By Roselyn Fauth

I think this building is a symbol of hope, courage, and the belief that every young person in Timaru, especially girls, deserves the chance to learn, grow, and lead. And knowing that someone lost their life helping to build it makes that symbol even more important.

I have been learning more about the history of my old high school, Timaru Girls’ High School. Probably like many of my classmates at the time, I didn’t think much about how it started or what it meant to have a secondary school for girls back in the 1990s, let alone a century earlier. I now realise how significant it was. Timaru High School opened in the early 1880s, just a few years after Otago Girls’ High School, which was the first state secondary school for girls in the southern hemisphere. So Timaru’s was one of the earliest too. It was a bold move to say that girls deserved the same chance to learn as boys, and the school took a few years of debate and politics to make it happen. I didn't realise that a school would've been so controversal to establish, and I also didn't realise someone lost their life helping to build it.

Looking at old photos of students and teachers posed in front of the original building, I was struck by how beautiful the façade was. The symmetry, the cornices, and the entablature all echoed the architectural language of ancient Greece and Rome, reinterpreted thousands of years later on the other side of the world for a school in Timaru. Timaru High School offered education to both young women and men, though they were taught in separate classes. Later, the boys moved up the road to North Street and formed Timaru Boys’ High School.

This building was designed to impress. It was something the community could be proud of. It was a statement that whoever taught and learned here would experience an education designed to set them up for life. On reflection today, we can see how quality education has empowered individuals, uplifted communities, and laid the foundation for a more informed, equitable, and adaptable society.

Yesterday I was walking through the Timaru Cemetery helping a friend look for a grave when I came across a well maintained headstone that caught my eye. It read: “Erected by friends in memory of Peter M. Pezet, who met his death through accident at the High School, 17 August 1879, aged 40 years.” I had never heard of him. But he died in connection with the school I went to, so I decided to find out more. Thanks to Papers Past, I found his story...

Peter Pezet headstone raised by his friends and fellow workmen at the Timaru Cemetery, Timaru Cemetery, Row 17, Plot 177, died 17 Aug 1879. Peter and his teenage son had come up from Dunedin about ten days earlier and were working together on the building site when the buildings cornice fell, the scafolding collapsed and accident happened.

Peter Pezet’s headstone was raised by his friends and fellow workmen at the Timaru Cemetery. He is buried in Row 17, Plot 177, and died on 17 August 1879. Peter and his teenage son had come up from Dunedin about ten days earlier and were working together on the building site when the building’s cornice gave way and the scaffolding collapsed, causing the fatal accident.

Peter Pezet was a plasterer working on the construction of the High School building when tragedy struck. On a cold August afternoon in 1879, part of the brickwork high up on the western wall gave way. The decorative pediment collapsed and brought the scaffolding down with it. Peter was working below when it happened and was buried under the rubble. His teenage son, who was also working on site, was knocked over too but survived. Peter was taken to hospital with serious internal injuries but sadly died the next morning.

Witnesses at the inquest described how the days leading up to the collapse had been wet and frosty. Rain had soaked into the bricks and mortar, and a sharp frost may have expanded the moisture and weakened the wall. One of the bricklayers said he had warned the Clerk of Works that the heavy stonework did not look safe, but was told it was fine. Another man who inspected the damage afterwards called the cornice the heaviest he had ever seen in Timaru. He found no proper ties securing the stones, only temporary iron strapping, and said the pediment had likely become dangerously top heavy. The jury agreed it was an accident, but recommended against building cornices that way again.

One of the most moving testimonies came from Peter’s son. He said he was on the ground during the collapse and was knocked down by falling bricks. When he got to his feet, he saw his father almost completely buried. A large stone had landed on his father’s head. It is hard to imagine what that moment was like, but it stayed with me as I read it.

Peter had only been in New Zealand a few years. He was born in the Channel Islands and had married Ann Proutt in Jersey. In 1874 they emigrated to Dunedin on the Jessie Readman with their children. Like many tradesmen of the time, Peter travelled for work. He left his wife and younger children in Dunedin while he and his son took the building job in Timaru.

Ann was not in Timaru when he died. She was still at home in Dunedin. Her son was there on the building site and saw the accident happen. He helped pull his father from the debris. It must have been an incredibly hard thing to witness, and even harder to go home and tell the rest of the family.

Ann stayed in Dunedin. Years later she remarried, becoming Ann Paxton, and in 1893 she signed the Women’s Suffrage Petition from her home on Andersons Bay Road. Her name is there among thousands of others who helped change the future for women in Aotearoa.

It is sad to imagine how her son felt, losing his dad in such a sudden and traumatic way. His father died helping to build something for future generations. I wonder if the family ever visited Timaru again. I wonder what they felt when they heard the school had opened, or if they saw photos of the grand building that stood where Peter lost his life. Could they have known how significant it would become?

Timaru Girls High School around c1915 with girls posted in groups in front of the main school building. South Canterbury Museum 2009/108.01. The schools motto is Motto, Scientia Potestas Est (knowledge is power). 

Timaru High School: the tennis lawns -group of girl pupils and academic staff. Timaru High School: the tennis lawns -group of girl pupils and academic staff. The New Zealand Graphic and Ladies Journal, 16 September 1893, p.206. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections NZG-18930916-0206-02. No known copyright restrictions. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/new-zealand-graphic/1893/09/16/14

Timaru Girls’ High became a place where generations of girls found confidence, friendship, and education. It helped open doors. That building is gone now, but the legacy of its foundations in Timaru and South Canterbury’s education continues.

Finding headstones helps us to connect, not only to our own family and friends who rest, but to those who contributed to our community. 

“No man becomes rich unless he enriches others.” — Andrew Carnegie

Peter Pezet did not leave behind wealth or recognition, but he left something richer: a contribution to a place where young people, especially girls, would be given the tools to grow, learn, and lead. His work helped lay the foundation for a school that would enrich thousands of lives. And that, in the truest sense, is a legacy.

Photograph of the first page of the Timaru Girls High School enrollment book The first student has her name crossed out, appears she only went to school for one day. It is amazing to think about all the young women who have passed through the school gates over the year, and how their lives have been impacted by the teachers who taught there.  Thank you to the Timaru Girls High School archives for sharing fantastic information.

1893-09-16. Group of scholars, Timaru High School. The New Zealand Graphic and Ladies Journal, 16 September 1893, p.193. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections NZG-18930916-0193-01.
No known copyright restrictions. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/new-zealand-graphic/1893/09/16/1

PLEASE NOTE This site is a personal blog, this information is given for informational purposes only and is updated as often as possible. Do not hesitate to contact me for any corrections or contributions. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

SIXTY-FIVE YEARS OF PROGRESS RECORDED

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23377, 7 December 1945, Page 6

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/THD19451207.2.91

Timaru Girls’ High School – A History to the 65th Jubilee

By an Act of Parliament passed on October 29, 1878, provision was made for the establishment and management of the Timaru High School to be erected on a site purchased by the Board of Governors of Canterbury College. The High School Board was constituted a body corporate with the whole control and management of the school, with power to appoint and dismiss all professors, masters, teachers, lecturers, examiners, and with full power to make by-laws and regulations for defining the course of study and education on secular subjects, and also for the discipline and examination of the same. Under the Act the High School was made subject to inspection by an inspector appointed by the Minister of Education. The first meeting of the Board was held on January 27, 1879, those present being Messrs James Bruce, R. A. Chisholm, W. B. Howell, G. Cliff, Revs. G. Barclay and M. Davidson. Mr H. W. Hammond was appointed secretary.

On February 3, 1880, the Timaru High School was opened. The plan of Mr Henry Evans, Timaru, had been accepted, and the school, providing accommodation for 200 scholars, boys and girls, was built in brick at a cost of £4933/19/6. Mr Halkett-Dawson was the first rector with a staff of first-class assistants, one being Mrs Jardine. The girls’ roll shows that 36 were admitted on opening day, and that 63 girls were enrolled during the first year, they having the necessary qualifications for entrance: ability to read and work the four rules of arithmetic.

After the fire of August 24, 1897, when the west classrooms were gutted, the Board recommended that “the Timaru High School be reorganised on the principle of two distinct schools, male and female, in the one building; that the staff and salaries be adjusted to suit the new organisations.” February, 1898, marks the establishment of the Girls’ High School as a separate institution, although it was not until 15 years later that the Boys’ School was moved to the new building in North Street.

Early Principals

Miss M. McLean, M.A., C.B.E., who had been the first dux girl and the first Old Girl to receive her degree, was appointed headmistress. With the separation of the two schools, several changes were made in the building; the old assembly hall was divided into two parts, the western side for the girls and the other for the boys. In 1899, after a short but successful career, Miss McLean resigned to become Lady Principal of Wellington Girls’ College, and Miss B. M. Watt, a member of the staff, was appointed in her place.

Miss Watt’s term was marked by many changes. In 1906 free education was introduced. In 1913 the Boys’ School inspector became head, and in 1926 the preparatory department was opened under Miss N. Marshall, remaining until her retirement in 1944.

The Preparatory and Its Closure

The preparatory was run as a private school, each member of the Board of Governors personally guaranteeing the expenses—in 18 years they were never called upon to honour their bond. Miss Marshall remained in charge until her retirement in January, 1944. The shortage of teachers and the urgent necessity for a new building forced the Board to review the question of the preparatory’s future later that year, when three changes of staff had already been made. As a private institution it could claim no assistance from the Education Department for upkeep or replacement of buildings, for equipment or salary; as tuition fees assured salary only, the Board had no source of revenue for the necessary new building, so there was no alternative to closing the department at the end of 1944.

Domestic Science and Miss Barr

Miss Barr pioneered the home life course, which now takes an important place in the school curriculum. In 1926 the domestic course was introduced, both dressmaking and cookery being taught in the one room under conditions which now appear impossible. Miss Barr had to break down the prejudice among parents and girls that the domestic course was for students “not so clever” as those in the professional classes. A home science teacher, a graduate from Studholme House, joined the staff and girls intending to take up nursing, etc., were encouraged to take the course so far as matriculation.

Timaru Girls’ High was one of the first smaller schools to have full-time drill and arts mistresses. Miss Barr was determined that the pupils should have the same advantages as girls attending private schools. Miss B. Lee was appointed to a full-time position in charge of physical education, and since then the school has earned a reputation for a high standard of drill and sports. Two new classrooms in 1928 made possible the establishment of the art room, with facilities for leather work, marquetry, painting, art, music, dancing, calisthenics and games. During Miss Barr’s term the grounds were extended, tennis courts laid, and in 1931 the memorial gates given by the Old Girls’ Association were erected. The towers of the building were removed during the earthquake scare of the 1930s, and in 1935 the annexe to the west was added.

Miss Hurle and Wartime Years

Miss Hurle succeeded and was responsible for many innovations: the school blazer, “stripes” for work and sport, and the building fund for the new assembly hall. She drafted plans for a dormitory, second storey additions, and extensions at the House. The war years placed heavy burdens on her leadership. She organised first-aid classes and building protection plans when invasion seemed possible, while the girls undertook patriotic work and savings campaigns.

Miss Townsend and the Service Flat

Following Miss Hurle’s resignation in 1942, Miss W. F. Townsend, a former pupil and member of staff, was appointed headmistress. She extended the home life course and oversaw the construction of a complete service flat with kitchen, dining-room, lounge, laundry and bedrooms. This provided training not only in housekeeping but also in interior decoration, home planning, and entertaining guests. A new kitchen, sewing and fitting rooms were also added. Miss Townsend also introduced child care into the curriculum, with girls running a weekly play centre for local children.

Music, Clubs, and Library

Music and clubs became increasingly important. Miss Barr had founded the orchestra and choir, and later principals expanded these with instrumental classes, an interform choir contest, solo singing prizes, and “stripes” for music. Drama and handwork clubs also flourished. The library, which began as a few books in a cupboard with an annual grant of £5, grew to a large room of 2000 books. A committee of 20 girls managed circulation, repairs, and displays, and the library became as efficient as any public one.

Honours Board and Distinguished Alumnae

The honours board records the academic distinction of Old Girls. The first name is Miss Mary McLean, followed by Dr Elizabeth Gunn, one of the first New Zealand women doctors. Others include Dr A. Balfour, Miss M. Ronaldson (B.Sc. 1908), and Miss M. G. Stenhouse, who graduated in dentistry before dental nursing was a profession. Degrees earned include LL.B., Dip. Music, M.A., B.A., B.Sc., and Home Science.

Overseas Service

Many Old Girls served overseas during the war. More than 30 former pupils worked in hospitals and Service clubs in the Middle East, Italy, England and the Pacific, as nursing sisters, V.A.D.s, Tuis and W.A.A.C.s. One advanced station with the Second N.Z.E.F. was staffed almost entirely by Timaru sisters. Twenty-nine names are on the overseas service honours board, including Sister Alison Ussher, awarded the A.R.R.C. One Old Girl lost her life while on active service.

The Jubilee Year

Although the war precluded any elaborate celebration, the sixty-fifth jubilee of the Timaru Girls’ High School, which occurred in 1945, did not go unmarked. It was appropriate that the most important innovation in recent years should have been commenced then: the development of the home life course and extensions to the domestic science school, including the erection of the service flat. Important changes in secondary education were also underway, giving more prominence to cultural and civic studies.

After 65 years, Timaru Girls’ High School was recognised as a leading educational centre in the Dominion. Pupils came from all parts of New Zealand and beyond. With its wide curriculum, sound training, proud history, and loyal Old Girls, the school secured its rightful place in New Zealand’s education system.