The Main School, Timaru, circa 1909, Timaru, by William Ferrier. Te Papa (O.051442)
On 8 October 2024, it will be exactly 150 years since Timaru Main School first opened its doors. This year marks the school’s 150th jubilee. The story of the school came to life for me recently when I was invited to speak at an event and I got to meet some truly remarkable people and hear their stories.
One woman shared a memory from her childhood, living on Cliff Street. She remembered practising for air raids at Timaru Main School. Each child wore a string around their neck, holding a small linen pouch. Inside the pouch was a piece of chewing gum and a cork. When the alarm went, the children went into trenches dug in the school grounds. They were told to chew the gum and place it in their ears, and to put the cork in their mouth. I asked her if she had been frightened. She said not really. They did not know why they were doing it, and in those days children were seen and not heard. You did what you were told.
Later, walking at Patiti Point, I noticed the old bluestone barbeque and remembered hearing it was built from the stone blocks of the old school. Between her story and those weathered blocks, I felt drawn to learn more about Timaru Main. So here is today’s blog...
1880 - Timaru Main School.org.nz
The first school in Timaru to come under any formal control was started by the Church of England in August 1859, just a few months before the Strathallan arrived that December.
By 1870, there were growing calls for a non-denominational school that belonged to the public. A site was approved in 1872 at Wilson’s Paddock, which was bordered by North, Theodosia and Arthur Streets and Grey Road. Construction began in September 1873 and the foundation stone was laid that December.
The school was formally opened on Wednesday 8 October 1874. It was observed as a public holiday. The chairman of the Canterbury Board of Education, Charles C Bowen, and the Superintendent, William Rolleston (who later became a minister for Education in 1881), travelled to Timaru by coach, as the railway had not yet arrived. The day included a procession and children’s sports. The guests and townspeople were invited to tour the building. That evening, 700 people gathered for speeches and musical entertainment. Two nights later there was a grand ball.
The school grew alongside the town. In 1878, a master’s house and a janitor’s cottage were built. The master’s house did not receive outhouses or other basic facilities until the following year. An infant block was added in 1940 on the left side of the site. A 1956 aerial photograph shows both the old and new school buildings, with Timaru Technical College in the foreground.
Today, the school buildings are gone, but not everything has disappeared. The master’s house still stands. It is known as Bluestone House and was designed in the late 1870s by architect Thomas Cane. It became home to the school’s headmasters for nearly ninety years and is now a protected heritage building. Though it has been empty since 2012 due to earthquake concerns, it remains a physical reminder of the school’s past.
There is also a war memorial at the corner of Arthur and Grey Streets, unveiled in 1921 to honour the 360 teachers and former pupils who served in the First World War. Seventy of them lost their lives. A scroll listing their names was placed in the foundation stone of the memorial. It is a powerful part of the school’s story.
Timaru Main School - South Canterbury Museum 2450b
The memories of Timaru Main continue in other ways too. The school’s alumni website gathers old class photographs and shared recollections, including from as far back as the 1920s. The South Canterbury Museum holds a photographic archive from the 1980s and 1990s, showing what school life looked like in later years. These small details bring the bigger story to life.
That image of the children in the trenches, with gum in their ears and corks in their mouths, has stayed with me. It was a small moment from one person’s life, but it opened the door to a much wider story. Even after one hundred and fifty years, it feels like Timaru Main School still has something to teach us.
World famous boxer - Bob Fitzsimmons went to this school as a boy. He left school at an early age, he said for bullying, and hatched a plan to run away from town. He hatched a plan with a ship captain, but the ship wrecked on the shore and Bobs plan fell over. Bob later worked for his brother Jarret in the forge as a black smith. This is where he built his strong upper body, giving him a winning edge for his boxing career, known to many as the fighting blacksmith. Bob went on to wind three world titles in three weight divisions. There's a plaque on the corner of Grey Road in front of Environment Canterbury where the Fitzsimmons family home was. And a statue was erected in the main shopping area of Timaru to remember him and remind us, even from a small town, you can go on to do legandary things if you want to.
Francis John Wilson played a key role in the establishment of Timaru Main School. In 1873, the same year he opened the Criterion Hotel, he was appointed as both architect and builder for the new public school. This project was part of Timaru’s move towards non-denominational, publicly funded education, and Wilson’s design helped give the school a sense of permanence and stature. Constructed in local bluestone, the school stood solidly for more than a century, serving generations of students and becoming a landmark in the town’s educational and architectural history.
Wilson was no stranger to large civic projects. Following the devastating fire of December 1868, which destroyed much of Timaru’s wooden commercial district, he became a central figure in the town’s rebuild. Already working as a builder and serving on the Borough Council, he was described as the man who practically rebuilt Timaru. His signature use of bluestone not only ensured greater fire resistance but also gave the town its distinctive visual character. At the same time as he was working on the school, he was involved in constructing the Masonic Hall, rebuilding shops and warehouses, and collaborating with civic leaders such as Richard Turnbull on projects that helped shape the heart of the town.
Wilson’s influence extended beyond construction. He served on the Timaru Borough Council from 1869 to 1877, and later as Member of Parliament for the Pareora electorate from 1881 to 1884. His political and civic involvement was rooted in practical knowledge of infrastructure, trade, and building. He was closely involved in the conversations that led to the construction of Timaru’s southern breakwater, a project that dramatically expanded the port and helped establish Timaru’s independence and prosperity.
Although Francis Wilson left Timaru in 1887 during an economic downturn, his architectural legacy remained. Many of the buildings he designed or built still stand, and others live on in memory or reuse. The old bluestone barbeque at Patiti Point, for example, is said to be made from stone salvaged from the school he helped build. His work helped shape not just the skyline of Timaru, but also its civic spirit. Four generations of architects followed in his footsteps, including his grandson, Francis Gordon Wilson, who became New Zealand’s Chief Government Architect and oversaw the design of the state housing programme from the 1930s onwards. Wilson’s involvement in Timaru Main School is just one chapter in a much wider story of contribution, craftsmanship, and community.
At the time Timaru Main School was built and opened in 1873 and 1874, education was still managed at the provincial level, and there was no national Minister of Education. The leading figure in Canterbury was Hon Charles Christopher Bowen, chairman of the Canterbury Board of Education. He played a key role in shaping public education policy in the region and was present at the school’s official opening. A few years later, in 1877, Bowen became New Zealand’s first Minister of Education and introduced the Education Act that established free, compulsory, and secular schooling across the country. Also present at the school’s opening was William Rolleston, then Superintendent of Canterbury, who would later go on to become Minister of Education from 1881 to 1884, continuing his long-standing support for education and public institutions.
Timaru South School opened in 1881 as a side school to Timaru Main, becoming a full school in 1896. It served as a contributing school from 1974 with the opening of Watlington Intermediate, before returning to full primary status in 2005. Its roll has ranged between 270 and 300, with the current roll sitting around 210.
For several years the school operated across two campuses — the original site and one at Pareora — until the Pareora site closed in 2018 due to falling enrolments. Since then, the school has operated on a single campus with extensively refurbished and modernised facilities. Major upgrades have taken place since the 1990s, including classroom refurbishments, administrative upgrades, and the creation of new teaching blocks and flexible learning areas.
Recent developments include a Play-Perform-View area (2014) for creativity and performance, and ‘The Aqua Garden’ (2017), which transformed the old swimming pool into a calming space for exploration and plant care. The Memorial Hall was fully refurbished in 2006, supporting a wide range of school activities. Overall, Timaru South continues to offer well-resourced, attractive facilities for modern learning.
Outside Timaru Main School (1874 - 2005), Paula Julie Evans. - Timaru History and Memories Facebook Page
The school was struck by a fire. Photo Tracy Barker - Facebook Timau History and Memories Group
Primary schools of our district: First in Timaru (30 Aug 1980). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 25/06/2025, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/3572
First in Timaru
The Main School, located on the corner of Grey Road and North Street, was Timaru's first public school. Stone for the building was taken from Francis J. Wilson’s quarry, which at the time was located in what is now known as Ashbury Park, near Woollcombe's Gully.
The school emerged largely out of concern for children who were having to leave the growing town to access education elsewhere. The replacement school began to take shape in 1873, with construction starting in September that year. The first classrooms officially opened on 3 October 1874.
The original building stood for over 80 years and was eventually demolished in 1956.
TIMARU’S PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19822, 11 June 1934, Page 12 (Supplement)
Timaru’s Primary Schools
The first steps towards public or semi-public education in Timaru began in 1859, when the Church of England opened a school on the main street, just south of Cannon Street. It catered to around thirty pupils, many of whom were below school age, and the education offered was very basic. The Bishop placed the school under the control of a local committee, chaired by Mr B. Woollcombe. Funding came partly through a capitation grant of £2 per pupil from the Provincial Government, and school fees of one shilling per week were also charged.
The committee soon moved the school into a woolshed and cottage leased from the Rhodes Brothers in Barnard Street. Believed to be the first wooden building in Timaru, the woolshed became the school’s home for three years. After a change of teachers—from Mr Clark to Mr Stanley and later Mr J. Reilly—the school received a government grant of £100 per year, with £35 going towards rent and £65 to the teacher’s salary. Fees paid by families also went directly to the teacher, while other costs were covered by committee members.
By 1873, a public meeting resolved to seek funding for a proper school building. The woolshed had been condemned by Inspector Restell. Although they requested £1,000, only £500 was granted. A new school was built on Browne Street, chosen deliberately outside of Rhodes Town due to conditions tied to the funding. Designed in an ecclesiastical style, it cost over £730 to complete. With only £100 raised through public subscription, Mr H. Belfield personally covered the remaining shortfall. Mr and Mrs Jaggers were appointed as the first teachers by the Bishop.
Despite these efforts, the Browne Street church school proved unpopular due to its distance from the homes of most pupils. Tensions grew between denominations, private schools of questionable quality began to appear, and families increasingly sent children out of town for education. A proposal in 1865 to convert the school into a government-run, non-denominational institution was rejected by a public meeting, largely due to opposition to new taxes.
In 1870, a renewed effort led by Presbyterian leaders proposed establishing a new school, combining both ordinary and higher education. Eventually, the church school was handed over to a new publicly elected committee, which included several prominent local figures such as R. A. Chisholm, Richard Turnbull, and Rev. George Barclay. Plans were made to enlarge the school and apply for a government grant of £300, but the required £100 in local subscriptions could not be raised.
Attempts to convert the church school into a high school followed, with Mr J. H. Hunt, M.A., of Victoria, appointed as headmaster. Higher subjects like Latin, Greek, and Algebra were taught. To fund the salaries—totalling £600—a house tax and a poll tax were introduced, which caused considerable resentment. The school became overcrowded again, and the Oddfellows' Hall was hired to serve as an infant department.
Eventually, the Education Board promised £750 toward a new building. The Rhodes Brothers offered four acres of land for £300, and the board added another £350 to enable the purchase. Funding eventually rose to £3,000, but building estimates exceeded this. Revised plans by Francis J. Wilson were adopted, and he agreed to complete the building for £3,500, acting as both architect and contractor. The stone was quarried from what became known as Sam Kirby’s quarry, near today’s golf course.
The foundation stone was laid on 16 December 1873, and Timaru Main School officially opened on 8 October 1874. The total cost of buildings and furniture exceeded £5,000, leaving the committee with an overdraft of £1,200. Disputes arose over ongoing funding, and the control of education soon shifted from the province to central government. A rate of one shilling in the pound was imposed to clear £1,900 in liabilities, but the committee refused to collect it, and the government eventually covered the debt.
Timaru Main School became the mother school of the district. At its peak, the combined rolls of the main and side schools exceeded 1,000 pupils. However, as new schools opened—including Waimataitai, Timaru South, and Timaru West—the numbers attending the central school declined.
Timaru South School, opened in 1881, was originally a "side school" for infants and lower standards, intended to save younger children from long walks across town. It gradually expanded and gained full school status in 1896, with Mr M. McLeod as its first headmaster.
Waimataitai School, now Timaru’s largest, began in 1882 in a rented dwelling on Te Weka Street. The school faced early opposition but was pushed forward by a determined committee that shouldered financial risk. The first building went up in 1883, with the board promising eventual reimbursement. Mr T. A. Walker was the first headmaster. The school grew rapidly, despite a brief dip when Timaru West opened, and is now the largest primary school in Canterbury outside Christchurch.
Timaru West School also began as a side school of Timaru Main. It opened in 1914 under Miss Aimers and quickly grew. Within two years it had a roll of 180. By 1922 it took in third and fourth standard pupils, and by 1923 was granted full school status, expanding across several temporary buildings before permanent classrooms were completed.
References and Sources
Centennial and Jubilee Publications
Timaru Main School Centennial 1874–1974 (historical account of school foundation and development)
South Canterbury Education Board Records and School Histories
Official Archives and Educational Records
Ministry of Education School Profile Summaries
Education Board of Canterbury Reports (1870s–1900s)
Inspector Restell’s condemnation report (referenced in centennial materials)
Newspaper Archives
Timaru Herald (various historical issues covering openings, meetings, and school developments)
Poverty Bay Herald, 21 April 1911 – Obituary of Francis J. Wilson
Local Heritage and Civic Records
Timaru District Council Heritage Reports /e.g. Bluestone House Heritage Assessment (HHI66)
Timaru Civic Trust documentation on city heritage architecture
Online Historical Databases
Timaru Main School Alumni Website
South Canterbury Museum Collection
New Zealand History (nzhistory.govt.nz)
Architectural and Biographical Sources
Rootsweb South Canterbury Architecture Index / Francis J. Wilson – Projects List
Biography extracts from Cyclopaedia of New Zealand and Papers Past records
School Websites and Ministry Reviews
Timaru South School Website
Timaru South School charter and review documents (2004–2018)
Personal Testimonies and Oral Histories
Conversations with former students and staff, as noted in blogs and speaker engagements