Lay and religious staff have made St Peter’s what it is today. Many have stayed for several decades and others stayed for a short time, made their mark and then moved on.
brother john tedesco
“Brother Ted was where the action was, indeed he was the action” (Helen Bruce: Parents’ Rep on the Board of Governors)
“Brother Ted” was one of the founding members of the Rosmini College in Auckland and came to Gore in 1965 to help raise money to set up a Catholic school in Southland. He returned in 1969 and taught at St Peter’s for the next 15 years. A man of many parts, he lived his faith to the full. He taught the sciences, maths, geography, PE, agriculture and Christian living. A founder of the photographic club, we have him to thank for the comprehensive photographic record of St Peter’s College early years. Keen on sports, he coached and umpired hockey teams. He instigated the annual institution of the School Fair and ran the tombola and his Big Slide with characteristic flamboyance. He was also one of the initial instigators of a past pupils’ organisation and was involved in all aspects of producing “The Rock”. He believed that travel was educational and led many school trips, both at home and abroad. In the wider Gore community he served on the Council for many years and was a valued member of various organisations.
Twenty eight years after his death, he is still remembered here with great affection and respect - a testament to the impact that he had on all who knew him.
His energy, dynamism and enthusiasm for life have left a legacy that the school still benefits from today and pupils from St Peter’s still maintain his grave and lay flowers there in remembrance.
“Brother Ted” was one of the founding members of the Rosmini College in Auckland and came to Gore in 1965 to help raise money to set up a Catholic school in Southland. He returned in 1969 and taught at St Peter’s for the next 15 years. A man of many parts, he lived his faith to the full. He taught the sciences, maths, geography, PE, agriculture and Christian living. A founder of the photographic club, we have him to thank for the comprehensive photographic record of St Peter’s College early years. Keen on sports, he coached and umpired hockey teams. He instigated the annual institution of the School Fair and ran the tombola and his Big Slide with characteristic flamboyance. He was also one of the initial instigators of a past pupils’ organisation and was involved in all aspects of producing “The Rock”. He believed that travel was educational and led many school trips, both at home and abroad. In the wider Gore community he served on the Council for many years and was a valued member of various organisations.
Twenty eight years after his death, he is still remembered here with great affection and respect - a testament to the impact that he had on all who knew him.
His energy, dynamism and enthusiasm for life have left a legacy that the school still benefits from today and pupils from St Peter’s still maintain his grave and lay flowers there in remembrance.
Father Michael Hill, Principal
Extracts from ‘A LIFE RICH WITH PROVIDENCE’, first published in Tui Motu, May 2010
Early life
I was born in Yorkshire in the north of England: a spacious, bleak, very old and beautiful place by the sea. My first years were happy, secure in the warm upbringing of my English father and Irish mother. In 1970 I was ‘reborn’ to the open, windy but sunnier agricultural environment of Gore, reminding me of those sparse Yorkshire plains. My ten years in Gore were the happiest days of my priestly life.
I was welcomed by local people and clergy, and made lasting friendships. My schooling at Ratcliffe College, the English flagship school of the Rosminians, was happy too. It was wartime, remote from the poundings of London. However, in this dynamic teaching environment, I thrived intellectually and socially, becoming head boy. My father and the Rosminian provincial wisely advised me to get a university degree before entering religious life.
University
Early 1950s Cambridge was a remarkable environment, the premier university in the world for its research and ferment in biological sciences. I studied these “wet sciences” (e.g. zoology, biology) for two years. Against my tutor’s best advice, I switched to modern history in my last year. By then I had firmed up my desire to become a Rosminian. We had famous historians like Hubert Butterfield to teach us. And I remember Crick and Watson, the discoverers of DNA drawing double helixes in beer on the tables of the pub we frequented.
The Chaplaincy, presided over by the eccentric Monsignor Gilbey (of Gilbey’s gin fame) dressed in frock coat, black buckled shoes and flat black hat, was buzzing. His fine spiritual preaching moulded us. Many later distinguished people were also influenced by him and found their way into the church then. Against Gilbey’s best wishes, though he was gracious in defeat, we spearheaded opening the chaplaincy café/bar to women.
Religious life and study
The brothers’ strong community life in our Sussex novitiate formed me well. Then, untrained as a teacher, I taught sciences for four years at Ratcliffe College. We were bailed off to Wonersh seminary in southern England for a year under the guidance of Dr. Sillem, a brilliant young philosopher – then to Rome. I spent four years training at the Pontifical Lateran University. This was arguably the most reactionary place of theological training in the world at that time, the seminary for the Diocese of Rome, also preparing students to become members of the Roman Curia.
Ordination
Ordained in Rome in 1964, it was back to teaching at Ratcliffe College. Little did I know what was ahead. One day our provincial caught me in the corridor between classes. “Michael,” he said ”have you got a moment. I would like you to buy a sixteen seater bus and take it to New Zealand”. Just like that. St Peter’s A year later, I arrived in Gore with that bus – by owning it for a year we successfully avoided import duty on a new bus for the school. I threw myself into life at St. Peter’s College, becoming first deputy principal and then headmaster for six years. It was a wonderful time of hard work and community, developing the life, culture and style of this coeducational school: sport, outdoors pursuits, music and drama, among other things. Co-education, here the brainchild of Bishop John Kavanagh, who gave us great support, was something I had never experienced before. It was remarkable to see the way there developed wonderful mother-son, father-daughter relationships among the students and the priests and Mercy sisters who co-taught with us. I remain a firm believer in the efficacy of coeducation. Seeing the academic results that both boys and girls gained (and still gain) at St. Peter’s, I believe the academic arguments in favour of single sex schools are dubious.
NCRS
Then came another major change in direction for me. After some years teaching at Rosmini College in Auckland, I was suddenly asked to become one of the co-ordinators of the NCRS programme. Codirecting the religious education course of 600 people nationwide with Sister Ann Shelton was new and exciting for me.
NZ Tablet
Given my Rosminian brothers’ unanimous support, in 1993, I took up the position of editor of the Tablet. This proved to be another “bus experience – a sea change in my life.”
From the first, it was clear that the Tablet had financial problems. In 1996 Bishop Len decided that the Tablet was no longer financially viable. A national campaign to sustain it had netted $130,000 and a data base of 800 names. We were obliged to return the money collected. The list of donors became the foundation from which Tui Motu developed. And you know the rest, life started anew.
Early Years
From the first we had a marvellous group of supporters. We needed good writers and happily we succeeded in attracting some of the best NZ religious writers. Asked often what the Bishops say of some of the ‘outrageous things’ we print, all I can say is that they subscribe; they have never criticized, but have been supportive. In fact, I’m sure that they rejoice that we can say things that they think but can’t say.
My Future
As for the future, I will play golf – though not all day – till the soil, say my prayers and write. Perhaps I will be asked to write a definitive English biography of Antonio Rosmini. That remains to be seen. But I am happy to stay here in NewZealand, in the New Zealand Church. I have no burning desire to return to the panting heart of Rome or the broad acres of Yorkshire.
Postword
Looking back on my life, I can often see incidents that seem unrelated, or come out of the blue, as signs of God in my life. They shape what eventually becomes of you. Some are bountiful providences, like family. Others at the time are painful, but open doors to something else creative and good. The “bus” experience of migrating to St Peter’s is one; the painful closing of the NZ Tablet is another. They show God’s goodness in one’s life.
May 2013 – Father Hill is began working on his biography of Blessed Antonio Rosmini
Early life
I was born in Yorkshire in the north of England: a spacious, bleak, very old and beautiful place by the sea. My first years were happy, secure in the warm upbringing of my English father and Irish mother. In 1970 I was ‘reborn’ to the open, windy but sunnier agricultural environment of Gore, reminding me of those sparse Yorkshire plains. My ten years in Gore were the happiest days of my priestly life.
I was welcomed by local people and clergy, and made lasting friendships. My schooling at Ratcliffe College, the English flagship school of the Rosminians, was happy too. It was wartime, remote from the poundings of London. However, in this dynamic teaching environment, I thrived intellectually and socially, becoming head boy. My father and the Rosminian provincial wisely advised me to get a university degree before entering religious life.
University
Early 1950s Cambridge was a remarkable environment, the premier university in the world for its research and ferment in biological sciences. I studied these “wet sciences” (e.g. zoology, biology) for two years. Against my tutor’s best advice, I switched to modern history in my last year. By then I had firmed up my desire to become a Rosminian. We had famous historians like Hubert Butterfield to teach us. And I remember Crick and Watson, the discoverers of DNA drawing double helixes in beer on the tables of the pub we frequented.
The Chaplaincy, presided over by the eccentric Monsignor Gilbey (of Gilbey’s gin fame) dressed in frock coat, black buckled shoes and flat black hat, was buzzing. His fine spiritual preaching moulded us. Many later distinguished people were also influenced by him and found their way into the church then. Against Gilbey’s best wishes, though he was gracious in defeat, we spearheaded opening the chaplaincy café/bar to women.
Religious life and study
The brothers’ strong community life in our Sussex novitiate formed me well. Then, untrained as a teacher, I taught sciences for four years at Ratcliffe College. We were bailed off to Wonersh seminary in southern England for a year under the guidance of Dr. Sillem, a brilliant young philosopher – then to Rome. I spent four years training at the Pontifical Lateran University. This was arguably the most reactionary place of theological training in the world at that time, the seminary for the Diocese of Rome, also preparing students to become members of the Roman Curia.
Ordination
Ordained in Rome in 1964, it was back to teaching at Ratcliffe College. Little did I know what was ahead. One day our provincial caught me in the corridor between classes. “Michael,” he said ”have you got a moment. I would like you to buy a sixteen seater bus and take it to New Zealand”. Just like that. St Peter’s A year later, I arrived in Gore with that bus – by owning it for a year we successfully avoided import duty on a new bus for the school. I threw myself into life at St. Peter’s College, becoming first deputy principal and then headmaster for six years. It was a wonderful time of hard work and community, developing the life, culture and style of this coeducational school: sport, outdoors pursuits, music and drama, among other things. Co-education, here the brainchild of Bishop John Kavanagh, who gave us great support, was something I had never experienced before. It was remarkable to see the way there developed wonderful mother-son, father-daughter relationships among the students and the priests and Mercy sisters who co-taught with us. I remain a firm believer in the efficacy of coeducation. Seeing the academic results that both boys and girls gained (and still gain) at St. Peter’s, I believe the academic arguments in favour of single sex schools are dubious.
NCRS
Then came another major change in direction for me. After some years teaching at Rosmini College in Auckland, I was suddenly asked to become one of the co-ordinators of the NCRS programme. Codirecting the religious education course of 600 people nationwide with Sister Ann Shelton was new and exciting for me.
NZ Tablet
Given my Rosminian brothers’ unanimous support, in 1993, I took up the position of editor of the Tablet. This proved to be another “bus experience – a sea change in my life.”
From the first, it was clear that the Tablet had financial problems. In 1996 Bishop Len decided that the Tablet was no longer financially viable. A national campaign to sustain it had netted $130,000 and a data base of 800 names. We were obliged to return the money collected. The list of donors became the foundation from which Tui Motu developed. And you know the rest, life started anew.
Early Years
From the first we had a marvellous group of supporters. We needed good writers and happily we succeeded in attracting some of the best NZ religious writers. Asked often what the Bishops say of some of the ‘outrageous things’ we print, all I can say is that they subscribe; they have never criticized, but have been supportive. In fact, I’m sure that they rejoice that we can say things that they think but can’t say.
My Future
As for the future, I will play golf – though not all day – till the soil, say my prayers and write. Perhaps I will be asked to write a definitive English biography of Antonio Rosmini. That remains to be seen. But I am happy to stay here in NewZealand, in the New Zealand Church. I have no burning desire to return to the panting heart of Rome or the broad acres of Yorkshire.
Postword
Looking back on my life, I can often see incidents that seem unrelated, or come out of the blue, as signs of God in my life. They shape what eventually becomes of you. Some are bountiful providences, like family. Others at the time are painful, but open doors to something else creative and good. The “bus” experience of migrating to St Peter’s is one; the painful closing of the NZ Tablet is another. They show God’s goodness in one’s life.
May 2013 – Father Hill is began working on his biography of Blessed Antonio Rosmini
Barbara fraser
When Barbara Fraser first came to St Peter’s College as part of her teacher training course, she couldn’t have imagined that she would be part of this community for the next thirty-two years.
Barbara wasn’t a local girl; home was an orchard at Earnscleugh in Central Otago. A pupil at Dunstan High School, she went on to study Languages and English Honours at Otago University and lived in Dunedin for several years.
Unfortunately, there was a glut of English graduates at the time, so she held off teacher training and was unemployed initially, until the Labour Exchange found her a job at the NZ Tablet and she became a proofreader. She recalls her pride in her first pay cheque in 1975 - $52 for a week’s work. Promoted to Circulation Manager, she was responsible for sending the magazine to priests and parishes all over the world. Over time, her role also expanded into accounts and journalism with the editor.
Marriage and a new life with Railways at the station in Kurow led to a change of career and she became a toll operator, including handling 111 calls at the local emergency centre. When her husband was transferred to Mataura station in 1979, they moved to Gore and initially she worked as a toll operator at the town’s Old Post Office.
By chance she heard on the radio that a new teacher training centre was to open at Invercargill and at last her opportunity had arrived. She enrolled in the first Dunedin Teacher’s College Outpost intake and St Peter’s was one of her home school training centres. When they needed a relief art teacher for two weeks, Barbara was approached and accepted. Ironically, she hadn’t been allowed to study art when she was at school, being part of the academic set, but she had always been keen on drawing. At home on the orchard, they used big sheets of paper to wrap the fruit and Barbara managed to keep herself supplied with this, despite her father’s strict rules on wasting paper.
When she was in Form Two, she was excused orchard duties so that she could cycle on Saturday mornings into Alexandra to do a painting course with Elizabeth Stevens, a nationally known artist. She promised Elizabeth that she would keep up with her own painting, but life intervened and there had been long stretches of time when it was neglected.
In the early days of the St Peter’s Art department most of the pupils had a period of art every day, but facilities were basic. The Art Department was housed in a pre-fab, there was no running water and little heating. Teacher and pupils were sometimes forced to jog on the spot to keep warm. Brushes had to be washed in buckets of water and in winter the ice on top had to be broken first. This activity was witnessed one day by school inspectors and not long after that a big room heater materialised and running water was installed. When the current art room was commissioned, it came fully equipped with a standard set of tools and equipment.
As well as teaching Art part time, Barbara taught English full- time and went on to become Head of Department and later Head of the Arts Department – covering several associated subjects. In the intervening time, observes Barbara, technology has revolutionised the department, but not necessarily improved it.
And what of Barbara’s own art?
In the late 1990s, she spent a week at Akaroa, studying watercolour painting with the celebrated artist, Nancy Titchborne. This proved to be a revelation and Nancy shared techniques and approaches to painting that have proved invaluable in Barbara’s own art. Soon afterwards she mounted her own exhibition at the Eastern Southland Gallery and boosted by sales there, has gone on to exhibit at many local venues. She became a Community Education tutor for adults and has done tutor work with other groups at evening classes.
Alongside her artistic activities, Barbara played, coached and umpired netball for many years. Her role at St Peter’s encompassed drama productions – initially providing sets, but later directing, producing and script writing. For many years she also had a hand in debating and readying students for the Bishop’s Shield Competition.
In 2014 a whole new chapter begins as Head of English and Dean of Years 7-10 at the Roxburgh Area School. In her time at St Peter’s, Barbara has always been aware of the feeling that this whole school community is united in a spiritual sense. She is curious to discover the glue that holds other schools together.
Barbara wasn’t a local girl; home was an orchard at Earnscleugh in Central Otago. A pupil at Dunstan High School, she went on to study Languages and English Honours at Otago University and lived in Dunedin for several years.
Unfortunately, there was a glut of English graduates at the time, so she held off teacher training and was unemployed initially, until the Labour Exchange found her a job at the NZ Tablet and she became a proofreader. She recalls her pride in her first pay cheque in 1975 - $52 for a week’s work. Promoted to Circulation Manager, she was responsible for sending the magazine to priests and parishes all over the world. Over time, her role also expanded into accounts and journalism with the editor.
Marriage and a new life with Railways at the station in Kurow led to a change of career and she became a toll operator, including handling 111 calls at the local emergency centre. When her husband was transferred to Mataura station in 1979, they moved to Gore and initially she worked as a toll operator at the town’s Old Post Office.
By chance she heard on the radio that a new teacher training centre was to open at Invercargill and at last her opportunity had arrived. She enrolled in the first Dunedin Teacher’s College Outpost intake and St Peter’s was one of her home school training centres. When they needed a relief art teacher for two weeks, Barbara was approached and accepted. Ironically, she hadn’t been allowed to study art when she was at school, being part of the academic set, but she had always been keen on drawing. At home on the orchard, they used big sheets of paper to wrap the fruit and Barbara managed to keep herself supplied with this, despite her father’s strict rules on wasting paper.
When she was in Form Two, she was excused orchard duties so that she could cycle on Saturday mornings into Alexandra to do a painting course with Elizabeth Stevens, a nationally known artist. She promised Elizabeth that she would keep up with her own painting, but life intervened and there had been long stretches of time when it was neglected.
In the early days of the St Peter’s Art department most of the pupils had a period of art every day, but facilities were basic. The Art Department was housed in a pre-fab, there was no running water and little heating. Teacher and pupils were sometimes forced to jog on the spot to keep warm. Brushes had to be washed in buckets of water and in winter the ice on top had to be broken first. This activity was witnessed one day by school inspectors and not long after that a big room heater materialised and running water was installed. When the current art room was commissioned, it came fully equipped with a standard set of tools and equipment.
As well as teaching Art part time, Barbara taught English full- time and went on to become Head of Department and later Head of the Arts Department – covering several associated subjects. In the intervening time, observes Barbara, technology has revolutionised the department, but not necessarily improved it.
And what of Barbara’s own art?
In the late 1990s, she spent a week at Akaroa, studying watercolour painting with the celebrated artist, Nancy Titchborne. This proved to be a revelation and Nancy shared techniques and approaches to painting that have proved invaluable in Barbara’s own art. Soon afterwards she mounted her own exhibition at the Eastern Southland Gallery and boosted by sales there, has gone on to exhibit at many local venues. She became a Community Education tutor for adults and has done tutor work with other groups at evening classes.
Alongside her artistic activities, Barbara played, coached and umpired netball for many years. Her role at St Peter’s encompassed drama productions – initially providing sets, but later directing, producing and script writing. For many years she also had a hand in debating and readying students for the Bishop’s Shield Competition.
In 2014 a whole new chapter begins as Head of English and Dean of Years 7-10 at the Roxburgh Area School. In her time at St Peter’s, Barbara has always been aware of the feeling that this whole school community is united in a spiritual sense. She is curious to discover the glue that holds other schools together.
Brenda hogue
Brenda Hogue has left Gore three times!
In 1978 happily teaching primary school children at East Gore Primary School, she was persuaded to join the staff of St Peter’s College by Father Michael Hill, with assurances that she would have no trouble at all teaching seniors. She was to teach English, but as Form 2H’s class teacher, was also responsible for their other core subjects: Social Studies, Religious Education, Health Education and P.E. So began her first spell at SPC.
Teaching hadn’t been Brenda’s first job – she started her working life with an accountancy firm, but quickly realised that was not the life for her. She had been brought up at Wreys Bush with a farming background and went on from St Patrick’s Primary School at Nightcaps, to St Catherine’s College at Invercargill, as a boarder. Accepted for teacher training at age sixteen, she decided that she was too young for such a commitment and went on to do Year 13 at Central Southland College in Winton. Having applied for teacher training again at seventeen, she decided to hedge her bets and applied for jobs in an architectural practice, a laboratory and the accountants. She got them all!
Having chosen the accountants and then realised her mistake, she finally went to teacher training college in Dunedin. While there, she also gained an ATCL and LTCL in Speech and Drama developing skills which have proved very useful in later years.
Her teaching career began in Invercargill with her first job in a primary school. When she married John, who was teaching at Gore High School, she moved to Gore for the first time and eventually arrived at St Peter’s.
After three years teaching here, the Hogues had their first baby, Katie, and a move out of the area to Temuka in 1981. It was there, doing voluntary work with Vietnamese refugees, that Brenda became enthralled with other cultures and the richness and diversity that other peoples could contribute to life here. But again by 1985, the Hogues were on the move, this time to Dunedin and accompanied by two little ones, Katie and Laura.
Again, Brenda found work with an international dimension, teaching Cambodian refugees and training volunteers, as part of the ESOL Home Tutoring Scheme. Then along came baby number three and in 1987 a move back to Gore, where John was again teaching at Gore High School and Brenda doing home schooling in speech and reading. She also ran a Nanny Course in Gore for Southland Polytech, concentrating on the value of play, human growth and development, communication and negotiating skills.
By the mid 1990s John was Deputy Principal at St Peter’s College and Brenda took on the post of Hostel Manager, which entailed them living on site with their three children, Katie, Laura and Jenny.
Things had changed at the school – gone were many of the Sisters of Mercy and Rosminian Priests but there was now a wonderful lay Principal, John Boyce, and Brenda found the school in good heart.
When John was appointed Principal of Roncalli College at Timaru, the family moved north again – leaving Gore for thirteen years this time. Brenda was employed in the Language School at Aoraki Polytechnic as a part time teacher before joining the staff at Roncalli College as the main ESOL teacher. She was able to develop the job and move into marketing and travelling abroad to meet agents and families, ensuring a smooth transition when they came to New Zealand.
Then early in 2010, it was back to Gore again, when John was appointed Principal at St Peter’s. There had been an international component at the school here, but it had gone and when the Board decided to rebuild it, Brenda took on the responsibility . From three international students in the early days, she built it up to eighteen, from Japan, Germany, Thailand, Hong Kong and South Korea, achieving the diversity of nations that she has always wanted.
A particular satisfaction has been the development of students from SPC now going to Thailand and Germany and acting as ambassadors for the school and experiencing what it is like for foreign students studying here.
Brenda left St Peter’s for the third time in December 2013 to relocate for John’s new job in Dunedin. The likely scenario is that she will continue to work with students and adults struggling with the English language and adapting to their new lives in New Zealand.
Her new students might struggle with this quote from Brother Ted in “The Rock” of 1978….
‘Mrs Hogue threatened to spiflicate 3J.
Great consternation.
There never was such a run on the dictionary!”
In 1978 happily teaching primary school children at East Gore Primary School, she was persuaded to join the staff of St Peter’s College by Father Michael Hill, with assurances that she would have no trouble at all teaching seniors. She was to teach English, but as Form 2H’s class teacher, was also responsible for their other core subjects: Social Studies, Religious Education, Health Education and P.E. So began her first spell at SPC.
Teaching hadn’t been Brenda’s first job – she started her working life with an accountancy firm, but quickly realised that was not the life for her. She had been brought up at Wreys Bush with a farming background and went on from St Patrick’s Primary School at Nightcaps, to St Catherine’s College at Invercargill, as a boarder. Accepted for teacher training at age sixteen, she decided that she was too young for such a commitment and went on to do Year 13 at Central Southland College in Winton. Having applied for teacher training again at seventeen, she decided to hedge her bets and applied for jobs in an architectural practice, a laboratory and the accountants. She got them all!
Having chosen the accountants and then realised her mistake, she finally went to teacher training college in Dunedin. While there, she also gained an ATCL and LTCL in Speech and Drama developing skills which have proved very useful in later years.
Her teaching career began in Invercargill with her first job in a primary school. When she married John, who was teaching at Gore High School, she moved to Gore for the first time and eventually arrived at St Peter’s.
After three years teaching here, the Hogues had their first baby, Katie, and a move out of the area to Temuka in 1981. It was there, doing voluntary work with Vietnamese refugees, that Brenda became enthralled with other cultures and the richness and diversity that other peoples could contribute to life here. But again by 1985, the Hogues were on the move, this time to Dunedin and accompanied by two little ones, Katie and Laura.
Again, Brenda found work with an international dimension, teaching Cambodian refugees and training volunteers, as part of the ESOL Home Tutoring Scheme. Then along came baby number three and in 1987 a move back to Gore, where John was again teaching at Gore High School and Brenda doing home schooling in speech and reading. She also ran a Nanny Course in Gore for Southland Polytech, concentrating on the value of play, human growth and development, communication and negotiating skills.
By the mid 1990s John was Deputy Principal at St Peter’s College and Brenda took on the post of Hostel Manager, which entailed them living on site with their three children, Katie, Laura and Jenny.
Things had changed at the school – gone were many of the Sisters of Mercy and Rosminian Priests but there was now a wonderful lay Principal, John Boyce, and Brenda found the school in good heart.
When John was appointed Principal of Roncalli College at Timaru, the family moved north again – leaving Gore for thirteen years this time. Brenda was employed in the Language School at Aoraki Polytechnic as a part time teacher before joining the staff at Roncalli College as the main ESOL teacher. She was able to develop the job and move into marketing and travelling abroad to meet agents and families, ensuring a smooth transition when they came to New Zealand.
Then early in 2010, it was back to Gore again, when John was appointed Principal at St Peter’s. There had been an international component at the school here, but it had gone and when the Board decided to rebuild it, Brenda took on the responsibility . From three international students in the early days, she built it up to eighteen, from Japan, Germany, Thailand, Hong Kong and South Korea, achieving the diversity of nations that she has always wanted.
A particular satisfaction has been the development of students from SPC now going to Thailand and Germany and acting as ambassadors for the school and experiencing what it is like for foreign students studying here.
Brenda left St Peter’s for the third time in December 2013 to relocate for John’s new job in Dunedin. The likely scenario is that she will continue to work with students and adults struggling with the English language and adapting to their new lives in New Zealand.
Her new students might struggle with this quote from Brother Ted in “The Rock” of 1978….
‘Mrs Hogue threatened to spiflicate 3J.
Great consternation.
There never was such a run on the dictionary!”
father aidan cunningham
'THE PATH TO ST PETER'S': Musings on his early life and beyond from an interview with Father Aidan Cunningham, November 2013
Not many people can claim to have lived in a house that got doodlebugged, but this is one of Fr Cunningham’s earliest memories. Happily he wasn’t in the house at the time, but a childhood in wartime England meant familiarity with Anderson Bomb Shelters and several moves around the country from his birth place in Cheltenham.
Fr Cunningham’s own education began at a convent school in south London, St Anne’s College, Sanderstead, run by the Ladies of Mary, but when the war ended his family left England for Egypt to join his father – posted there with the RAF and he was sent to a convent school in Cairo and later to the RAF camp school at Fanara, 107 MU, beside the Suez Canal.
In 1947 there were still German prisoner of war camps in Egypt and it was in one of these near the Great Bitter Lake that he celebrated his First Holy Communion on December 13th. When the time came to go to boarding school, he returned to England to Gracedieu Manor Preparatory School near Leicester and so began his lifetime connection with the Rosminian order, officially “The Institute of Charity”.
He went on to secondary study at Ratcliffe College, run by the Rosminians and joined the order himself in 1958. This was something of a family tradition, as one of his cousins was a Rosminian and an uncle was a monk of Ampleforth College in Yorkshire.
Going straight into his novitiate, Fr Cunningham deferred going to university and his scholarship lapsed, so after his two years training, he had to do a re-sit and went on to Cambridge in 1961, leaving with an MA (Hons).
Traditionally the Rosminian brethren, after their university degrees, were teachers and he returned to Ratcliffe College to teach history. Life was then to take a very unexpected turn, when after two year’s teaching he was told that he was to fly to New Zealand immediately, as the replacement for a staff member who was sick, to Rosmini College Auckland. This struck him as a marvellous idea, despite the fact that it was to be “for life”.
Back in 1966, just getting to New Zealand was an adventure that took several days. Leaving Heathrow, Fr Cunningham knew that future communication with his family was going to be by airmail letter only for quite some time. Boarding a Comet aircraft he set off on the first leg of the journey to Rome, where he was able to meet up with other brethren, before continuing on to Teheran and then Karachi in Pakistan. Here there were more friends, from university, to catch up with. Difficult relations between India and Pakistan meant that a detour was necessary so as not to overfly Indian airspace, so the next flight was to Colombo in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). From here he journeyed on up to Calcutta and then to Singapore, where more Old Ratcliffians were to be found. Then it was on to Darwin and Sydney in Australia, before finally landing at Auckland’s brand new Mangere airport and his new life on the other side of the world.
For the next four years as a head of department he taught history and social studies and also became involved in New Zealand’s national sport, coaching rugby.
It was at this time that Fr Cunningham’s long association with St Peter’s College began, firstly when he flew south in August 1966 to act as a collector of funds for the building of the school and then in 1970 when he moved to Gore to teach. During his time at the school he took four years off to study for the priesthood in Rome, before returning as Head of English and the Arts.
In the early years of the school, the staff were buoyed up by the enthusiastic support of the community, which helped them to overcome a constant shortage of money. This meant that staff and pupils had to lend a hand with practical jobs like cleaning, just to keep the school going, as funds were so short. Fr Cunningham’s particular interest was developing the grounds and gardens and he recalls digging a pond for breeding goldfish and biological studies, which eventually had to be filled in as people – generally the boarders – were pushed or kept falling in to it!
The next 20 years of his life were spent at St Peter’s College and during that time travel and communications improved and family members, other Rosminians and Old Ratcliffians were able to visit him in New Zealand.
At the end of 1994 when he retired from teaching, a whole new world of work opened up for him in adult education as a formator at Holy Cross Seminary and as an assistant priest and acting parish priest in Mosgiel. A few years later and yet another seminal moment occurred, when an early morning call from Rome directed him to go to India to work with the Rosminian novices there for a couple of years.
Today, Fr Cunningham is parish priest at Sacred Heart Church in Dunedin’s North East Valley, but he does admit that despite being half a world away from England, Gore still feels like home.
Not many people can claim to have lived in a house that got doodlebugged, but this is one of Fr Cunningham’s earliest memories. Happily he wasn’t in the house at the time, but a childhood in wartime England meant familiarity with Anderson Bomb Shelters and several moves around the country from his birth place in Cheltenham.
Fr Cunningham’s own education began at a convent school in south London, St Anne’s College, Sanderstead, run by the Ladies of Mary, but when the war ended his family left England for Egypt to join his father – posted there with the RAF and he was sent to a convent school in Cairo and later to the RAF camp school at Fanara, 107 MU, beside the Suez Canal.
In 1947 there were still German prisoner of war camps in Egypt and it was in one of these near the Great Bitter Lake that he celebrated his First Holy Communion on December 13th. When the time came to go to boarding school, he returned to England to Gracedieu Manor Preparatory School near Leicester and so began his lifetime connection with the Rosminian order, officially “The Institute of Charity”.
He went on to secondary study at Ratcliffe College, run by the Rosminians and joined the order himself in 1958. This was something of a family tradition, as one of his cousins was a Rosminian and an uncle was a monk of Ampleforth College in Yorkshire.
Going straight into his novitiate, Fr Cunningham deferred going to university and his scholarship lapsed, so after his two years training, he had to do a re-sit and went on to Cambridge in 1961, leaving with an MA (Hons).
Traditionally the Rosminian brethren, after their university degrees, were teachers and he returned to Ratcliffe College to teach history. Life was then to take a very unexpected turn, when after two year’s teaching he was told that he was to fly to New Zealand immediately, as the replacement for a staff member who was sick, to Rosmini College Auckland. This struck him as a marvellous idea, despite the fact that it was to be “for life”.
Back in 1966, just getting to New Zealand was an adventure that took several days. Leaving Heathrow, Fr Cunningham knew that future communication with his family was going to be by airmail letter only for quite some time. Boarding a Comet aircraft he set off on the first leg of the journey to Rome, where he was able to meet up with other brethren, before continuing on to Teheran and then Karachi in Pakistan. Here there were more friends, from university, to catch up with. Difficult relations between India and Pakistan meant that a detour was necessary so as not to overfly Indian airspace, so the next flight was to Colombo in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). From here he journeyed on up to Calcutta and then to Singapore, where more Old Ratcliffians were to be found. Then it was on to Darwin and Sydney in Australia, before finally landing at Auckland’s brand new Mangere airport and his new life on the other side of the world.
For the next four years as a head of department he taught history and social studies and also became involved in New Zealand’s national sport, coaching rugby.
It was at this time that Fr Cunningham’s long association with St Peter’s College began, firstly when he flew south in August 1966 to act as a collector of funds for the building of the school and then in 1970 when he moved to Gore to teach. During his time at the school he took four years off to study for the priesthood in Rome, before returning as Head of English and the Arts.
In the early years of the school, the staff were buoyed up by the enthusiastic support of the community, which helped them to overcome a constant shortage of money. This meant that staff and pupils had to lend a hand with practical jobs like cleaning, just to keep the school going, as funds were so short. Fr Cunningham’s particular interest was developing the grounds and gardens and he recalls digging a pond for breeding goldfish and biological studies, which eventually had to be filled in as people – generally the boarders – were pushed or kept falling in to it!
The next 20 years of his life were spent at St Peter’s College and during that time travel and communications improved and family members, other Rosminians and Old Ratcliffians were able to visit him in New Zealand.
At the end of 1994 when he retired from teaching, a whole new world of work opened up for him in adult education as a formator at Holy Cross Seminary and as an assistant priest and acting parish priest in Mosgiel. A few years later and yet another seminal moment occurred, when an early morning call from Rome directed him to go to India to work with the Rosminian novices there for a couple of years.
Today, Fr Cunningham is parish priest at Sacred Heart Church in Dunedin’s North East Valley, but he does admit that despite being half a world away from England, Gore still feels like home.
pauline hickey
When St Peter’s Hostel put out an appeal for workers, Pauline Hickey answered the call and initially worked weekends in the kitchen.
She had all the right experience. She was one of eight children and she and her five sisters had to help their mother with sewing and cooking. Pauline showed an early aptitude for cooking so was usually called on to help with preparing the meals. Her father didn’t encourage academic careers for girls, so after her school days at St Theresa’s and St Catherine’s in Invercargill, she went to work for a caterer, while still helping out at home.
She had always known about the proposed Catholic boys’ school in Southland from the half crown collection every Sunday at church. This was to be the money that enabled the building of St Peter’s College.
By the time that Pauline married Jack Hickey from Waikaia and moved to Gore and had a family of her own, St Peter’s became a reality, but adequate staffing was always an issue. As a member of the Catholic Women’s League, she knew of the need for staff and when she went to work in the Hostel kitchen, she found Fr Buckner very sensible and fair to work for and with a good sense of humour, once you got to know him.
As cook, she placed the emphasis on ‘home cooking’ – wholesome and tasty food, and followed the Catholic tradition of fish on Fridays (with chips). One Sunday at mass, it was announced that the Vatican had relaxed this rule, so on the next Friday, Pauline served the boarders wiener schnitzel with chips, which went down very well. Afterwards however, she was summoned before Fr Buckner, who informed her that a parent had complained about the serving of meat on a Friday and it was only after checking with the priest about the new directive that she was vindicated.
Food for the Hostel usually came from wholesale caterers in Invercargill, but meat was sourced locally in Gore. When the Hostel first opened, numbers were small and the atmosphere homely under Br Willett. Over time the numbers grew to around 140 boarders and she remembers some of the ‘littlies’ being very homesick. She often had a couple of them to help in the kitchen and found that this was good for them and cheered them up. At her home in Lock Street, she seemed to have a 24 hour ‘toast kitchen’ where boarders would turn up at any time to hang out with her own children.
The Hostel kitchen was her pride and joy, being ‘beautiful and well equipped’. It had a steam oven and Fr Buckner was constantly amazed that she could consistently produce eggs from a steam oven that were boiled to perfection.
Pauline worked at SPC over a period of 20 years and during that time there were many changes. A boarder came from Hong Kong – the first to do so and caused something of a sensation wearing a Walkman and headphones (such things were new to Gore). When he returned after the holidays, he had to bring supplies of them for the others.
In the early days, the main meal for boarders was at lunchtime. When this was moved to the evenings and children made their own packed lunches, it caused a reduction in staffing levels and some job losses.
As well as working at the school, Pauline also found time to serve a term as Chair of the Fair Committee around the time of Brother Ted’s death and remembers with pride that they made $20,000 which seemed a fitting tribute to him. By the 1990s after her long career at the Hostel, she left to take on a childcare role.
Her own five children were all pupils at SPC and enjoyed the sporting opportunities offered. Her family have retained strong links with the school, but she remembers the night before the official opening of the new chapel, two of them were practising their golf strokes on the school field and one particularly strong stroke narrowly missed smashing one of the new chapel windows.
She had all the right experience. She was one of eight children and she and her five sisters had to help their mother with sewing and cooking. Pauline showed an early aptitude for cooking so was usually called on to help with preparing the meals. Her father didn’t encourage academic careers for girls, so after her school days at St Theresa’s and St Catherine’s in Invercargill, she went to work for a caterer, while still helping out at home.
She had always known about the proposed Catholic boys’ school in Southland from the half crown collection every Sunday at church. This was to be the money that enabled the building of St Peter’s College.
By the time that Pauline married Jack Hickey from Waikaia and moved to Gore and had a family of her own, St Peter’s became a reality, but adequate staffing was always an issue. As a member of the Catholic Women’s League, she knew of the need for staff and when she went to work in the Hostel kitchen, she found Fr Buckner very sensible and fair to work for and with a good sense of humour, once you got to know him.
As cook, she placed the emphasis on ‘home cooking’ – wholesome and tasty food, and followed the Catholic tradition of fish on Fridays (with chips). One Sunday at mass, it was announced that the Vatican had relaxed this rule, so on the next Friday, Pauline served the boarders wiener schnitzel with chips, which went down very well. Afterwards however, she was summoned before Fr Buckner, who informed her that a parent had complained about the serving of meat on a Friday and it was only after checking with the priest about the new directive that she was vindicated.
Food for the Hostel usually came from wholesale caterers in Invercargill, but meat was sourced locally in Gore. When the Hostel first opened, numbers were small and the atmosphere homely under Br Willett. Over time the numbers grew to around 140 boarders and she remembers some of the ‘littlies’ being very homesick. She often had a couple of them to help in the kitchen and found that this was good for them and cheered them up. At her home in Lock Street, she seemed to have a 24 hour ‘toast kitchen’ where boarders would turn up at any time to hang out with her own children.
The Hostel kitchen was her pride and joy, being ‘beautiful and well equipped’. It had a steam oven and Fr Buckner was constantly amazed that she could consistently produce eggs from a steam oven that were boiled to perfection.
Pauline worked at SPC over a period of 20 years and during that time there were many changes. A boarder came from Hong Kong – the first to do so and caused something of a sensation wearing a Walkman and headphones (such things were new to Gore). When he returned after the holidays, he had to bring supplies of them for the others.
In the early days, the main meal for boarders was at lunchtime. When this was moved to the evenings and children made their own packed lunches, it caused a reduction in staffing levels and some job losses.
As well as working at the school, Pauline also found time to serve a term as Chair of the Fair Committee around the time of Brother Ted’s death and remembers with pride that they made $20,000 which seemed a fitting tribute to him. By the 1990s after her long career at the Hostel, she left to take on a childcare role.
Her own five children were all pupils at SPC and enjoyed the sporting opportunities offered. Her family have retained strong links with the school, but she remembers the night before the official opening of the new chapel, two of them were practising their golf strokes on the school field and one particularly strong stroke narrowly missed smashing one of the new chapel windows.
lindy cavanagh-monaghan
Known for her vivacity, bling and sense of fun, Lindy Cavanagh-Monaghan was much missed when in 2010 she left her post as deputy principal of St Peter’s to take over as principal of Blue Mountain College at Tapanui. Her ability to relate to all those around her and to remember all about their lives and families endeared her to everyone who knew her.
Gore born, but brought up in Riversdale, Lindy knew from the age of seven that she wanted to teach and would follow in the footsteps of mother and grandmother – both teachers. A “people person” from early on, she enjoyed studying the humanities and did a four year degree course at Otago University, specialising in music at teacher training. She returned to Gore for her first teaching job with Year 7 and 8 at Longford Intermediate School. In 1987 a vacancy at St Peter’s enabled her to fulfil her ambition to work with older students and also to develop her passion for music.
When she arrived she was immediately enveloped by the welcoming community in school and loved the feeling of inclusiveness and strong values that she found. It didn’t take long to discover that there was a fun loving staff and a good social element to the job too. Lindy fitted in well and was known for her enthusiasm as a netball coach, which culminated in winning the South Island Secondary Netball Tournament in 2009. She enthusiastically supported other sports as well and was famous for her rugby rattle on the side lines. Her involvement in the performing arts provided many highlights over the years, especially at the annual Eisteddfods.
Her main satisfaction however, came from seeing her students blossom as they progressed through school and discovered their talents – especially those who may have struggled at first, but “came good” in the end. She takes great pride in all their achievements.
Away from school, Lindy’s main interests are cultural and this was reflected at her leaving party, which was a glamorous Hollywood Awards Night, where she was described in one tribute as a “one woman crowd”.
Today in her new role at Tapanui, she focuses on the challenges of the here and now and as always in giving 110 per cent.
Gore born, but brought up in Riversdale, Lindy knew from the age of seven that she wanted to teach and would follow in the footsteps of mother and grandmother – both teachers. A “people person” from early on, she enjoyed studying the humanities and did a four year degree course at Otago University, specialising in music at teacher training. She returned to Gore for her first teaching job with Year 7 and 8 at Longford Intermediate School. In 1987 a vacancy at St Peter’s enabled her to fulfil her ambition to work with older students and also to develop her passion for music.
When she arrived she was immediately enveloped by the welcoming community in school and loved the feeling of inclusiveness and strong values that she found. It didn’t take long to discover that there was a fun loving staff and a good social element to the job too. Lindy fitted in well and was known for her enthusiasm as a netball coach, which culminated in winning the South Island Secondary Netball Tournament in 2009. She enthusiastically supported other sports as well and was famous for her rugby rattle on the side lines. Her involvement in the performing arts provided many highlights over the years, especially at the annual Eisteddfods.
Her main satisfaction however, came from seeing her students blossom as they progressed through school and discovered their talents – especially those who may have struggled at first, but “came good” in the end. She takes great pride in all their achievements.
Away from school, Lindy’s main interests are cultural and this was reflected at her leaving party, which was a glamorous Hollywood Awards Night, where she was described in one tribute as a “one woman crowd”.
Today in her new role at Tapanui, she focuses on the challenges of the here and now and as always in giving 110 per cent.
sister mary david (pauline gallagher)
It may have been the five year old Maori girl who asked “Can you tell me about God?” that convinced Pauline Gallagher that it was exactly what she wanted to do – teach children about God.
Brought up on the west coast at Greymouth, she had been a pupil at St Mary’s College, run by the Sisters of Mercy and as she couldn’t start teacher training college until she was eighteen she accepted the chance to go as a seventeen year old, for some work experience at the tiny school of Okarito in the south west. There were only five pupils, including the little Maori girl.
In 1940s New Zealand there weren’t many career choices for girls – teaching, nursing and working in offices, banks and shops were the usual choices. Pauline opted for teacher training in Dunedin and working as a lay teacher, relieving in a Catholic school, confirmed her calling and she joined the Mercy Sisters.
She began her working life as a qualified teacher, at St Patrick’s in Dunedin, before moving on to St Philomena’s College. But when the Mercy Superior issued a new appointment list in 1968, Sr Pauline’s name was on it. She was to travel south to a new education challenge in Gore.
A new Catholic boys’ school was being built there and staffed by the Rosminian Order, but in the years prior to 1969 little thought had been given to founding a co-ed school until the arrival in Gore of Fr Lance Hurdidge IC, who had been appointed by his Rosminian Superiors in England to be the first Headteacher. In what was probably his first meeting with Bishop Kavanagh of Dunedin in1968, Fr Hurdidge asked him what provision he had made for the secondary education of the girls in the area. The Bishop’s reply was a questioning look of surprise! Fr Hurdidge had been acting for some years as Deputy Head at the well known, Rosminian St Gregory’s (co-ed) College in Huddersfield, England. This experience had convinced him of the value of co-education and it didn’t take long to convince Bishop Kavanagh of the idea for Gore. But there were difficulties!
By this time the St Peter’s building was almost completed, but without the necessary provision for a mixed intake of pupils - boys and girls. Considerable thought and action had to be given to the need for changes to the buildings, especially toilet facilities, gym changing rooms, curriculum options and female teachers, to name just a few.
Bishop Kavanagh recognised the need for a Religious Order of Women to join the Rosminians in the administration and staffing of the new college. Several were approached, but because the Sisters of Mercy had already been established in Gore and several other Southland primary schools, for many years, the decision was made to invite them to be involved in the new venture.
In 1968 three Sisters were appointed to be the foundation teachers: Sr M Stephanie Glen, Sr M. Fidelis (Zita Kean) and Sr Mary David (Pauline Gallagher).
The founding teachers were determined that the charisms of both their orders should be integral to the life of the school and so Charity and Mercy and a sense of Christian community became fundamentals in the daily life of St Peter’s. The staff worked well together and a strong spirit of Christian community soon became evident among staff and students..
Sr M. David still remembers Fr Hurdidge’s rather amusing response when she asked him how he saw her role as Senior Mistress. He replied, “You are to be in charge of the girls in all things pertaining to girls as girls! “.
Finding that the girls tended to be overshadowed in the early days, by being outnumbered by the boys about two to one - there was no boarding facilities for the girls until several years later- Sr M. David set about raising their expectations and academic self esteem. With the arrival of Mrs Loyola Williams as a lay teacher of Home Science and Sr Stephanie teaching music, choir and drama, the curriculum for girls broadened. The Sisters brought the idea of an annual Eisteddfod with them from Dunedin and a variety of talents were discovered. Sr M. David began debating sessions and the Bishop’s Shield competition in public speaking became well established. Sr M. Fidelis’ skills and experience were responsible for the setting up of the College Library. The Sisters also took an enthusiastic part in teaching girls’ sports, despite being somewhat hampered by their long habits in the early days. Two different education systems had to be accommodated at St Peter’s. The Rosminians brought their ideas from England and these had to be integrated into theNew Zealand system, which tended to be more competitive at that time. For example, Fr Hurdidge didn’t approve of awarding Dux Awards or prizes for places in Class in those early years.
Before the Integration of Catholic schools around 1975, finance was limited and couldn’t stretch to employing ancillary staff e.g. cleaners. So this had to be included in the teaching staff duties, especially of the Sisters, who often wondered what had inspired the architect to choose white floor tiles for a boys' school corridor!
After six years of teaching in Gore, Sr M. David attended the Pastoral Institute in Melbourne to study for a diploma in Religious Education and while there, was elected Superior General of the Mercy Sisters. This meant that at the end of her 8 year term of office, there was no return to St Peter’s but a move into spiritual guidance and pastoral counselling. This moved her to Auckland for about seven years and even six months in Cyprus and Lebanon, working with ex-pat Missionaries who were on the edge of burnout through their time in Afghanistan and the Middle East.
On her return to New Zealand, Sr M. David (now known as Sr Pauline Gallagher) spent time in spiritual guidance work in Wanaka, before retiring to Alexandra.
There she has been involved in a variety of Mercy ministries and spending time in quiet contemplation. She enjoys maintaining links with old friends from St Peter’s.
Brought up on the west coast at Greymouth, she had been a pupil at St Mary’s College, run by the Sisters of Mercy and as she couldn’t start teacher training college until she was eighteen she accepted the chance to go as a seventeen year old, for some work experience at the tiny school of Okarito in the south west. There were only five pupils, including the little Maori girl.
In 1940s New Zealand there weren’t many career choices for girls – teaching, nursing and working in offices, banks and shops were the usual choices. Pauline opted for teacher training in Dunedin and working as a lay teacher, relieving in a Catholic school, confirmed her calling and she joined the Mercy Sisters.
She began her working life as a qualified teacher, at St Patrick’s in Dunedin, before moving on to St Philomena’s College. But when the Mercy Superior issued a new appointment list in 1968, Sr Pauline’s name was on it. She was to travel south to a new education challenge in Gore.
A new Catholic boys’ school was being built there and staffed by the Rosminian Order, but in the years prior to 1969 little thought had been given to founding a co-ed school until the arrival in Gore of Fr Lance Hurdidge IC, who had been appointed by his Rosminian Superiors in England to be the first Headteacher. In what was probably his first meeting with Bishop Kavanagh of Dunedin in1968, Fr Hurdidge asked him what provision he had made for the secondary education of the girls in the area. The Bishop’s reply was a questioning look of surprise! Fr Hurdidge had been acting for some years as Deputy Head at the well known, Rosminian St Gregory’s (co-ed) College in Huddersfield, England. This experience had convinced him of the value of co-education and it didn’t take long to convince Bishop Kavanagh of the idea for Gore. But there were difficulties!
By this time the St Peter’s building was almost completed, but without the necessary provision for a mixed intake of pupils - boys and girls. Considerable thought and action had to be given to the need for changes to the buildings, especially toilet facilities, gym changing rooms, curriculum options and female teachers, to name just a few.
Bishop Kavanagh recognised the need for a Religious Order of Women to join the Rosminians in the administration and staffing of the new college. Several were approached, but because the Sisters of Mercy had already been established in Gore and several other Southland primary schools, for many years, the decision was made to invite them to be involved in the new venture.
In 1968 three Sisters were appointed to be the foundation teachers: Sr M Stephanie Glen, Sr M. Fidelis (Zita Kean) and Sr Mary David (Pauline Gallagher).
The founding teachers were determined that the charisms of both their orders should be integral to the life of the school and so Charity and Mercy and a sense of Christian community became fundamentals in the daily life of St Peter’s. The staff worked well together and a strong spirit of Christian community soon became evident among staff and students..
Sr M. David still remembers Fr Hurdidge’s rather amusing response when she asked him how he saw her role as Senior Mistress. He replied, “You are to be in charge of the girls in all things pertaining to girls as girls! “.
Finding that the girls tended to be overshadowed in the early days, by being outnumbered by the boys about two to one - there was no boarding facilities for the girls until several years later- Sr M. David set about raising their expectations and academic self esteem. With the arrival of Mrs Loyola Williams as a lay teacher of Home Science and Sr Stephanie teaching music, choir and drama, the curriculum for girls broadened. The Sisters brought the idea of an annual Eisteddfod with them from Dunedin and a variety of talents were discovered. Sr M. David began debating sessions and the Bishop’s Shield competition in public speaking became well established. Sr M. Fidelis’ skills and experience were responsible for the setting up of the College Library. The Sisters also took an enthusiastic part in teaching girls’ sports, despite being somewhat hampered by their long habits in the early days. Two different education systems had to be accommodated at St Peter’s. The Rosminians brought their ideas from England and these had to be integrated into theNew Zealand system, which tended to be more competitive at that time. For example, Fr Hurdidge didn’t approve of awarding Dux Awards or prizes for places in Class in those early years.
Before the Integration of Catholic schools around 1975, finance was limited and couldn’t stretch to employing ancillary staff e.g. cleaners. So this had to be included in the teaching staff duties, especially of the Sisters, who often wondered what had inspired the architect to choose white floor tiles for a boys' school corridor!
After six years of teaching in Gore, Sr M. David attended the Pastoral Institute in Melbourne to study for a diploma in Religious Education and while there, was elected Superior General of the Mercy Sisters. This meant that at the end of her 8 year term of office, there was no return to St Peter’s but a move into spiritual guidance and pastoral counselling. This moved her to Auckland for about seven years and even six months in Cyprus and Lebanon, working with ex-pat Missionaries who were on the edge of burnout through their time in Afghanistan and the Middle East.
On her return to New Zealand, Sr M. David (now known as Sr Pauline Gallagher) spent time in spiritual guidance work in Wanaka, before retiring to Alexandra.
There she has been involved in a variety of Mercy ministries and spending time in quiet contemplation. She enjoys maintaining links with old friends from St Peter’s.
Sister sue france
In its early days, St Peter’s College was staffed by the Rosminians and the Sisters of Mercy. Gradually over the years lay teachers replaced them and by 1990, Sister Sue France, the last of the Mercy Sisters to teach here, left the school.
Sister Sue worked at the school for three years and looks back at her time here with fondness. A Southlander by birth, she was one of ten children and three of her brothers were pupils here. Brought up in Ohai, she herself was taught by the Sisters of Mercy at St Patrick’s in Nightcaps, before going on to St Catherine’s in Invercargill. At the age of nineteen and feeling that she had a vocation, with the support of her family, she was able to join the order in Dunedin. At a prayer weekend at their convent in Gore, the sisters had greatly impressed her with their ordinariness, laughter and humanity.
By the time she came to Gore in 1987, she had gained her teaching diploma and worked for several years at Moreau College, teaching English, French, Social Studies and Religious Education.
St Peter’s was her first experience of a co-ed school, however the rest of the staff proved to be very supportive and wonderful to work with and she was quickly accepted as part of the school family. She soon noticed that the boys made the most noise and tended to dominate in the classroom and she had to adopt strategies to redress the balance in favour of the girls.
For Sister Sue, the highlights of working here were watching how the younger children developed in confidence as they progressed through the school and the joyful way that staff and pupils celebrated special occasions together. Amongst her colleagues there were individuals who stood out by displaying great compassion and understanding when dealing with others and at least one other who had a great sense of style and fun!
As well as teaching, Sister Sue also did Special Needs support sessions and this confirmed her desire to go on and train as a counsellor. Travelling to the USA she completed an MSc at Loyola College in Maryland where she was trained as a counsellor, with a special interest in working with victims and witnesses of crime.
On her return to New Zealand, she worked as a psychotherapist for Catholic Social Services in Dunedin, as well as doing a long distance commute to cover her private practice in Invercargill. More qualifications were to follow and returning to the USA she worked with veterans in a residential substance abuse treatment programme and then in a mental health facility. Having completed her PhD, Dr Sue returned to Dunedin in 2007 and took up her current post at the Mercy Hospital’s Marinoto Clinic.
With her gentle manner and air of authority, Dr Sue reckons that she has achieved a good balance in her life, dealing one to one with individual patients, but also dealing with the broader picture on the hospital board of directors and Tiaki Manatu o Aotearoa Sisters of Mercy New Zealand Trust Board.
Over the years she has maintained her connections with St Peter’s and enjoys returning for functions and celebrations, reflecting that the staff have done a great job in keeping the special character of the school alive into the twenty first century.
Sister Sue worked at the school for three years and looks back at her time here with fondness. A Southlander by birth, she was one of ten children and three of her brothers were pupils here. Brought up in Ohai, she herself was taught by the Sisters of Mercy at St Patrick’s in Nightcaps, before going on to St Catherine’s in Invercargill. At the age of nineteen and feeling that she had a vocation, with the support of her family, she was able to join the order in Dunedin. At a prayer weekend at their convent in Gore, the sisters had greatly impressed her with their ordinariness, laughter and humanity.
By the time she came to Gore in 1987, she had gained her teaching diploma and worked for several years at Moreau College, teaching English, French, Social Studies and Religious Education.
St Peter’s was her first experience of a co-ed school, however the rest of the staff proved to be very supportive and wonderful to work with and she was quickly accepted as part of the school family. She soon noticed that the boys made the most noise and tended to dominate in the classroom and she had to adopt strategies to redress the balance in favour of the girls.
For Sister Sue, the highlights of working here were watching how the younger children developed in confidence as they progressed through the school and the joyful way that staff and pupils celebrated special occasions together. Amongst her colleagues there were individuals who stood out by displaying great compassion and understanding when dealing with others and at least one other who had a great sense of style and fun!
As well as teaching, Sister Sue also did Special Needs support sessions and this confirmed her desire to go on and train as a counsellor. Travelling to the USA she completed an MSc at Loyola College in Maryland where she was trained as a counsellor, with a special interest in working with victims and witnesses of crime.
On her return to New Zealand, she worked as a psychotherapist for Catholic Social Services in Dunedin, as well as doing a long distance commute to cover her private practice in Invercargill. More qualifications were to follow and returning to the USA she worked with veterans in a residential substance abuse treatment programme and then in a mental health facility. Having completed her PhD, Dr Sue returned to Dunedin in 2007 and took up her current post at the Mercy Hospital’s Marinoto Clinic.
With her gentle manner and air of authority, Dr Sue reckons that she has achieved a good balance in her life, dealing one to one with individual patients, but also dealing with the broader picture on the hospital board of directors and Tiaki Manatu o Aotearoa Sisters of Mercy New Zealand Trust Board.
Over the years she has maintained her connections with St Peter’s and enjoys returning for functions and celebrations, reflecting that the staff have done a great job in keeping the special character of the school alive into the twenty first century.
sister leona garchow
Sister Leona Garchow made a welcome return visit to St Peter's College with a group of seminarians from the Holy Cross Seminary in Auckland, where she is the Director of Pastoral Formation. She took the opportunity to reminisce on her time at SPC.
Sister Leona had been excited to come and teach at St Peter’s from 1978-9 as it was a co-educational school and considered very forward thinking at the time. She was particularly impressed with the large number of extra-curricular activities that the pupils were involved in. The other highlight for her was that she was to be teaching some PE, taking charge of the Senior A and B and Junior A netball teams. She loved netball, sports days and swimming sports and regrets that she didn’t have the opportunity to be more involved with them.
She recalled a South Island Netball Tournament in Dunedin, where the boys went along to cheer the girls’ teams on – something that she felt indicated how socially well adapted the pupils were. The co-educational setting produced well adjusted youngsters who were supportive of each other and good friends.
After leaving St Peter’s, Sister Leona moved on to teach at Waikiwi in Invercargill, then to W. Samoa and Wellington and spent 20 years as Chaplain at Otago Polytechnic. From 1995 to 1997 she studied for a Masters in Pastoral Counselling in the USA and she took up her present position in pastoral care and spiritual direction in Auckland in 2008.
Returning south in 2014, she noticed changes in the layout of St Peter’s, but discovered that the founding spirit was still evident in school through the students. It was heartening to feel that ex-staff were welcomed and included when they returned. The Rosminians and Mercies who taught here continue to maintain the connections established in those early days and it was good to know that there was a tangible appreciation of the school’s history.
Sister Leona had been excited to come and teach at St Peter’s from 1978-9 as it was a co-educational school and considered very forward thinking at the time. She was particularly impressed with the large number of extra-curricular activities that the pupils were involved in. The other highlight for her was that she was to be teaching some PE, taking charge of the Senior A and B and Junior A netball teams. She loved netball, sports days and swimming sports and regrets that she didn’t have the opportunity to be more involved with them.
She recalled a South Island Netball Tournament in Dunedin, where the boys went along to cheer the girls’ teams on – something that she felt indicated how socially well adapted the pupils were. The co-educational setting produced well adjusted youngsters who were supportive of each other and good friends.
After leaving St Peter’s, Sister Leona moved on to teach at Waikiwi in Invercargill, then to W. Samoa and Wellington and spent 20 years as Chaplain at Otago Polytechnic. From 1995 to 1997 she studied for a Masters in Pastoral Counselling in the USA and she took up her present position in pastoral care and spiritual direction in Auckland in 2008.
Returning south in 2014, she noticed changes in the layout of St Peter’s, but discovered that the founding spirit was still evident in school through the students. It was heartening to feel that ex-staff were welcomed and included when they returned. The Rosminians and Mercies who taught here continue to maintain the connections established in those early days and it was good to know that there was a tangible appreciation of the school’s history.
sister stephen (josie dolan)
It all started with a phone call from Reverend Mother asking if she could teach typing. Well, yes, she had studied typing for a year at school. “Good. And music?” She could read music and sing. “Splendid. Well, you’re to go and teach at St Peter’s College next week”.
For young Sister Stephen, teaching five year olds at Winton Primary School and studying for her teaching diploma extramurally at Massey University, this news was a thrilling prospect. St Peter’s was a new, young school, with great potential and looking back, Sister Josie says “We grew up together.”
Southland born to a farming family at Tuatapere, but educated by the Mercy Sisters in Dunedin, she has always admired their work. When the time came to decide on her future path, she delayed enrolling in Otago University’s School of Physical Education and joined the sisters “for a fortnight” to sample the life, but then never left.
At St Peter’s she was a form teacher for forms 1 and 2 teaching mainly English, social studies, RE, typing, music and PE and Health.
It was PE that was her particular interest and over the years she has been involved in netball, swimming, lifesaving, gymnastics, cricket, softball, basketball and squash. When the teaching day was over, she would take team practice after school and then do extramural study for her degree in the evenings
Sister Stephen lived in the convent in Gore and loved the life there in both the convent and the school. She particularly enjoyed staff participation in sports, when staff teams would play against school netball or hockey teams. One year the staff performed as a “guest choir” in the Eisteddfod.
There were many social staff occasions too, including times when staff from Gore High School and Longford Intermediate were invited to functions at the College.
The day when she first swapped her habit for a tracksuit to teach PE was a memorable one. She remembers that the pupils were so stunned by the sight that they were particularly co-operative!
As well as organising PE displays, she was closely involved in the Form 1 and 2 folk dancing socials. This annual event was eagerly anticipated. Great effort was put into preparing, practicing and decorating. Parents were invited and joined in with the dancing.
Inter-school sports were encouraged and with lots of teams competing, it meant that everyone had a chance to join in, not just those who shone at games.
Sports and education trips were highlights in the school year. On one skating trip to Queenstown in a Jenkins bus, they came across another Jenkins bus that had broken down. The occupants all piled on to their bus and they turned out to be the Netherlands Women’s Hockey Team. The St Peter’s pupils regaled them with traditional NZ songs as they completed their journey.
Looking back, she recalls that there always seemed to be an atmosphere of energy about the place. There was a wonderful spirit in the school – among the staff, the students, their families and the wider community. It was a gift to have been in such a supportive environment in those early years and to have worked alongside and learnt from some very inspirational teachers.
After six year in post at SPC, Sister Stephen moved to Dunedin to complete her studies and taught part time at Moreau College, where she was also part of the hostel staff.
In the 1980s she spent a year in Australia and in the years that followed, her interests widened to include ecumenism, eco-feminism and social welfare.
From teaching, she moved on to working with those whose interests weren’t being met by society. As well as working as a sister in parishes in Invercargill and Dunedin, she has travelled widely, attending conferences and meetings as part of her work in the field of justice and women’s issues.
She has worked as a co-ordinator at the family court for nearly ten years and also as Presbyterian support in the role of co-ordinator at the Cameron Centre. Her interest in justice and equality led to involvement with the Women’s Movement, where she has taken part in many protests.
Nowadays, her main focus is with Restorative Justice Otago – a community service contracted to the Ministry of Justice, in which she helps to facilitate meetings between those who have caused harm and those who have been affected.
Throughout her life, she has worked for change and believes that as a woman of Mercy, her Mercy charism goes with her in whatever role she fulfils.
For young Sister Stephen, teaching five year olds at Winton Primary School and studying for her teaching diploma extramurally at Massey University, this news was a thrilling prospect. St Peter’s was a new, young school, with great potential and looking back, Sister Josie says “We grew up together.”
Southland born to a farming family at Tuatapere, but educated by the Mercy Sisters in Dunedin, she has always admired their work. When the time came to decide on her future path, she delayed enrolling in Otago University’s School of Physical Education and joined the sisters “for a fortnight” to sample the life, but then never left.
At St Peter’s she was a form teacher for forms 1 and 2 teaching mainly English, social studies, RE, typing, music and PE and Health.
It was PE that was her particular interest and over the years she has been involved in netball, swimming, lifesaving, gymnastics, cricket, softball, basketball and squash. When the teaching day was over, she would take team practice after school and then do extramural study for her degree in the evenings
Sister Stephen lived in the convent in Gore and loved the life there in both the convent and the school. She particularly enjoyed staff participation in sports, when staff teams would play against school netball or hockey teams. One year the staff performed as a “guest choir” in the Eisteddfod.
There were many social staff occasions too, including times when staff from Gore High School and Longford Intermediate were invited to functions at the College.
The day when she first swapped her habit for a tracksuit to teach PE was a memorable one. She remembers that the pupils were so stunned by the sight that they were particularly co-operative!
As well as organising PE displays, she was closely involved in the Form 1 and 2 folk dancing socials. This annual event was eagerly anticipated. Great effort was put into preparing, practicing and decorating. Parents were invited and joined in with the dancing.
Inter-school sports were encouraged and with lots of teams competing, it meant that everyone had a chance to join in, not just those who shone at games.
Sports and education trips were highlights in the school year. On one skating trip to Queenstown in a Jenkins bus, they came across another Jenkins bus that had broken down. The occupants all piled on to their bus and they turned out to be the Netherlands Women’s Hockey Team. The St Peter’s pupils regaled them with traditional NZ songs as they completed their journey.
Looking back, she recalls that there always seemed to be an atmosphere of energy about the place. There was a wonderful spirit in the school – among the staff, the students, their families and the wider community. It was a gift to have been in such a supportive environment in those early years and to have worked alongside and learnt from some very inspirational teachers.
After six year in post at SPC, Sister Stephen moved to Dunedin to complete her studies and taught part time at Moreau College, where she was also part of the hostel staff.
In the 1980s she spent a year in Australia and in the years that followed, her interests widened to include ecumenism, eco-feminism and social welfare.
From teaching, she moved on to working with those whose interests weren’t being met by society. As well as working as a sister in parishes in Invercargill and Dunedin, she has travelled widely, attending conferences and meetings as part of her work in the field of justice and women’s issues.
She has worked as a co-ordinator at the family court for nearly ten years and also as Presbyterian support in the role of co-ordinator at the Cameron Centre. Her interest in justice and equality led to involvement with the Women’s Movement, where she has taken part in many protests.
Nowadays, her main focus is with Restorative Justice Otago – a community service contracted to the Ministry of Justice, in which she helps to facilitate meetings between those who have caused harm and those who have been affected.
Throughout her life, she has worked for change and believes that as a woman of Mercy, her Mercy charism goes with her in whatever role she fulfils.
sister helen o'neill
Sister Helen O’Neill doesn’t believe in dwelling on the past, but visiting Gore in 2014 she took time to reminisce on her years teaching at St Peter’s College and where life has taken her since.
She was brought up on a dairy farm at Edendale, the oldest of five children and religion was always part of daily life for her. Later, taught by the Sisters of Mercy at St Philomena’s School in Dunedin, she was aware of an empathy with their work.
Her first job however, was with a government department in Invercargill as a cashier and she thought nothing of walking through the streets, laden money bag in hand, on her way to bank the takings. No thought of street crime in those days. After eighteen months in post she heeded her calling and joined the Sisters in Dunedin to begin her novitiate and embarked on teacher training by correspondence course.
Her first teaching job was at St Bernadette’s in Dunedin and she took her final vows and so began her life as a nun, one that she has never regretted. She has always been happy to be a Sister of Mercy.
In 1973, while working at Ranfurly Primary School, she was directed to go south and take up a teaching post at St Peter’s College in Gore. She loved the change of coming to this new secondary school and the freedom and spirit of the students here. There was a tangible sense of excitement in the air. The sisters were an integral part of the staff, with as many as six teaching here at one time.
Initially teaching art, RE and Social Studies, she went on the become Director of Religious Education in school and enjoyed the challenges of teaching RE as the syllabus was changing and she needed to be resourceful and creative in overseeing this change. Less appealing aspects of her job included umpiring hockey in the freezing cold. She was given this task, as she had once played hockey, but she admits to being vague about the actual rules of the game! There was also an incident when staff were entertaining family members in school and Sister Helen had made the chocolate cakes for the refreshments, forgetting to add any sugar to the mix. She became aware that there were a lot of unfinished cakes around...
A particular highlight of the job was taking a disparate group of third formers, who had come together from about twenty different schools and needed cohesion, on an orientation to Lawrence. Examining the historic gold workings, doing rubbings in the graveyard and other team building activities made for a great bonding time which resulted in a trouble free school year.
Then as now, Sister Helen appreciated the lovely spirit evident in school. She finds the students focused and settled in their approach to life and feels that the service aspect of the curriculum helps the older children look out for the younger ones.
By 1980, another directive arrived, which meant that it was time to move on and she was sad to leave, but looking forward to the future and what turned out to be a good move. She went to Moreau College in Dunedin, where she was again employed in a teaching role, (but no hockey) and then on to Kavanagh College. This was also a new establishment with a vitality, energy and focus and it was exciting to be a part of this. She enjoyed this role from 1989 until 1994 when she became a pastoral worker at the college. Life in Dunedin was punctuated with trips abroad for spiritual renewal, study and travel and she spent time in Melbourne, California, the UK and Ireland.
Today, Sister Helen continues to carry out her pastoral work in the Dunedin area. She shares the ministry of several parishes reaching as far away as Palmerston and Port Chalmers. She still believes in living in the present, not looking back too much and being ready to meet future challenges.
She was brought up on a dairy farm at Edendale, the oldest of five children and religion was always part of daily life for her. Later, taught by the Sisters of Mercy at St Philomena’s School in Dunedin, she was aware of an empathy with their work.
Her first job however, was with a government department in Invercargill as a cashier and she thought nothing of walking through the streets, laden money bag in hand, on her way to bank the takings. No thought of street crime in those days. After eighteen months in post she heeded her calling and joined the Sisters in Dunedin to begin her novitiate and embarked on teacher training by correspondence course.
Her first teaching job was at St Bernadette’s in Dunedin and she took her final vows and so began her life as a nun, one that she has never regretted. She has always been happy to be a Sister of Mercy.
In 1973, while working at Ranfurly Primary School, she was directed to go south and take up a teaching post at St Peter’s College in Gore. She loved the change of coming to this new secondary school and the freedom and spirit of the students here. There was a tangible sense of excitement in the air. The sisters were an integral part of the staff, with as many as six teaching here at one time.
Initially teaching art, RE and Social Studies, she went on the become Director of Religious Education in school and enjoyed the challenges of teaching RE as the syllabus was changing and she needed to be resourceful and creative in overseeing this change. Less appealing aspects of her job included umpiring hockey in the freezing cold. She was given this task, as she had once played hockey, but she admits to being vague about the actual rules of the game! There was also an incident when staff were entertaining family members in school and Sister Helen had made the chocolate cakes for the refreshments, forgetting to add any sugar to the mix. She became aware that there were a lot of unfinished cakes around...
A particular highlight of the job was taking a disparate group of third formers, who had come together from about twenty different schools and needed cohesion, on an orientation to Lawrence. Examining the historic gold workings, doing rubbings in the graveyard and other team building activities made for a great bonding time which resulted in a trouble free school year.
Then as now, Sister Helen appreciated the lovely spirit evident in school. She finds the students focused and settled in their approach to life and feels that the service aspect of the curriculum helps the older children look out for the younger ones.
By 1980, another directive arrived, which meant that it was time to move on and she was sad to leave, but looking forward to the future and what turned out to be a good move. She went to Moreau College in Dunedin, where she was again employed in a teaching role, (but no hockey) and then on to Kavanagh College. This was also a new establishment with a vitality, energy and focus and it was exciting to be a part of this. She enjoyed this role from 1989 until 1994 when she became a pastoral worker at the college. Life in Dunedin was punctuated with trips abroad for spiritual renewal, study and travel and she spent time in Melbourne, California, the UK and Ireland.
Today, Sister Helen continues to carry out her pastoral work in the Dunedin area. She shares the ministry of several parishes reaching as far away as Palmerston and Port Chalmers. She still believes in living in the present, not looking back too much and being ready to meet future challenges.
kate leebody
“It is what it is” – that’s how Kate Leebody sums up her rich and varied career at St Peter’s College. Philosophical, pragmatic and optimistic, she has made her mark on the many young lives that she has helped to steer towards rewarding careers.
Originally from Hedgehope, she was dux of the local primary school and then a first day pupil at James Hargest High School. Kate came to Gore in 1968 via teacher training at Christchurch. Looking back she says that in the 1960s, girls tended to be steered towards nursing or teaching and she found herself fulfilling those expectations. At the time there was a shortage of maths and science teachers, so she was channelled in that direction. After a couple of initial posts she was appointed to teach maths at Gore High School and then in 1978 transferred to St Peter’s College.
As a non-Catholic, she was surprised to find that there was less obvious religion in her new Catholic school. She was used to religious assemblies taking place daily, but initially, worship at SPC was in individual classrooms and it was only later that whole school assemblies started. Kate found the priests and nuns to be inclusive and understanding and her involvement was always encouraged in situations that required care and empathy, if not in religious ones.
Over the years, she has witnessed the change from a religious, to a totally lay staff and has found it particularly interesting going on retreats with teachers and pupils and seeing how they coped in different environments, which could prove personally challenging.
Kate’s life in Gore has centred round her family, her teaching and also netball, which has been an ongoing passion. Heavily involved in coaching, Kate successfully progressed up to national level in netball administration. Netball provided her with huge opportunities and growth through personal development in the sport. In school, Kate was increasingly aware that there was a cohort of young people who were not adequately catered for by the curriculum and although there was always a careers teacher at SPC, funding for this department was limited.
The introduction of a financial strand for STAR and Gateway programmes in education and her move into this role, provided an opportunity for her to develop a vocational department. Involving local tradespeople to give youngsters valuable work experience, co-ordinating courses with polytechnics and educating parents on the value of practical training for those not suited to university, are just some of her achievements. The opening of the Tertiary High School has been the culmination of this work. Six rural high schools have come together to allow young people to gain qualifications from a Tertiary provider with a wider group and to gain credits for NCEA level 2 while following a Vocational Pathways. Kate intends to maintain an interest in this work and the vocational Youth Guarantee Network after she leaves SPC.
Asked if pupils are any different today from when she started teaching, she thinks not, despite some of today’s perceptions and she cites the glowing report on the conduct of the school netball team that she recently took on tour to Australia. She has worked hard to introduce the cult of the role model into her pupil’s lives, aided by the SPC ethic of teachers respecting their pupils, which sets a good example.
When tragedy struck her family in 2000, Kate found the whole school community united in their support and was grateful to find them all at her side through that difficult time. Looking back she regrets the increasing burden of administration now placed on staff. The demands of meetings and paperwork have eroded some of the interchange that was always so much a part of SPC.
Her retirement and impending move from Gore to Dunedin, will open a new chapter in Kate’s life and make it easier for her to maintain family ties with her sons in Dunedin and Auckland. As she sets off on a two month tour of the USA and Europe, she can look back on the many achievements of her career to date and reflect quite rightly that - “it is what it is”.
Originally from Hedgehope, she was dux of the local primary school and then a first day pupil at James Hargest High School. Kate came to Gore in 1968 via teacher training at Christchurch. Looking back she says that in the 1960s, girls tended to be steered towards nursing or teaching and she found herself fulfilling those expectations. At the time there was a shortage of maths and science teachers, so she was channelled in that direction. After a couple of initial posts she was appointed to teach maths at Gore High School and then in 1978 transferred to St Peter’s College.
As a non-Catholic, she was surprised to find that there was less obvious religion in her new Catholic school. She was used to religious assemblies taking place daily, but initially, worship at SPC was in individual classrooms and it was only later that whole school assemblies started. Kate found the priests and nuns to be inclusive and understanding and her involvement was always encouraged in situations that required care and empathy, if not in religious ones.
Over the years, she has witnessed the change from a religious, to a totally lay staff and has found it particularly interesting going on retreats with teachers and pupils and seeing how they coped in different environments, which could prove personally challenging.
Kate’s life in Gore has centred round her family, her teaching and also netball, which has been an ongoing passion. Heavily involved in coaching, Kate successfully progressed up to national level in netball administration. Netball provided her with huge opportunities and growth through personal development in the sport. In school, Kate was increasingly aware that there was a cohort of young people who were not adequately catered for by the curriculum and although there was always a careers teacher at SPC, funding for this department was limited.
The introduction of a financial strand for STAR and Gateway programmes in education and her move into this role, provided an opportunity for her to develop a vocational department. Involving local tradespeople to give youngsters valuable work experience, co-ordinating courses with polytechnics and educating parents on the value of practical training for those not suited to university, are just some of her achievements. The opening of the Tertiary High School has been the culmination of this work. Six rural high schools have come together to allow young people to gain qualifications from a Tertiary provider with a wider group and to gain credits for NCEA level 2 while following a Vocational Pathways. Kate intends to maintain an interest in this work and the vocational Youth Guarantee Network after she leaves SPC.
Asked if pupils are any different today from when she started teaching, she thinks not, despite some of today’s perceptions and she cites the glowing report on the conduct of the school netball team that she recently took on tour to Australia. She has worked hard to introduce the cult of the role model into her pupil’s lives, aided by the SPC ethic of teachers respecting their pupils, which sets a good example.
When tragedy struck her family in 2000, Kate found the whole school community united in their support and was grateful to find them all at her side through that difficult time. Looking back she regrets the increasing burden of administration now placed on staff. The demands of meetings and paperwork have eroded some of the interchange that was always so much a part of SPC.
Her retirement and impending move from Gore to Dunedin, will open a new chapter in Kate’s life and make it easier for her to maintain family ties with her sons in Dunedin and Auckland. As she sets off on a two month tour of the USA and Europe, she can look back on the many achievements of her career to date and reflect quite rightly that - “it is what it is”.
sister mary andrew (moya smith)
I joined the staff in 1971. I was known at that time as Sister Mary Andrew, a member of the Sisters of Mercy from Dunedin. At St Peter’s I taught English, French, Chemistry, Art History, Music and Maths.
My parents were very happy to see me working in Gore after thirteen years away at school and university including eight years teaching at St Philomena’s in Dunedin.
It was my first time teaching boys and working with priests and brothers. There was a sharp learning curve in gender and cultural studies. The men bought their midlands English flavour to the predominantly Irish/Scottish Celtic culture of Otago / Southland catholic life. And the boys turned out to be a joy to teach.
After the initial challenges of settling in and coping with the cleaning expected of the female staff members, I really came to enjoy teaching in Gore. I found a group of students who were very keen to learn. Most realized that their futures meant leaving the south to study at Otago University and seek work elsewhere.
In English classes I remember teaching lots of Thomas Hardy, Graham Greene and George Orwell. Since I had a huge interest in film, I used to supplement my teaching of literature with films of novels. This led to setting up a Sunday evening Film Club and I remember those frosty winter nights showing “art films” in the James Cumming wing with supper and good discussion afterwards. I remember too those three special boys who wanted to study music for University Entrance. We did not have a classroom and ended up in the Convent ‘parlour’ immersed in Bartok! And there were the burgeoning skills of the young actors in play productions such as The Admirable Crichton and The Diary of Anne Frank!
Around 1972, Art History was offered as a new subject in New Zealand schools. I loved teaching those enthusiastic students about Cubism, New Zealand art and the study of design. The course included lots of trips outside the classroom visiting artists in Dunedin and viewing the work of architects like Ted McCoy. I remember too evening bus trips to NZSO concerts in Dunedin Town Hall returning to Gore in the early hours of the morning.
After five years, I knew it was time to leave. I went to Christchurch, did my Masters in English at Canterbury University and studies in Art History while tutoring in English and working on a farm at Woodend. I then spent fifteen years at Sacred Heart Girls’ (now renamed Cathedral College) in Ferry Road, Christchurch as H.O.D. English, followed by English language teaching in Japan at Sonoda Women’s University and other institutions in Canterbury and Otago.
I have many great memories of my time at St Peter’s and the wonderful young people I met there. Some are still friends today across all those years. I look forward to the great reunion in 2019 and I hope to meet lots of familiar faces there!
My parents were very happy to see me working in Gore after thirteen years away at school and university including eight years teaching at St Philomena’s in Dunedin.
It was my first time teaching boys and working with priests and brothers. There was a sharp learning curve in gender and cultural studies. The men bought their midlands English flavour to the predominantly Irish/Scottish Celtic culture of Otago / Southland catholic life. And the boys turned out to be a joy to teach.
After the initial challenges of settling in and coping with the cleaning expected of the female staff members, I really came to enjoy teaching in Gore. I found a group of students who were very keen to learn. Most realized that their futures meant leaving the south to study at Otago University and seek work elsewhere.
In English classes I remember teaching lots of Thomas Hardy, Graham Greene and George Orwell. Since I had a huge interest in film, I used to supplement my teaching of literature with films of novels. This led to setting up a Sunday evening Film Club and I remember those frosty winter nights showing “art films” in the James Cumming wing with supper and good discussion afterwards. I remember too those three special boys who wanted to study music for University Entrance. We did not have a classroom and ended up in the Convent ‘parlour’ immersed in Bartok! And there were the burgeoning skills of the young actors in play productions such as The Admirable Crichton and The Diary of Anne Frank!
Around 1972, Art History was offered as a new subject in New Zealand schools. I loved teaching those enthusiastic students about Cubism, New Zealand art and the study of design. The course included lots of trips outside the classroom visiting artists in Dunedin and viewing the work of architects like Ted McCoy. I remember too evening bus trips to NZSO concerts in Dunedin Town Hall returning to Gore in the early hours of the morning.
After five years, I knew it was time to leave. I went to Christchurch, did my Masters in English at Canterbury University and studies in Art History while tutoring in English and working on a farm at Woodend. I then spent fifteen years at Sacred Heart Girls’ (now renamed Cathedral College) in Ferry Road, Christchurch as H.O.D. English, followed by English language teaching in Japan at Sonoda Women’s University and other institutions in Canterbury and Otago.
I have many great memories of my time at St Peter’s and the wonderful young people I met there. Some are still friends today across all those years. I look forward to the great reunion in 2019 and I hope to meet lots of familiar faces there!
Loyola williams
“I still turn right when coming out of Vogel Street”
Long after she left St Peter’s College, this was Loyola’s automatic reaction when she left home. Thirty years of teaching there had left their mark. Loyola was invited to join the staff in 1970 by Father Hurdidge, the Headmaster, who felt that there was a gap in the school’s provision for girls. In the male dominated environment, of what was originally to be a boys’ boarding school, run by Rosminian priests, the decision was taken to go co-ed. With girls coming on board, the thinking had to change and Loyola’s experience as a co-ed secondary teacher was going to be invaluable.
With a background in Home Economics teaching, Loyola’s brief was to introduce a different perspective – “Education for Life”. Many of the girls came from rural backgrounds and were used to hardwork lifestyles, but she tried to instil in her pupils that creativity could be an integral part of everyday life, no matter how mundane. Aiming high at school became the norm for girls as well as boys and many girls from St Peter’s have gone on to study medicine and law, achieving high status in their fields. They are also well represented in the upper echelons of the business world and many other spheres.
Over her thirty years of teaching at St Peter’s, the biggest transformation was in the make up of the teaching staff. As the first lay teacher joining the ranks of priests and nuns she brought with her a different perspective, more in touch with everyday life. By the end of her career the balance had changed with only one religious, Sister Sian, on the staff.
Strong local traditions of hospitality were always in evidence in school and when they had visiting teams for sports fixtures, Loyola would help with laying on a good spread of soup, cakes and fruit. Perhaps this is where her legendary pumpkin soup rose to fame. She shares the recipe below.
Loyola still retains strong links with the SPC community and these days she remembers to turn left when she wants to go to town!
Loyola’s Pumpkin Soup
Long after she left St Peter’s College, this was Loyola’s automatic reaction when she left home. Thirty years of teaching there had left their mark. Loyola was invited to join the staff in 1970 by Father Hurdidge, the Headmaster, who felt that there was a gap in the school’s provision for girls. In the male dominated environment, of what was originally to be a boys’ boarding school, run by Rosminian priests, the decision was taken to go co-ed. With girls coming on board, the thinking had to change and Loyola’s experience as a co-ed secondary teacher was going to be invaluable.
With a background in Home Economics teaching, Loyola’s brief was to introduce a different perspective – “Education for Life”. Many of the girls came from rural backgrounds and were used to hardwork lifestyles, but she tried to instil in her pupils that creativity could be an integral part of everyday life, no matter how mundane. Aiming high at school became the norm for girls as well as boys and many girls from St Peter’s have gone on to study medicine and law, achieving high status in their fields. They are also well represented in the upper echelons of the business world and many other spheres.
Over her thirty years of teaching at St Peter’s, the biggest transformation was in the make up of the teaching staff. As the first lay teacher joining the ranks of priests and nuns she brought with her a different perspective, more in touch with everyday life. By the end of her career the balance had changed with only one religious, Sister Sian, on the staff.
Strong local traditions of hospitality were always in evidence in school and when they had visiting teams for sports fixtures, Loyola would help with laying on a good spread of soup, cakes and fruit. Perhaps this is where her legendary pumpkin soup rose to fame. She shares the recipe below.
Loyola still retains strong links with the SPC community and these days she remembers to turn left when she wants to go to town!
Loyola’s Pumpkin Soup
- 2 rashers bacon, I med onion, 3 tsp chicken stock, 1 tsp curry powder, 1 blade thyme, 2-3 potatoes sliced, 1 pumpkin skinned and sliced. Boil all together and then simmer for ¾ hour.
- When cool, put through liquidiser. Add salt and pepper to taste. Freeze or serve as follows: Heat with milk – ¾ pumpkin mix to ¼ milk.
- Add knob butter and sprinkle of marjoram. Grate some cheese, put in bottom of bowl, pour over soup and sprinkle with ¼ tsp of marjoram and parsley.
alan ritchie
Nowadays Alan Ritchie is in big demand in several local organisations. He’s primarily a carpenter, but is currently President of the Gore Gardening Club, active in photography, country music and local sports clubs and although retired, he still finds time to do relief teaching at local schools.
Alan’s own teaching career began thirty two years ago and looking back he reflects that his greatest satisfaction has been in sharing his woodwork and technical drawing skills with young people, especially if in later years he meets them again and finds that they are fully qualified carpenters.
Alan has spent all his life in the Gore district. The Ritchie family owned land to the south of the town, in the area of the showground and the old hospital, where his uncle farmed dairy cows. It was a country upbringing within walking distance of the town and Alan was a first day pupil at West Gore School. He remembers the whole school going out with buckets to pick up stones on the ground that was to be turned into playing fields. When the school opened, they were short of equipment and at first pupils had to take brown paper to school so they had something to write on.
At home, Alan loved to help with the cows and draft horses on his uncle’s farm and the family sold milk around the town and also sent it to Mataura. His dad, Ernie, worked for the post office and was a well-known character in the district, being heavily involved in local sports. Alan inherited this love and was soon playing rugby and cricket for West Gore School. As a boy, he also helped out when the family built two houses on their land. From this early experience developed an interest in carpentry, so that when he moved on to Gore High School, he studied their technical course and determined to be a carpenter himself.
His working career in carpentry began in January 1963 with Gore Construction, who he remembers, put him to work on his first day, stacking timber in the hot sun and he got sunburned, but things improved after that and he was to stay with the company for the next eighteen years. During this time he completed his Trade Certificate.
By 1979 he became aware of advertisements in the press highlighting the need for technical teachers in New Zealand and with his practical skills and love of technical drawing this appealed to Alan. There was also the lure of long holidays!
One Saturday, after a local senior rugby match, Alan and the rest of the front row were chatting on the bench and someone mentioned that Menzies College were looking for a woodwork teacher and Alan expressed interest. The following Monday, the Menzies College Principal knocked on his door saying he was urgently needed to fill this teaching role for a year to cover for staff illness.
So, without recourse to teaching training college, Alan’s teaching career had begun…
At Menzies College, he not only taught woodwork and technical drawing, but was also involved with coaching their sports teams. At the end of his year’s contract, while taking a cricket team to play against St Peter’s College, he met Fr. Eric Willett, who asked him what he planned to do next. Alan had been accepted at Outpost in Invercargill to do a one year technical teacher’s course, but as SPC was a private school, he didn’t actually need that to work there, so in 1981 he took up a new position in the their woodwork department.
During his eight years at SPC he taught all age groups and studied for his own Advanced Trade Certificate and the New Zealand Certificate in Building. These qualifications allowed him to access resources to better equip his pupils when they went on to further education.
Weekends were still taken up with sports and family life and Alan also taught night school classes for many years.
His greatest satisfaction at SPC, were the workshop technology projects that his students were able to produce. These were very practical projects that they had to both design and build – often pieces of furniture. They were displayed in school and marked and then further assessed by teachers from other areas. Alan appreciated the peer approval and parents were often amazed at the standard of work produced by their children.
At schools’ integration in 1982, he found that his trade qualifications and competency, coupled with his years of experience, meant that he finally officially qualified as a teacher, but years of standing on the concrete floor of the woodwork department, were taking their toll on his back. When a position as Head of Woodwork became vacant back at Menzies College he “jumped ship” and returned to Wyndham and took charge of a wooden floored department .
By 2002, with changes in teaching methods, national standards, less practical work and more book work, Alan decided to take a break from teaching did two years with an apprentice organisation vetting apprenticeships throughout Otago and Southland, before returning to teaching at Blue Mountain College.
He officially “retired” in 2012, but has done regular relief work, as well as teaching guitar one day a week in the winter terms.
Nowadays, he divides his time between his other interests, including genealogy and he hopes one day to travel to Scotland and visit Kilmarnock – ancestral home of the Ritchies.
Alan’s own teaching career began thirty two years ago and looking back he reflects that his greatest satisfaction has been in sharing his woodwork and technical drawing skills with young people, especially if in later years he meets them again and finds that they are fully qualified carpenters.
Alan has spent all his life in the Gore district. The Ritchie family owned land to the south of the town, in the area of the showground and the old hospital, where his uncle farmed dairy cows. It was a country upbringing within walking distance of the town and Alan was a first day pupil at West Gore School. He remembers the whole school going out with buckets to pick up stones on the ground that was to be turned into playing fields. When the school opened, they were short of equipment and at first pupils had to take brown paper to school so they had something to write on.
At home, Alan loved to help with the cows and draft horses on his uncle’s farm and the family sold milk around the town and also sent it to Mataura. His dad, Ernie, worked for the post office and was a well-known character in the district, being heavily involved in local sports. Alan inherited this love and was soon playing rugby and cricket for West Gore School. As a boy, he also helped out when the family built two houses on their land. From this early experience developed an interest in carpentry, so that when he moved on to Gore High School, he studied their technical course and determined to be a carpenter himself.
His working career in carpentry began in January 1963 with Gore Construction, who he remembers, put him to work on his first day, stacking timber in the hot sun and he got sunburned, but things improved after that and he was to stay with the company for the next eighteen years. During this time he completed his Trade Certificate.
By 1979 he became aware of advertisements in the press highlighting the need for technical teachers in New Zealand and with his practical skills and love of technical drawing this appealed to Alan. There was also the lure of long holidays!
One Saturday, after a local senior rugby match, Alan and the rest of the front row were chatting on the bench and someone mentioned that Menzies College were looking for a woodwork teacher and Alan expressed interest. The following Monday, the Menzies College Principal knocked on his door saying he was urgently needed to fill this teaching role for a year to cover for staff illness.
So, without recourse to teaching training college, Alan’s teaching career had begun…
At Menzies College, he not only taught woodwork and technical drawing, but was also involved with coaching their sports teams. At the end of his year’s contract, while taking a cricket team to play against St Peter’s College, he met Fr. Eric Willett, who asked him what he planned to do next. Alan had been accepted at Outpost in Invercargill to do a one year technical teacher’s course, but as SPC was a private school, he didn’t actually need that to work there, so in 1981 he took up a new position in the their woodwork department.
During his eight years at SPC he taught all age groups and studied for his own Advanced Trade Certificate and the New Zealand Certificate in Building. These qualifications allowed him to access resources to better equip his pupils when they went on to further education.
Weekends were still taken up with sports and family life and Alan also taught night school classes for many years.
His greatest satisfaction at SPC, were the workshop technology projects that his students were able to produce. These were very practical projects that they had to both design and build – often pieces of furniture. They were displayed in school and marked and then further assessed by teachers from other areas. Alan appreciated the peer approval and parents were often amazed at the standard of work produced by their children.
At schools’ integration in 1982, he found that his trade qualifications and competency, coupled with his years of experience, meant that he finally officially qualified as a teacher, but years of standing on the concrete floor of the woodwork department, were taking their toll on his back. When a position as Head of Woodwork became vacant back at Menzies College he “jumped ship” and returned to Wyndham and took charge of a wooden floored department .
By 2002, with changes in teaching methods, national standards, less practical work and more book work, Alan decided to take a break from teaching did two years with an apprentice organisation vetting apprenticeships throughout Otago and Southland, before returning to teaching at Blue Mountain College.
He officially “retired” in 2012, but has done regular relief work, as well as teaching guitar one day a week in the winter terms.
Nowadays, he divides his time between his other interests, including genealogy and he hopes one day to travel to Scotland and visit Kilmarnock – ancestral home of the Ritchies.
ruth low
Having worked at St Peter’s College for over 30 years, Ruth Low can look back with some satisfaction on a job well done. Alongside a busy home life helping to run a farm and raising a family, she has managed to make a difference to generations of young people, especially those that she describes as “being on the edge”.
She has loved all the ages and stages of the school and has seen many changes in the last three decades as principals have come and gone. In Martin Thyne’s day she remembers the big communal table in the staffroom and lots of enthusiasm from a young and diverse staff. As more technology crept in, some of this camaraderie was inevitably lost. John Boyce’s time saw cutbacks in some of the sports exchanges and an even greater emphasis on culture, with wonderful stage productions and a growth in the Eisteddfod, supported by creative staff members. Three more principals have brought changes of their own and made their mark in Ruth’s time here and she in turn has contributed in many different aspects of school life over the years.
Coming to St Peter’s to work part time, when her youngest child was starting school, she was employed to teach PE and maths but then moved on to include social studies and junior science. Beginning as an assistant to Sister Josephine in the maths department, she gradually took on more of the teaching herself. Over time she grew into the role of maths teacher, starting with year 9 and progressing up the age groups by mastering the curriculum in the holidays. Looking back, Ruth says she has taught with some wonderful people in a very caring and considerate workplace.
Over the years she helped out at the Hostel, often staying behind to assist students who were struggling with their work. She was a keen tramper and loved spending time at Borland Lodge and trekking with groups of young people. Ruth has a very high regard for the outdoor education staff and the opportunities that they give to the youngsters. She has also been in charge of the International Students Department and organised their homestays and made many friends amongst the homestay parents. Homesick students from abroad could often be found in her kitchen, preparing food and finding companionship. In her time here, Ruth has seen how the student body at the school has learned to accept other cultures and welcome the diversity that they bring.
In the last few years, her focus has been on helping students with problems to realise their full potential and she is passionate about ensuring that they are given every opportunity to achieve, gaining great joy from her pastoral role.
A Gore girl herself, Ruth didn’t originally intend to become a teacher. She was musical as a child and had her heart set on a career in broadcasting, but good exam results meant that her father insisted that she stay on at school and go on to university. Having gained a degree, she went on to teacher training college and began teaching in Invercargill. By then, she was married to Ross and the opportunity arose to take over the family farm, so it was back to Merino Downs.
It hasn’t all been hard work though. The family had a crib at Riverton for many happy holiday breaks. They have always been keen on racing and have bred horses and also supported their daughter when she was taking part in one day events. In 2002 and despite Ross’s health problems over the years, they were able to make a 14 week trip abroad. Basing themselves in London, they travelled all over the UK from there. They were also able to visit many parts of Europe, the USA, Canada and Singapore
Her family are all grown up now – Geoff, a doctor of philosophy based in the UK, Deb, a sales manager in Invercargill, with a family of her own and Warrick, Head of Tourism at Venture Southland. Now that she is retiring, Ruth will have more time to spend at their holiday home in Roxburgh, tackling those photo albums and doing some more walking. If circumstances allow, she also hopes to visit her grand- daughters in Surrey.
But for now, with time to reflect, Ruth is happy that she chose teaching as her career.
She has loved all the ages and stages of the school and has seen many changes in the last three decades as principals have come and gone. In Martin Thyne’s day she remembers the big communal table in the staffroom and lots of enthusiasm from a young and diverse staff. As more technology crept in, some of this camaraderie was inevitably lost. John Boyce’s time saw cutbacks in some of the sports exchanges and an even greater emphasis on culture, with wonderful stage productions and a growth in the Eisteddfod, supported by creative staff members. Three more principals have brought changes of their own and made their mark in Ruth’s time here and she in turn has contributed in many different aspects of school life over the years.
Coming to St Peter’s to work part time, when her youngest child was starting school, she was employed to teach PE and maths but then moved on to include social studies and junior science. Beginning as an assistant to Sister Josephine in the maths department, she gradually took on more of the teaching herself. Over time she grew into the role of maths teacher, starting with year 9 and progressing up the age groups by mastering the curriculum in the holidays. Looking back, Ruth says she has taught with some wonderful people in a very caring and considerate workplace.
Over the years she helped out at the Hostel, often staying behind to assist students who were struggling with their work. She was a keen tramper and loved spending time at Borland Lodge and trekking with groups of young people. Ruth has a very high regard for the outdoor education staff and the opportunities that they give to the youngsters. She has also been in charge of the International Students Department and organised their homestays and made many friends amongst the homestay parents. Homesick students from abroad could often be found in her kitchen, preparing food and finding companionship. In her time here, Ruth has seen how the student body at the school has learned to accept other cultures and welcome the diversity that they bring.
In the last few years, her focus has been on helping students with problems to realise their full potential and she is passionate about ensuring that they are given every opportunity to achieve, gaining great joy from her pastoral role.
A Gore girl herself, Ruth didn’t originally intend to become a teacher. She was musical as a child and had her heart set on a career in broadcasting, but good exam results meant that her father insisted that she stay on at school and go on to university. Having gained a degree, she went on to teacher training college and began teaching in Invercargill. By then, she was married to Ross and the opportunity arose to take over the family farm, so it was back to Merino Downs.
It hasn’t all been hard work though. The family had a crib at Riverton for many happy holiday breaks. They have always been keen on racing and have bred horses and also supported their daughter when she was taking part in one day events. In 2002 and despite Ross’s health problems over the years, they were able to make a 14 week trip abroad. Basing themselves in London, they travelled all over the UK from there. They were also able to visit many parts of Europe, the USA, Canada and Singapore
Her family are all grown up now – Geoff, a doctor of philosophy based in the UK, Deb, a sales manager in Invercargill, with a family of her own and Warrick, Head of Tourism at Venture Southland. Now that she is retiring, Ruth will have more time to spend at their holiday home in Roxburgh, tackling those photo albums and doing some more walking. If circumstances allow, she also hopes to visit her grand- daughters in Surrey.
But for now, with time to reflect, Ruth is happy that she chose teaching as her career.
John Boyce
In the 1994 edition of “The Rock” magazine, Principal, John Boyce wrote “...we can’t rest on our laurels because our work is too important. Each year has to be a great year…”
The school was doing well – among the best in the South, with excellent exam results – with a talented and hard-working staff he had turned things around from the low point of just three years before.
A newcomer to Gore, John arrived at St Peter’s in 1991 from Hamilton, where he had been Senior Master at the Sacred Heart Girls’ College. He needed a new challenge and the Gore vacancy came up at just the right time. Catholic schools had recently been integrated into the state system and pay parity and comparable standards had ensued, making moving between state and Catholic systems easier.
Raised in North Canterbury, John had been a pupil at St Bede’s and was influenced in his choice of career by their teaching order of Marist priests. His subjects were English and Drama and his first job was at Ashburton College. He soon found that he had issues with the ethos in state schools, but found his niche in the Catholic system in Hamilton.
Later, arriving in Gore he was amazed at the friendliness of the people. His children made friends straight away and when his daughter went out to play, she came home with a Gore accent!
At St Peter’s he rallied the staff, put new structures in place and provided strong leadership. Together they changed disciplinary procedures, introduced one hour lessons, improved exam results and evened out subject distribution time, so that all subjects gained equal importance. Throughout this process, the Catholic character of the school was maintained and strengthened with the help of John’s wife, Suellen, Head of RE.
John recognized the need to “market” the school and introduced a more professional approach to how it was presented. This new way of thinking enabled the PTFA to go out and raise funds at a whole new level.
Looking back at those years, the Eisteddfods stand out as one of the highlights and when he moved on to Garin College in Nelson ten years later, John took the idea with him and introduced it there. They embraced it and went on to develop it with their own local culture and customs.
With his interest in drama, John produced several shows here at St Peter’s to much acclaim, notably “Godspell” starring Mike Puru in the lead role and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat” with Brendan Terry. Throughout the 1990s rebuilding continued at the school, the car park was sealed, trees were planted and funds found for the hostel and the chapel roof.
After ten years, with a strong and vibrant school community, a hard working and cohesive staff, a new emphasis on the arts, along with continued success in sports, John realized that it was time for a change – for himself as well as the school. But he says he took the St Peter’s ethos to Nelson.
He hasn’t kept close ties with the school over the years, feeling that new people needed the freedom to get on with it, without his influence, and after fifteen years at Garin College in Nelson he has retired.
Retirement has brought more family time and the opportunity to indulge in his hobby of growing bonsai trees. He is learning to play the penny whistle too.
A shoulder tap from the Dunedin Diocese brought him back to visit St Peter’s in 2016, to review the Catholic Special Character of the school. On his return he found that outwardly it all looked much the same. There are more trees and two extra classrooms, but the community spirit that he so carefully nurtured is intact. In the 1991 “Rock”, John said “St Peter’s is busy and productive – just the way it should be.” He found it that way again today.
So, what does the future hold for our ex-principal? He hopes more time with his grand children, a greater role in parish life and a walk along the Camino de Santiago, Pilgrims’ Way in Spain – maybe he’ll be playing that penny whistle as he goes...
The school was doing well – among the best in the South, with excellent exam results – with a talented and hard-working staff he had turned things around from the low point of just three years before.
A newcomer to Gore, John arrived at St Peter’s in 1991 from Hamilton, where he had been Senior Master at the Sacred Heart Girls’ College. He needed a new challenge and the Gore vacancy came up at just the right time. Catholic schools had recently been integrated into the state system and pay parity and comparable standards had ensued, making moving between state and Catholic systems easier.
Raised in North Canterbury, John had been a pupil at St Bede’s and was influenced in his choice of career by their teaching order of Marist priests. His subjects were English and Drama and his first job was at Ashburton College. He soon found that he had issues with the ethos in state schools, but found his niche in the Catholic system in Hamilton.
Later, arriving in Gore he was amazed at the friendliness of the people. His children made friends straight away and when his daughter went out to play, she came home with a Gore accent!
At St Peter’s he rallied the staff, put new structures in place and provided strong leadership. Together they changed disciplinary procedures, introduced one hour lessons, improved exam results and evened out subject distribution time, so that all subjects gained equal importance. Throughout this process, the Catholic character of the school was maintained and strengthened with the help of John’s wife, Suellen, Head of RE.
John recognized the need to “market” the school and introduced a more professional approach to how it was presented. This new way of thinking enabled the PTFA to go out and raise funds at a whole new level.
Looking back at those years, the Eisteddfods stand out as one of the highlights and when he moved on to Garin College in Nelson ten years later, John took the idea with him and introduced it there. They embraced it and went on to develop it with their own local culture and customs.
With his interest in drama, John produced several shows here at St Peter’s to much acclaim, notably “Godspell” starring Mike Puru in the lead role and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat” with Brendan Terry. Throughout the 1990s rebuilding continued at the school, the car park was sealed, trees were planted and funds found for the hostel and the chapel roof.
After ten years, with a strong and vibrant school community, a hard working and cohesive staff, a new emphasis on the arts, along with continued success in sports, John realized that it was time for a change – for himself as well as the school. But he says he took the St Peter’s ethos to Nelson.
He hasn’t kept close ties with the school over the years, feeling that new people needed the freedom to get on with it, without his influence, and after fifteen years at Garin College in Nelson he has retired.
Retirement has brought more family time and the opportunity to indulge in his hobby of growing bonsai trees. He is learning to play the penny whistle too.
A shoulder tap from the Dunedin Diocese brought him back to visit St Peter’s in 2016, to review the Catholic Special Character of the school. On his return he found that outwardly it all looked much the same. There are more trees and two extra classrooms, but the community spirit that he so carefully nurtured is intact. In the 1991 “Rock”, John said “St Peter’s is busy and productive – just the way it should be.” He found it that way again today.
So, what does the future hold for our ex-principal? He hopes more time with his grand children, a greater role in parish life and a walk along the Camino de Santiago, Pilgrims’ Way in Spain – maybe he’ll be playing that penny whistle as he goes...