The Memorial Dining Hall at Christ's College, built in 1925. Photo / George Heard
Christ’s College isn’t New Zealand’s oldest school – or even its first private school, but it is the most expensive. It also polarises opinion: elitist institution or a cornerstone of Canterbury? Herald senior journalist Mike Thorpe took a tour.
It’s not the first school in New Zealand to celebrate a demisemiseptcentennial but Christ’s College will do it with an unparalleled level of heritage.
Among its illustrious alumni are All Blacks, test cricketers, rock stars, Hollywood actors, war heroes, politicians and Leigh Hart.
Walking through the historic grounds of the oldest private school in the country is like stepping back in time – moving seamlessly across three centuries, from decade to decade.
Each building, quad and clock has its own chapter in a history book that spans 175 years and counting. The names of the characters are etched in stone here, both figuratively – and in the case of “W. Vink ‘05” or “Dick ‘72″ - physically.
The school fits tightly into its 4ha footprint but has been meticulously planned and thoughtfully expanded to maximise space and minimise the congestion of almost 750 boys moving quickly between classes.
Planning is a constant at the elite Christchurch school – it has been that way since day one, the century before last. The planning of “College” is believed to have begun in earnest in 1850. By that stage the school already had funding and a headmaster (Reverend Henry Jacobs) – but would have two makeshift homes before arriving at its current site.
Christ’s College held its first class in 1851 at Lyttelton’s Immigration Barracks. The following year the Anglican school moved to Christchurch – joining the migration of the city’s early settlers. Relocating to St Michael’s Parsonage on Oxford Tce, it was initially supposed to have a permanent home in Cathedral Square before a larger site was agreed upon. That’s where the school was built and that’s where it sits now – on the banks of the Avon River, bordered by Hagley Park and the Botanical Gardens.
It is a prominent and eye-catching site that demands attention and duly receives it.
During the Herald’s guided tour of the grounds, a foreign couple casually e-bike through the school before being asked to leave by a member of staff. The request is neither rude nor polite. It seems to be a regular occurrence. Tours are frequent but pre-arranged, not an extension of the neighbouring gardens – though it’s easy to see how that mistake is made.
Locally, the attention the school gets is often less than complimentary. As much as it stands as a place of tradition and culture to its old boys and their families, it’s widely regarded as a symbol of elitism and “old money” to many Cantabrians. Amplifying the “them and us” mentality is the fierce rivalry with state school Christchurch Boys’ High School. Though, that comparison is not so much the “haves and the have nots” as it is the “haves and the have lots”.
For the record, school fees at Christ’s College are between $34,190 (day boys) and $56,440 (boarding) per year and can be paid for with “old money” or new. Both are currency here and boys can be enrolled regardless of which school they’re “in zone” for.
The oldest building still standing at College is “Big School”. It is an impressive gothic stone building with a steeply pitched roof and rows of lancet windows. Built in 1863, it is the oldest educational building still in use in New Zealand – according to tour guide and Christ’s College alumni, Derek Banks.
The 84-year-old says it has served many purposes over its 162 years.
“When I was here, we filed in the door at the end and got a jab for polio. There were a number of army stretchers on the floor – if people fainted, they would lay on one of these stretchers. The rest of us filed out this door.”
The door that Banks points to is now a fire exit.
Today Big School is the discreet centrepiece of the campus. Discreet because from the entrance of “College” it looks the same way it has looked for over 160 years – but it has been greatly expanded with a remodelled interior and is now the school library.
In a way, the building is symbolic of Christ’s College itself – steeped in history without fear of evolving. The man behind Big School’s expansion was Sir Miles Warren, a former student and a fearless architect, the perfect candidate. Banks – still wearing the school’s blazer (uniform for students and tour guides), says the mezzanine floor is deliberately detached from the rest of the structure.
“[Sir Miles] felt that to attach it would detract from the original architecture. A very clever man,” says Banks.
The history here has as much to do with the buildings as it is the people who filled them.
Banks did that as a student from 1954-59. He reflects on the changes since he attended College and top of mind is discipline.
“There was caning – both masters and prefects caned,” says Banks.
Corporal punishment was phased out in the late 1980s and banned by 1990. But, given the choice, Banks says he’d prefer his era of correction.
“The punishments today are boring,” says Banks.
“Two hours of detention was just a waste of time, whereas two or three across the tail – it was all over and done with! Shake hands, friends forever.”
Our tour arrives at the now 100-year-old Memorial Dining Hall. Built in 1925 and strengthened in the 1980s, it is decorated with portraits of Christchurch’s past and present Anglican bishops. The Dining Hall in particular feels Harry Potter-esque, but the whole school has a Hogwarts vibe. There may not be a “sorting hat” here – but boys are still divided across 10 houses.
“The houses operate independently. They’re all different – slightly, and it’s amazing how the youngsters, the new Year 9s are influenced by the Year 13s,” says Banks, a proud Harper House devotee.
Each house has its own physical house. In School House the names of boys who have achieved as prefects or sportsmen adorn the walls. Among them are names that went on to be recognised outside of Christ’s College, too. There are boys in School House today who are direct descendants carrying the same surnames of the house’s first cohort in the early 1900s.
“In the ’70s and ’80s, the boarding houses in particular were ... spartan I think is probably the best word we could use. Mothers were objecting to the conditions that their sons were living in,” says Banks.
As a result, it was decided the boarding houses had to be upgraded from dormitories to private areas.
Banks’ own name is painted across multiple boards at Harper House – as is his son’s. The college carries a generational connection and that is crucial to its future.
A school of this calibre requires two things to maintain its extraordinary level of appearance and achievement. Firstly, it needs money. Secondly, it needs people with money. It has a great deal of both.
A recently sold plot of inner-city land paid for a significant chunk of the new gymnasium – Upper West. The total cost of that build was $16 million. The difference was made up by the wealthy old boys' network – the people with money. It’s a system that has proved successful in the past. The Old Boys Theatre that lies to the right of the entrance was – as you’d expect, paid for with donations from the old boys. Among them were aviation icon Sir Tim Wallis and actor, Sir Nigel (Sam) Neill.
Banks is the former president of the Old Boys’ Association and was previously on staff.
“I worked here for nine or 10 years from 2001 as the first Development Officer,” says Banks, before admitting he knew little about the role when accepting it.
“I found out very quickly it was fundraising.”
The Dining Hall restoration was his first project – a perfect example of the extraordinary depth of alumni pockets, particularly when it comes to their alma mater.
“An old boy living in England came out to the reunion [in 2002] and said this is the most beautiful building in New Zealand,” says Banks.
“I said, ‘Look at it! Look at the condition’. The white stonework varied between grey and black. It was food, smog – everything. Anyway, the long and short of it is that he said ‘you upgrade it, I’ll pay for it’.”
The cost was just on $500,000.
Success is a part of Christ’s past, present and most certainly its future – but the school is also addressing its failings. The recent Royal Commission into Historic Abuse gave an “opportunity for us to confront the darker aspects of our history”, says Jeremy Johnson, chairman of Christ’s College.
“Christ’s College is, and always will be, sorry to those who were abused while in our care.
“In the current day, the safety of our boys remains our absolute priority.”
Much has changed in the 175 years since the school was founded, but Christ’s College’s motto remains as relevant now as it was then.
“Bene tradita, bene servanda – Good traditions, well maintained,” says Banks proudly.
Christ’s College invites any Old Boy who suffered abuse, and who has not contacted them already, to do so through rc@christscollege.com
Mike Thorpe is a senior multimedia journalist for the Herald, based in Christchurch. He has been a broadcast journalist across television and radio for 20 years and joined the Herald in August 2024.