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Prefects and Punishments

7/8/2013

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Most NPBHS boarding old boys will remember the "Up" system, which Prefects used as punishments for minor misdemeanors committed by hostel boys. I had the unusual record of being the only Pridham Old Boy who returned to the hostel as its Senior Hostel Manager (1964-67) and I was expected to support my prefects in disciplinary matters. Prefects could give out Ups for such things as misbehavior in the dining room, locker room, talking after lights out (I think there was a 20 minute period and then a prefect on duty would go around the dorms warning that silence must now prevail). Ups would be handed out one at a time, and in exceptional cases, 2 at a time.

On Saturday mornings, at a House Meeting, the detention list would be read out with punishments allocated. These would be making prefects beds or cleaning their shoes, polishing brass door handles, cleaning the "duckboards" in the shower rooms, sweeping out the locker room etc. If a boy received 5 or more Ups in a week, the offender was referred to the Senior Housemaster. 

Tradition was that 2 strokes of the cane was mandatory. I had suffered such treatment as a boy, from Charlie Brenstrum, a man who wielded a fearsome cane regularly in the classroom, and I quickly learnt it was best to stay on the right side of him. Later Arthur Lucas succeeded Charles. He was a man I quickly came to admire and I modeled my own approach to running a hostel on him. Arthur had had a successful military career in WW2 and Old Boys will remember his military bearing as he strode out around the school. Arthur loved his "boys', but treated them firmly but fairly. He minimised the use of the cane, never giving more than two strokes, and only when he felt the 'crime' - smoking, deserved it. He took a great interest in the activities of all boys in the House, regularly seen on the sidelines in the weekends and handing out words of encouragement. 

This was the model I tried to follow, which brings me back to House Prefects and Ups. It soon became apparent to me that my prefects were not even handed. Some could keep discipline through the strength of their own personalities. They handed out few Ups, and only in 1's. The weaker ones often reverted to Double Ups, and quickly filled the quota for a boy within a week. I always asked the culprit who had given them the detentions and what for, and it became apparent, some boys were suffering at the hands of a couple of prefects for trivial reasons. I did not like this, as fundamentally, I was opposed to corporal punishment, but saw that it did have a role as a deterrent. 

I decided to try a non-corporal punishment approached and announced to the House that there would be a trial period when the cane would not be used, and an alternative introduced - cold showers before bed. I supervised this and the offenders had to stand for one minute in freezing water. To start with there was a dramatic decrease in those getting 5 Ups, so I handed the supervision to the Prefects. Shortly after I received a delegation of prefects and senior serial offenders. The request was that cold showers in winter was getting to them and they would far prefer the cane! So I compromised and caning was back, but only one stroke for 5 Ups, two for more.

During my time on the staff at NPBHS I became very friendly with the late great John ("JJ") Stewart. He had a favourite technique, which was to mildly humiliate the offender in front of the group. He would order the offender to step forward, take off a sandal or shoe and use this to administer a light whack on the bottom. The lesson to me was use your personality, and replace the physical pain of the cane with mild humiliation on a level that can do no harm, yet still inflict a lesson to the offender. 

My favourite story of this form of punishment occurred one evening when I was master on duty in what is now Pridham Hall. Boarders used the hall classrooms to do their “prep” or homework. Each room was supervised by a house prefect. Ups would be given out to maintain order, but serious offenders could be sent to the Master on Duty.

On this night a small teary-eyed third former came into the common room. I was reading a golfing magazine at the time. The conversation went like this.

"Who sent you, Jones?"
"’Grump’ sent me, sir"
"What for?"
"Pete Smith was sitting behind me and jabbed me in my bottom with a compass and I yelled out loud"
"’Grump’ was it?" (Poor prefect, poor control)
"Yes, sir"
"You know that I have to cane you if a prefect sends you here?"
"Yes sir"
"Well, I've just come in from golf, so would you like a full driver or pitching iron?
"If you don't mind, sir, I'd prefer the putter!!"

After that it was "take off one sandal, bend over". Two taps on the bottom.
"Make sure you tell ‘Grump’ you got two strokes"
"Too right and thank you sir.”

Jones and I always cheerily acknowledged each other whenever we met in the grounds. He was a great kid. He wasn't a Pridham boy so I never knew what eventually happened to him.

Contribution: Bob McCaw

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A Dog of a Tale

1/8/2012

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Dr Alan Hayton is an Old Boy who, at the age of 92, still has a vivid memory of his life and times associated with New Plymouth Boys High School. He attended school from 1933 to 1936. The following are a series of recollections.  

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This story is in reference to the back area of the Headmaster's house where he kept a magnificent dog (big and red). Possibly a red setter but it had a capacious dog kennel.

One afternoon when the dog was not at home the headmaster went out into the yard, heard a scuffling noise in the kennel and smelled the faint aroma of tobacco.

Inside the kennel he espied one Chapfield and one McBride.  

At assembly he was seen to shoot his cuffs and stiffen sinews.  he got from the lectern an instrument of a certain length and then, with a sensorous voice he announced  "Come forth yee Poodles and Pomeranians" 

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Cold Showers and Duck Boards

9/30/2011

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St Mary's Church - our Sunday service ritual
I recently had a look at the current school boarding hostel web site which made for interesting reading.Of course in our day there were three hostels - Moyes, Carrington and Pridham -  with a 'feeder hostel' Niger, located at the other side of the top ground, adjacent to the old Fort Niger redoubt on Marsland Hill,  from which it got its name.

There were more than 300 boarders when we were living at school but by 1979 the number had dropped by two thirds to 120 and in 1980 both Pridham and Niger were demolished.  

It is sad to reflect that what was once the 'home' for 120 boys emerging into adulthood, could be demolsihed in this manner, especially as it had stood since 1927.  But this is looking at the place through rose coloured glasses; in reality it was old, a fire risk and the cold winds whistled down Slum Alley, made for a spartan existence.

In my first term at NPBHS I had to private board as the hostels were full and I needed to wait for a vacancy to come up.  This I did with another former Waitara boy, Graeme Van Praagh, whose father was a doctor in the town.  Graeme is now the proprietor of Lake Tarawera Water Taxis.  

Two things I remember from this term one private boarding experience.  Firstly the landlady, kind as she was, had very limited culinary skills.  She was English as served up the standard northern Engish fare. Everything with pile of fried chips seemed to be the scope of her menu which was just the ticket for adolescent pimples!  Prior to this 12 weeks I had never imagined that I would ever tire of fried chips, but I rapidly did.

The second thing was that Graeme taught me the rudiments of boxing which stood me in good stead when we confronted by 4th form bullies later on.  Boxing has been a major sport at school in its early years but by the time I got there all that was left of this tradition was a case full of impressive silver trophies.  The reason for its decline (so I was told) was the arrival of boys from the Pacific islands who were physically far better developed than their European counterparts and didn't necessarily abide by the Queensbury rules.

When I finally got into the proper boarding hostels I was placed in the Pridham Annex and Graeme went to Carrington.

It is interesting to compare the 2011 daily boarding routine with what we experienced back then.  The current hostel sees the boys rising at 7:15am and showering. If I am correct, showering us took place earlier than this and for some reason I believe this masochistic ritual commenced at 6:00 am.  

As a third former the showers were cold ones and prefects ensured that one stayed underneath the high pressure torrent for at least 30 seconds.  Failure to do so saw a repeat of the procedure. Even in summer this was feat of endurance but in winter these ablutions were diabolical. The showers had hardwood duck boards which were meant to counteract the spread of foot diseases such as tinea but seldom did.

As a senior we progressed to hot showers in the morning, something we all appreciated. We had prep in the evening, then silent reading and lights out, very similar to today's routine.

I came across an account from another old boy who had started at school in 1945 and his memories are somewhat similar to my own - there were even some of the same masters that we experienced, teaching during his time. 

John (McGeach?)  went on to become a dentist and live in Australia but he records "Our Maths teacher was Mr. Tetley, and a brilliant man he was, although a left winger and as far as the other teachers went, was a loner. Mathematicians from near and far used to send him problems to solve".

I too remember "Tet" as he was still teaching maths in the 1960's.  He also conducted the 'art classes' although there were no Raphael's amongst our lot.  I recall "Tet" standing on his desk holding a sack in in hunched position and asking our art class to draw him.

He was an old man by then and near retirement.  The act of climbing on to the desk seemed fraught with danger and I regret that we did not do his athleticism justice.  

Rodney Warman  from Moyes (who had gone to intermediate school with me in Waitara) was quite a character.  He drew "Tet" as a Father Xmas disappearing down a chimney, in fact I think we all did.  

The great irony is that I later became an art teacher myself.  Firstly at Tararua College in the Wairarapa, then as Head of Art at Rotorua Lakes High School and finally as a head of an art school in Papua New Guinea.  

I didn't however stand on my desk holding a sack during my teaching days although there were times in PNG that I sometimes wish I had!
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Saucer Discus and The St Pats Train

9/21/2011

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NZ carriages with reversible seats
The annual rugby fixture against St Pats was and still is widely anticipated and appreciated, not only by the players from the 1st XV but also by the hoards of boarders who support them from the sideline with a rousing school haka or two.

In my time at school we used travel to Hawera is a special train so as to meet St Pat's on neutral ground, supposedly half way between New Plymouth and Wellington.

St Patrick's College (Silverstream) was originally established in 1885 so it has a similar pedigree to New Plymouth Boys High School although it is a Catholic Boarding School and NPBHS is largely secular.

The rivalry between the two schools is intense and we all looked forward to going to Hawera with our school scarves around our necks and coats to ward off the cold.

The train in question had some of the oldest carriages NZ Rail could find to put on the tracks, no doubt in the theory that we could wreck them any more than they already were.

Entertainment en route included 'tossing the turd', where some hapless third former of diminutive stature would be placed in a blanket and tossed by seniors into another 'catching' blanket further down the carriage. 

I use the term 'catching' advisedly as it didn't always happen as planned. This aerial ping-pong from my own third form year is still etched in my memory although fortunately I was of slightly heavier build and deemed 'un-tossable'.

The carriage seats were wooden and could be rolled over to face the other way, creating mini cubicles.

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The virtually indestructable NZ Rail plate
The other competitive activity on this type of train was 'saucer discus'.  The heavy Crown Lynn NZ Railway saucers and plates were virtually indestructible and an approaching viaduct or high bridge would instigate a fever pitch of activity and impromptu betting.

Windows on one side were prised open and mid-span the plates (or saucers) were flung into the abyss.  He whose plate went furthest was declared the winner.

This rather mindless 'sport' of crockery discus also took place on normally scheduled passenger trains that brought boarders back to school at the start of each term. 

It was not unknown for boys to be thrown off the train at the next available station by irate Guards and to have to bus to their final destination.

I remember one such bus trip from Hawera back to New Plymouth and having to face the wrath of my housemaster which cured me of the crockery habit once and for all.

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The Locker Room

9/12/2011

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The 1962 Strike For Better Food
Each boarding house had a locker room and Pridham was no exception.  As the title suggests it was here that each boarder kept their personal items and school books.

The locker room was also the scene of other activities, two of which spring immediately  to mind.

In my fourth form the craze of Crown and Anchor took hold.  This gambling board game used dice to determine winners and losers.  The more senior boarders were experts at getting their gambling operation packed up and back in the locker when a lookout reported the footfall of a master approaching.  Gambling in any form was strictly against the rules but that did not deter the 'croupiers'.

Games were played for pocket money. We got two shillings and sixpence per week and for the gambling addicts this soon disapeared. 'Borrowing' was rife.

The other activity in the locker room was the storing of our fruit orders.  For those boys whose parents were happy to provide it, the weekly fruit order went some way to balancing the diet of  starchy stodge served up in the school dining room. 

Culinary delights on the dining room menu included "Jerk", a thick custard with a skin the consitsency of rubber and roast potatoes which were so hard, their exterior had been known to crack teenage teeth.

In the winter term juniors looked forward to 'toast duty' which meant getting up early and spending time in the warmth of the dining room kitchen. Sliced loaves of bread were separated and fed into a large conveyor belt toaster.

As most of my fellow boarders came from farms they were well versed in the coloured markings on the roasts of meat we were served in the dining room.  Matters came to a head in my third form year when one of the seniors spotted 'reject meat' markings on the Sunday roast.  This resulted in the then famous Strike For Better Food.  The menu improved noticeably after this action led by the prefects and seniors.

The aforementioned fruit orders served another purpose.  It was not unknown for those with the chemistry skills to produce a potent homebrew in beer flagons, which they stored on the school farm during the fermenting process.  It is reliably reported that one flagon, left in the upper boughs of a cabbage tree on the farm, exploded under the pressure of the sun and the fermenting process.

Before and after rugby practice the locker room was the place where we stored our boots.  The laces were taken out and it was expected that all mud and stain was removed from these before the next game.  Such washing activity took place in the school laundry.  We used polish and dubbin to weather proof our leather boots and cleanimng the studs was another laborious post-match ritual.  All of our clothes had name tags so that when they were sent for laundry we could be assured of getting back the correct items.

The boarding school system worked on a system of demerit points called "ups".  You were "gated" if found to be up to mischief and each week the tally was publically announced at the house assembly.  Minor tallies of "ups' resulted in servitude for the week; usually doing tasks for senior boys such as shoe and boot cleaning.

Larger tallies of 5 or six ups resulted in a caning from the house master.  It was a matter of some pride to carve a notch in one's leather belt for every caning endured. By the end of the fourth form my belt resembled a Mayan zigguart but still managed to hold up my shorts.
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    Roger Smith

    Pridham House Boarder - 1962 to 1966

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