The Lyttelton Borough School, 1874

On a fine December evening in 1874 the children of the various divisions of the newly built Lyttelton Borough School were marched in good order to the Colonists’ Hall. There, in front of their teachers, parents and friends, and assorted dignitaries, the very best of them would receive a Borough Council prize presented by the newly elected Mayor, his Worship Dr. Rouse. A special Mayor’s prize for the neatest girl was also presented, and after being reminded by some ladies present that boys might also be as tidy as girls, his Worship declared, to cheers from the audience, a prize for the tidiest boy (Press, Vol. XXII, Issue 2911, 18 December 1874, p. 3).

At this time the school had about 600 students on the roll, and would continue to service the community of Ōhinehou/Lyttelton for another 67 years until it was demolished in 1941 to make way for the Lyttelton Main School. And in the fullness of time, so too the Main School passed into the history books, demolished after the 2011 earthquakes to be replaced by the Lyttelton Primary School in 2016.

The Lyttelton Borough School, 1874.
Te Ūaka The Lyttelton Museum ref 14625.45 & 14625.47
https://www.teuaka.org.nz/online-collection/1135478
https://www.teuaka.org.nz/online-collection/1135480