Riponui Pah School in modern times.
One of the things I love about working at Kiwi North is the many varied things I get to do and experience here, which is largely due to the uniqueness of Kiwi North itself.
The Kiwi House, Museum, Heritage Park, multiple clubs and organisations and a comprehensive educational programme, combined with a small but very talented team, means there are often opportunities to lend a hand and learn something new. Among these opportunities for me has been teaching visiting schools in the Riponui Pah School classroom.
There is something very special about being in this building. From the moment I first stepped in the door, I could feel the atmosphere change. Maybe it’s the way the room has retained its old-school feel, with desks still bearing the marks of ink spills and scratches, the smell of wood, old books and chalk lingering in the air and adornments upon the walls that take me back to primary school with their simple but enduring messages.
The single-roomed school itself has undergone several transformations over the years. Built in 1898, it was originally a part-time school situated near Ngau Pa. As roads were little more than tracks at the time and transport was often difficult, it wasn’t unusual for teachers and resources to be shared between more than one facility.
The first teacher at Riponui Pah School was Donald McInnes, who also taught at Paiaka School, not far from Hūkerenui.
As roading and transport made schools more accessible, many smaller facilities were closed or merged with larger ones. In 1945, the decision was made to consolidate Riponui Pah School with the more central Hūkerenui School.
This merger included the physical relocation of the building itself. The school building was moved in time for the start of the new school year in 1946 and was used by the first high school students attending Hūkerenui. When a new high school block was built, Riponui Pah School was used as a library.
As time went by and Hūkerenui School grew, more modern buildings were added to the campus and the Riponui Pah School building was no longer required.
Happily, it did not meet its demise at this stage. It was instead given a reprieve by the New Zealand Educational Institute as part of the centennial celebrations of the 1877 Education Act, which made education in New Zealand “secular, compulsory and free”.
In a special project to mark the occasion, Riponui Pah School was relocated once again, this time to the Northland Regional Museum property, now known as the Heritage Park at Kiwi North.
Upon its arrival, the school was restored to its original state before being officially opened by Whangārei historian Florence Keene in November 1980. On that day, students and teacher Megan Pearson dressed in period clothing and re-enacted a lesson as if it were 1898.
This lesson re-enactment is an experience now offered to visiting schools. Students get to dress up in flat caps, vests, ties, bonnets and pinafores, and they learn about what school was like 125 years ago. They are taught reading and mathematics and how to write in cursive using blackboards, ink and quills.
This experience has also been available as a school holiday activity in the past. On one occasion, a gentleman sat in the classroom and regaled his grandkids about his time as a student in that exact classroom. He talked about what the school was like and about the changes he had seen.
There have, of course, been many changes, often driven by technology, but also by attitude and understanding. The blackboard has been superseded by whiteboards, computers, televisions and interactive screens, the abacus with calculators, and dunce caps and corporal punishment - thank goodness - have been replaced with alternative strategies and positive reinforcement.
Some things never change, though. Still today we learn about the three ‘R’s; reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic, and it’s comforting to know that the quick brown fox, even today, still jumps over the lazy dog.