Aore Adventist Academy
Encyclopedia
Aore Adventist Academy is a coeducational Christian
secondary school in Aore, Vanuatu
. It first opened in 1927 as 'New Hebrides Training School.' Its educational status varied over the decades. In 1974, the Aore School was upgraded to that of a high school, and was renamed Aore Adventist High School. It was previously Parker Missionary School. In 1994, the school's board changed the name to Aore Adventist Academy.
In 2009, the school's enrolment totalled 194 students and 17 teachers.
in the South Pacific Ocean
. It is some 1750 kilometres (1,087.4 mi) east of northern Australia
, 500 kilometres (310.7 mi) northeast of New Caledonia
, west of Fiji
, and southeast of the Solomon Islands
, near New Guinea
. Vanuatu was known as the New Hebrides
before achieving indenpendence.
The school is on several hundred acres of fertile land which slopes down to sheltered beaches. On a prominence a little way from the shore, the school buildings are located."
A Call from the New Hebrides to Our Sabbath Schools
[This poem is written as voicing the plea of native believers in that group.]
THERE'S a stir among the heathen
In New Hebrides today;
Some are leaving life-long customs
For the straight and narrow way.
Still the multitudes are waiting
In their darkness for a guide;
But we have so few white workers
Many calls must be denied.
Native converts here are ready,
And are eager too to go,
But they need a special training,
And we have no school, you know.
Natives understand the native,
And can make the message clear
To us; let the white man train them,
And then act as overseer.
There's a piece of land selected
Which will make a splendid site
For a training school for workers,
Where they'll learn to do things right.
So on March the twenty-seventh,
Let your love in deeds appear ;
Give an extra special offering ;
Build a school for natives here.
Surely 'tis a good investment
Buying land to build a school,
Training natives here for workers,
Practising the Golden Rule.
So, with eager expectation,
We will pray, and watch, and wait.
Don't forget that special offering.
Help us ere it be too late.
In 1927, the church secured the property on Aore. In the early years of the school, a clear title to the land was difficult to establish. A sawmill was built. The newly acquired regional mission boat, Loloma, located there as well. They used the Loloma to bring the students to the school. Aore soon became the focal point of Adventist work in the New Hebrides. Pastor J. R. James, the mission superintendent, and a party of young New Hebrideans moved in with axes to clear the land and establish a school. Students have followed in increasing numbers, and the educational and spiritual work of this institution has been the heart of the New Hebrides Adventist Mission.
Two years before, the Australasian Adventist leadership prepared an evacuation plan. In 1942, Aore Training School closed. The non-native workers returned to Australia. Native leaders attended to the church's mission in their absence. They carefully maintained church property and led in the Sabbath services. When the missionaries returned they were impressed with the level of competence these native leaders demonstrated. In 1943, the school reopened.
In 1951, the mission council decided to move its headquarters to Vila
. This allowed room for the school to expand.
rule of the United Kingdom and France in 1980. By this time, the demographics and transportation routes had changed. When compared to the cost of public transportation, the Adventist mission boat, Pacifique, was considered too expensive to operate. Apart from the school, Aore ceased to hold a prominent place in the Vanuatu Adventist mission.
Pictures of Aore
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
secondary school in Aore, Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
. It first opened in 1927 as 'New Hebrides Training School.' Its educational status varied over the decades. In 1974, the Aore School was upgraded to that of a high school, and was renamed Aore Adventist High School. It was previously Parker Missionary School. In 1994, the school's board changed the name to Aore Adventist Academy.
In 2009, the school's enrolment totalled 194 students and 17 teachers.
Location
Aore Adventist Academy is situated on the southern coast of the island of Aore. Aore is part of the nation of Vanuatu, an archipelagoArchipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
in the South Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. It is some 1750 kilometres (1,087.4 mi) east of northern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, 500 kilometres (310.7 mi) northeast of New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, west of Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, and southeast of the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, near New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. Vanuatu was known as the New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
before achieving indenpendence.
The school is on several hundred acres of fertile land which slopes down to sheltered beaches. On a prominence a little way from the shore, the school buildings are located."
Training school beginnings
In 1925, the small island of Aore was chosen as the regional Adventist mission station. A fund raising campaign began. The March 8, 1926 edition of the Australasian Record included the following poem reminding the division's sabbath schools of the project's offering at the end of the month.A Call from the New Hebrides to Our Sabbath Schools
[This poem is written as voicing the plea of native believers in that group.]
THERE'S a stir among the heathen
In New Hebrides today;
Some are leaving life-long customs
For the straight and narrow way.
Still the multitudes are waiting
In their darkness for a guide;
But we have so few white workers
Many calls must be denied.
Native converts here are ready,
And are eager too to go,
But they need a special training,
And we have no school, you know.
Natives understand the native,
And can make the message clear
To us; let the white man train them,
And then act as overseer.
There's a piece of land selected
Which will make a splendid site
For a training school for workers,
Where they'll learn to do things right.
So on March the twenty-seventh,
Let your love in deeds appear ;
Give an extra special offering ;
Build a school for natives here.
Surely 'tis a good investment
Buying land to build a school,
Training natives here for workers,
Practising the Golden Rule.
So, with eager expectation,
We will pray, and watch, and wait.
Don't forget that special offering.
Help us ere it be too late.
In 1927, the church secured the property on Aore. In the early years of the school, a clear title to the land was difficult to establish. A sawmill was built. The newly acquired regional mission boat, Loloma, located there as well. They used the Loloma to bring the students to the school. Aore soon became the focal point of Adventist work in the New Hebrides. Pastor J. R. James, the mission superintendent, and a party of young New Hebrideans moved in with axes to clear the land and establish a school. Students have followed in increasing numbers, and the educational and spiritual work of this institution has been the heart of the New Hebrides Adventist Mission.
World War II and after
The war came to the New Hebrides. The United States arrived and took control before the Japanese could do so. On the island of Espiritu Santo, 100,000 troops arrived. The native population "were astounded at the apparent equality with which black and white military personnel were treated. When they went to work for the Americans, they received respect and wages far in excess to anything they had ever experienced before. The typically generous Americans would also look at the native New Hebridean living conditions and give them clothes and beds, ice boxes and furniture."Two years before, the Australasian Adventist leadership prepared an evacuation plan. In 1942, Aore Training School closed. The non-native workers returned to Australia. Native leaders attended to the church's mission in their absence. They carefully maintained church property and led in the Sabbath services. When the missionaries returned they were impressed with the level of competence these native leaders demonstrated. In 1943, the school reopened.
In 1951, the mission council decided to move its headquarters to Vila
Vila
Vila is a site at the southern end of Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands, originally the location of the Vila Stanmore coconut plantation....
. This allowed room for the school to expand.
1980, the nation of Vanuatu
Vanuatu achieved independence from the condominiumCondominium (international law)
In international law, a condominium is a political territory in or over which two or more sovereign powers formally agree to share equally dominium and exercise their rights jointly, without dividing it up into 'national' zones.Although a condominium has always been...
rule of the United Kingdom and France in 1980. By this time, the demographics and transportation routes had changed. When compared to the cost of public transportation, the Adventist mission boat, Pacifique, was considered too expensive to operate. Apart from the school, Aore ceased to hold a prominent place in the Vanuatu Adventist mission.
See also
- List of Seventh-day Adventist secondary schools
- VanuatuVanuatuVanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
- New HebridesNew HebridesNew Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
- CondominiumCondominium (international law)In international law, a condominium is a political territory in or over which two or more sovereign powers formally agree to share equally dominium and exercise their rights jointly, without dividing it up into 'national' zones.Although a condominium has always been...
- John WilliamsJohn Williams (missionary)John Williams was an English missionary, active in the South Pacific. Born near London, England, he was trained as a foundry worker and mechanic...
External links
- Official Website
- University of the South Pacific, Emalus campus. The Vanuatu Collection
Pictures of Aore
