By Roselyn Fauth
It was raining. but I was keen to have a quick look around at the Rosewill hall. I was super excited to see one of the community information signs at the gate, which gave me a good understanding of the history of the place. I tried to imagine all the kids and adults who passed through the gates, thinking about the area when the trees were younger, and the area had its own rural school. I haven't grown up out of town, so I don't know what life was like back then, but I can imagine schools like this were an important community hub. Its a shame that they were not able to exist, and now the kids have to spend more time on a bus... but at least the property is still there and now used as a local meeting place and a hall. I peeked through the glass to spy the insides. I bet there are a few people that really appreciate this wee spot. So here is my blog on what I learned from the history sign and a bit of a history hunt...
It's a modest timber building, pretty standard for the time I would think. I was genuinely excited to see one of the community information panels. Standing there in the drizzle, reading, I gained a smaller insight into what this place had been.
Rosewill is a farming area just west of Timaru, in South Canterbury. It came into being in 1904 when the large Levels Run was subdivided by the Government. Part of the new settlement was named Rosewill, after the Christian names of Lady Rose and her husband Sir William Hall-Jones, who was the Member of Parliament for Timaru at the time. If the name Hall rings a bell... well that might be because of the infamous murder trial that involved their nephew and brought a big black mark on the family name, to the point that Hall Road was renamed Pages Road. I will delve into the family in a later blog, but for now... I'll stay on track... and focus on the school which opened in 1906 with ten children on the first day. I wonder how the children arrived, if it was along roads, by horse, foot or car, if they took short cuts through paddocks? Did the parents turn up for picnics or prize-givings. Did the teachers cal lout the roll. I imagine the trees around the school gate would have been much younger and smaller then.
I didn’t grow up out of town, so I don’t really know what rural life was like back then. But even I can see that schools like this weren’t just about lessons. They were hubs. Places where communities gathered, organised, argued, celebrated, and kept going. The sign talks about cocoa in winter, concerts, working bees, committees raising money so the school could afford gates, fences, even a flagpole. This was more than delivering education, this place was also probably a community meeting place.
The school closed in 1939, when many rural schools consolidated with Pleasant Point. I understand why these decisions were made. But standing there, I couldn’t help feeling a little sad about it. When a rural school closes, I can imagine the shifts. Children then had to spend more time on buses. Their daily rhythms changed. And a place that once sat at the centre of community life becomes much quieter.
Still, the building didn’t disappear. It became a hall. A local meeting place. A space that adapted rather than vanished. Still useful to the locals.
Before I left, I did what you always do. I peeked through the glass, trying to spy the inside. Empty at that moment, but not lifeless. I bet there are people who really appreciate this wee spot. People who remember when it was a school. People who still gather here and feel that continuity.
This little stop turned into a small history hunt. All sparked by a sign at a gate and my willingness to get a bit wet.
So if you’re out for a drive one day, don’t rush. Turn off the main road and make your way through the hills at Rosewill. Stand at the old school gate. Read the sign. Try to imagine the children and the teachers, the meetings and the picnics, the way this place once sat at the heart of rural life.
This is more than a hall. It’s a reminder of how communities once worked, how they changed, and how much still lingers if you’re curious enough to stop and look.
If you want to go deeper, further history of Rosewill and the surrounding district can be found in The Tale of Taiko 1906–2006: 100 Years of District Settlement by Janette Young, available through the Aoraki Heritage Collection.
Thank you to the people behind these school history signs. They are great!
Top Left: Rosewill CW1 Banner in the SC Musuem display. A banner for the Rosewill, South Canterbury, Country Women's Institute. Banner is made of black cotton and is hand embroidered with "Rosewill" in red and 1931 in yellow. Embroidered under that is the oval shaped logo "CWI for Home and Country" in yellow and green with the fern leaf and red flower symbols. Under this is embroidered a large floral motif of red flowers, green leaves and yellow and green bird. The banner is backed with gold taffeta lining.
Top Right: Arowhenua Institute Banner - Supplied by Francine Spencer. Below Left: Burnett Gate from the Burnett Homestead in Cave reads "England Expects" with Rose icon. Blow Right: Women gather at Arowhenua - Photo supplied by Francine Spencer.
A little side quest... Roses brought women together, can you find a Women's Institute that features a rose?
The first WI meeting in the UK was 16 September 1915, and was established to educate rural women, and encourage countrywomen to grow and preserve food to help the War effort in WW1.
The CW1 sought to bring women together to support each others and share ideas world wide including New Zealand and South Canterbury.
The Rosewill Country Women's Institute Banner is on display in the South Canterbury Museum. The Rosewilll branch started in 1931 and ran until 1989. Rosewill was an Estate acquired by the Government in 1900 from Levels Estate (N.Z. & Aust. Land Co.) and opened in 7/3/1904. Named after William Hall-Jones a member of Parliament. Rose was his wife. Rosewilll school opened in 1906 and closed 1939.
The first Maori Women's Institute in the South Island was formed at the Arowhenua
Temuka Leader 21 July 1931 Page 2 AROWHENUA MAORI WOMEN'S INSTITUTE IS FORMED
The first Maori Women's Institute in the South Island was formed at the Arowhenua Maori Pa yesterday afternoon, when Miss A. M. Stops, Voluntary Dominion Organiser of the Institute, addressed a gathering of about 40 women. The meeting unanimously decided to form a branch of the Canterbury Federation, to be known as the "Arowhenua Maori Women's Institute." A unique feature of the election of officers' was, the fact, that no president was elected, although four vice-presidents were appointed, these officers each to act as president at one meeting in turn. The order of presidency is to be chosen by ballot, and the vice-presidents would comprise the committee. Lending aid by giving the benefit of their experience, the presidents of the Temuka Institute (Miss M. Fergusson), Waitohi Institute (Mrs H. Sewell), and Seadown Institute (Mrs F. Smith), and the secretary of the Winchester Institute (Mrs E. C. Crosse) attended, and with them were a number of their members. Miss Slops based, her address on the three fundamental principles of the movement — non-sectarian, nonpolitical, and democratic — and went on to outline the great benefit's accruing to members of such a vast, world-wide organisation. In this course of the afternoon the speaker mentioned that there were two purely Maori Institute's in the North Island, although I hear there are many Maori members belonging to several other Institutes. The vice-presidents elected were Mesdames Kingi Rehu, Mary Waaka, P. Paipeta. and Manning. Miss Miria Paiki was elected secretary. Sister Institutes in the district, their respective representatives, offered every possible assistance to the new Institute, and Miss Ferguson undertook to bring a lecturer on "Gardening" for the first meeting. Afternoon tea was served, and at the conclusion of the formal business the Maori women sang folk songs for the visitors. - http://sites.rootsweb.com/~nzlscant/CWI.htm
The red rose depicts the British organisation and has cultural reference to the national flower of England, the rose, and to its long tradition within English symbolism.
A portrait of the Rosewill Settlement Jubilee Committee, 1954. South Canterbury Museum - 201209406. Those pictured are identified on the verso as (from left to right): BACK ROW: Gray, Blackwood, Elder(?), Black, Prout. FRONT ROW: Brosnahan, Bird, Doake, Kelynack(?). The verso also bears the Kingham's Camera Shop stamp and photographic reference number "332Z".