small trophy was presented each year by Mrs. Best to 39

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