Waitaki Boys' High School
Encyclopedia
Waitaki Boys' High School is a secondary school for boys located in the northern part of the town of Oamaru
, Otago, New Zealand, with day and boarding facilities, and was founded in 1883. It currently has a school roll of just over 530.
The school has a house system with four houses, Don, Forrester, Lee and Sutherland. It organises some cultural activities together with its nearby sister school, Waitaki Girls' High School
.
Throughout much of the 20th century 'day-boys' and 'boarders' in true tradition of schoolboy jargon, ambivalently referred to each other respectively as 'scabs' and 'rats'.
The school is notable for its British colonial architecture, encompassing such historic buildings such as the Hall of Memories, an assembly hall, built to honour its former pupils who died in various wars.
In keeping with its unisex colonial past (echoes of the British class system and single-sex schools) the achievements of Waitaki's school leavers were the usual mixed bag. Some were exceptional old boys (ex-pupils) with meritorious achievements who moved on to achieve greatness, while others left and faded into obscurity. Anecdotal evidence also exists from some pupils (as in many other schools of the time) that bullying was common, largely unpoliced, and/or ignored. Waitaki's quasi-military discipline, plus its architecture and building placement which bear a passing resemblance to the German WW2 prisoner of war "Colditz Castle" in Poland, gave rise to the humorous and derogatory epithets "Colditz By The Sea" and "Stalag Waitaki" from many 1960s pupils.
Oamaru
Oamaru , the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres south of Timaru and 120 kilometres north of Dunedin, on the Pacific coast, and State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connects it to both...
, Otago, New Zealand, with day and boarding facilities, and was founded in 1883. It currently has a school roll of just over 530.
The school has a house system with four houses, Don, Forrester, Lee and Sutherland. It organises some cultural activities together with its nearby sister school, Waitaki Girls' High School
Waitaki Girls' High School
Waitaki Girls' High School is a state high school for girls situated in Oamaru, on the East coast of New Zealand. It was founded in 1887, and presently has a roll of approximately 475 girls from the ages of 13 to 18...
.
Throughout much of the 20th century 'day-boys' and 'boarders' in true tradition of schoolboy jargon, ambivalently referred to each other respectively as 'scabs' and 'rats'.
The school is notable for its British colonial architecture, encompassing such historic buildings such as the Hall of Memories, an assembly hall, built to honour its former pupils who died in various wars.
In keeping with its unisex colonial past (echoes of the British class system and single-sex schools) the achievements of Waitaki's school leavers were the usual mixed bag. Some were exceptional old boys (ex-pupils) with meritorious achievements who moved on to achieve greatness, while others left and faded into obscurity. Anecdotal evidence also exists from some pupils (as in many other schools of the time) that bullying was common, largely unpoliced, and/or ignored. Waitaki's quasi-military discipline, plus its architecture and building placement which bear a passing resemblance to the German WW2 prisoner of war "Colditz Castle" in Poland, gave rise to the humorous and derogatory epithets "Colditz By The Sea" and "Stalag Waitaki" from many 1960s pupils.
Notable alumni
- Peter ArnettPeter ArnettPeter Gregg Arnett, ONZM is a New Zealand-American journalist.Arnett worked for National Geographic magazine, and later for various television networks, most notably CNN. He is well known for his coverage of war, including the Vietnam War and the Gulf War...
- journalist - Fraser BarronFraser BarronJames 'Fraser' Barron , DSO & Bar, DFC, DFM was an officer of the Royal New Zealand Air Force who was killed in flying operations during the Second World War.-Career:...
- bomber pilot during WWII - James BertramJames Munro BertramJames Munro Bertram was a Rhodes scholar, a journalist, writer, relief worker, prisoner of war and a university professor....
- professor, journalist - Denis BlundellDenis Blundell-Bibliography:* The Story of Bell Gully Buddle Weir by Julia Millen ISBN 1-86934-026-4-External links:* *...
- lawyer, Governor-General - Charles BraschCharles BraschCharles Orwell Brasch was a New Zealand poet, literary editor and arts patron. He was the founding editor of the literary journal Landfall....
- poet - Malcolm GrantMalcolm GrantMalcolm John Grant, CBE is the Provost and President of University College London. He took up the post – the principal academic and administrative officer and head of UCL – on 1 August 2003. Since then, UCL has developed as one of the world's leading universities and he has tackled critical...
- Provost and President of University College London - Ron GuthreyRon GuthreyAlbert Ronald Guthrey OBE MC was a councillor for Christchurch City Council for 22 years before being elected Mayor of Christchurch. He was a World War II veteran and he and his family were well known business operators in Christchurch.-Early life:Guthrey was born in Rawene, Hokianga on 15...
- Mayor of Christchurch (1968–1971) - A. M. HamiltonA. M. HamiltonArchibald Milne Hamilton was a New Zealand-born civil engineer, notable for building the Hamilton Road through Kurdistan and designing the Callender-Hamilton bridge system. His name is also associated with the Callendar-Hamilton aeroplane shed of the late 1930s.- Early life, marriage and children...
- engineer - Douglas LilburnDouglas LilburnDouglas Gordon Lilburn ONZ FRCM was a New Zealand composer.-Early life:Lilburn was born in Wanganui. He attended Waitaki Boys' High School from 1930 to 1933, before moving to Christchurch to study journalism and music at Canterbury University College...
- Professor, composer - Sir Robert Reynolds MacintoshRobert Reynolds MacintoshSir Robert Reynolds Macintosh was a New Zealand-born anaesthetist. He was the first Professor of Anaesthetics outside United States.-Early life:...
(1897–1989) - first Nuffield Professor of Anaesthetics, Oxford - Terence McCombsTerence McCombsSir Terence Henderson McCombs, OBE ED was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.-Early life:He was educated at Waitaki Boys' High School and Canterbury University College.-Member of Parliament:...
- politician, Headmaster - Ian Milner - Professor
- Arnold NordmeyerArnold NordmeyerSir Arnold Henry Nordmeyer, ONZ, KCMG , born Heinrich Arnold Nordmeyer, was a New Zealand politician. He was leader of the Labour Party for three years while it was in Opposition.-Early life:...
- politician, Labour Party Minister of Finance 1957-60. - Foss ShanahanFoss ShanahanFoss Shanahan was a New Zealand diplomat and public servant. He started in the Customs Department in 1928, then in 1939 joined the Prime Minister’s Department, in the section that became the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.He was Assistant Secretary of the War Cabinet 1940-45,...
- diplomat - Sir Angus TaitAngus TaitSir Angus Tait, KNZM, OBE was a New Zealand electronics innovator and businessman.Angus Tait had a childhood fascination for electronics and during and after high school at Waitaki Boys' High School, he worked in a friend's radio store...
- electronics innovator and businessman - Des WilsonDes WilsonDes Wilson is a New Zealand born British campaigner, political activist, businessman, sports administrator, author and Poker player. He was instrumental in the 1960s as a founder of the pivotal British homelessness charity Shelter and was for a while an activist in, and President of, the British...
- campaigner in Britain - David SewellDavid SewellDavid Graham Sewell is a New Zealand cricketer. He played one Test match for New Zealand in 1997. He is a former member of the Otago team and he plays for North Otago in the Hawke Cup....
- Former New Zealand and Otago Cricketer