St Peter's College, Auckland

Infobox NZ school
name = St Peters College
badge =
motto = "To Love and To Serve"
("Amare et Servire")
type = Integrated Catholic Boys Secondary (Year 7-13)
established = 1939
address = Mountain Road,
Epsom,
Auckland,
New Zealand
principal = K. F. Fouhy
roll = 1175
decile = 8 [ [http://www.minedu.govt.nz/web/downloadable/dl7698_v1/decile-changes-2007-2008-web-state-s-integ.xls Decile change 2007 to 2008 for state & state integrated schools] ]
MOE = 62
homepage = [http://www.st-peters.school.nz/ www.st-peters.school.nz]

St Peters College is a college for year 7 to 13 boys and offers a Catholic education to its students. It is a boys-only school in Auckland and is the largest Catholic school in New Zealand. Under an integration agreement with the New Zealand government, St Peter's College has a maximum roll of 1200. [the integration agreement was first entered into by the Catholic Bishop of Auckland (as the proprietor of the college) and the government of New Zealand in 1982 under Section 7 of the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act 1975.] St Peter's is located in the Central Auckland suburb of Epsom.

Roll

St Peter's College draws enrolments from throughout the city, reflecting its central location and its easy accessibility from all the main transport conduits and services of Auckland. The roll as at 12 February 2007 was 1175. The ethnic composition of St Peter's College on that date was: European: 51.14%; Maori: 5.60%; Samoan: 7.29%, Tongan: 3.11%; Philippines: 2.30%; Indian: 6.30%; Chinese: 10.10%; Korean: 5.91%; Other Pacific: 2.38%; Other Asian: 4.02%; Other ethnicities: 1.84%."Roll", St Peter's College Newsletter 02/2007, 23 February 2007. It is interesting to compare this ethnic composition with the ethnic composition of St Peter's College's adjacent neighbour, Auckland Grammar School. As at 2005 the ethnic composition of Auckland Grammar was Pākehā/New Zealand European 54%, Chinese 21%, Indian 8%, Korean 6%, Sri Lankan 3%, Māori 3%, Samoan 1%, Tongan 1%, Other 3%: Education Review Office, Review Report, Auckland Grammar School, October 2005. Auckland Grammar has an enrolment scheme and, in effect, enrols students only from its zone (i.e. a defined area physically proximate to it, known colloquially as "the Grammar zone"). St Peter's College does not have an enrolment scheme and enrols students from anywhere in Auckland. ] There are 127 paid staff (teaching and support staff).

St Peter's College thus has a diverse, multicultural roll, and it excels in sporting and cultural activities. Academically, the school offers for senior years both the National Certificate of Educational Achievement assessment system (NCEA) and the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE).

The first St Peter's

Auckland's first school of any sort [A. G Butchers, Young New Zealand, Coulls Somerville Wilkie Ltd, Dunedin, 1929, pp. 124 - 126.] was established under the patronage of St Peter and known as St Peter's School, St Peter's Boy's School or St Peter's Select School.Auckland's First Catholic School - And its Latest, Zealandia, Thursday, 26 January 1939, p. 5] [E.R. Simmons, In Cruce Salus, A History of the Diocese of Auckland 1848 - 1980, Catholic Publication Centre, Auckland 1982, pp. 53 and 54.] It was established in 1841 by the Catholic laymen of Auckland following the first visit of Bishop Pompallier (Vicar Apostolic of Western Oceania and, from 1848, first Bishop of Auckland). The first teacher was Mr. E. Powell, and probably classes were held in his own residence in Shortland Crescent (later renamed Shortland Street). St Peter's School continued to provide education for boys mainly under lay teachers until 1885 [E.R. Simmons, In Cruce Salus, A History of the Diocese of Auckland 1848 - 1980, Catholic Publication Centre, Auckland 1982, pp. 53 and 54. Simmons quotes from a list, which Bishop Pompallier prepared in 1957 for the Government and for Propaganda: "St Peter's Select School is established for the more advanced boys. The Greek, Latin, French, Italian and German languages are taught in it, also Geometry, Mensuration, Arithmetic, Geography, English Grammar etc ... Terms per Annum 12.0.0 for each pupil." Ibid., p. 146: St Peter's Boys School had a roll of 43 in 1879. Propaganda or the Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide, whose official title was "sacra congregatio christiano nomini propagando" was the Vatican department charged with the spread of Catholicism and with the regulation of ecclesiastical affairs in non-Catholic countries (such as New Zealand). It is now known, in English, as the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. ] when the Marist Brothers established a school on the corner of Pitt and Wellington Streets.

Trouble

Before the arrival of the Marist Brothers, Walter Bisscop Steins S.J., third Catholic Bishop of Auckland (1879-1881) had doubts about their suitability to open a school in Auckland as he felt there were prejudices against them because they were a French congregation. He believed that it would be better to invite the Christian Brothers because they were an Irish congregation particularly since most of the Catholics in Auckland were Irish. Stein's successor, John Edmund Luck OSB, fourth Catholic Bishop of Auckland (1881-1896), had no such qualms and invited the Marist Brothers to establish their Auckland school. [Tony Waters, Confortare, A history of Sacred Heart College, Auckland 1903 - 2003, Sacred Heart College, Auckland, 2003, p. 19; E.R. Simmons, A Brief History of the Catholic Church in New Zealand, Catholic Publication Centre, Auckland, 1978, Pages 75 and 76.] A move may have been made in 1885 for a Christian Brothers School in Auckland. However, that was unsuccessful. Graeme Donaldson, To All Parts of the Kingdom: Christian Brothers In New Zealand 1876-2001, Christian Brothers New Zealand Province, Christchurch, 2001, p. 10. ]

Nearly 40 years later, in 1923, Henry William Cleary, the sixth Catholic Bishop of Auckland, issued an invitation to the Christian Brothers to establish a school in Auckland. [http://www.edmundrice.org.nz/pages/downloads/THESIS.DOC| Paul Malcolm Robertson, "Nga Parata Karaitiana The Christian Brothers, A Public Culture in Transition, A Comparative Study of the Indian and New Zealand Provinces", an unpublished thesis for MA in Anthropology] , University of Auckland, 1996, pp. 40 - 41.] The Marist Brothers, by then very well established in Auckland at Sacred Heart College (then located in Richmond Road, Ponsonby), objected strongly and Cleary wrote to the Provincial of the Christian Brothers, Brother Barron, changing his offer to a primary school. As a result, the Christian Brothers lost interest.

Shortly after he became seventh Catholic Bishop of Auckland in 1929, James Michael Liston expressed an intention to renew the invitation to the Christian Brothers, whose pupil he had been in Dunedin. Nicholas Reid, James Michael Liston: A Life, Victoria University Press, Wellington, 2006, p. 163.] Liston's intention again aroused the opposition of the Marist Brothers. They were concerned that a new boys' Form I to VI school would take enrolments from Sacred Heart College and would diminish their revenue. Unmoved by the Marist Brothers' opposition, Liston wrote to his old Dunedin classmate, Brother Michael James Benignus Hanrahan (Brother Benignus), the Provincial of the Australian province of the Christian Brothers requesting Christian Brothers to provide staff for the proposed school. The Christian Brothers agreed on the establishment of the school. [Graeme W. A. Bush (ed), The History of Epsom, Epsom & Eden District Historical Society Inc, Auckland, 2006, p. 224. ]

A contractor cleared the Mountain Road site in 1931 and it was expected that the school would open in 1933. But financial problems caused delays. The Marist Brothers appealed to the Apostolic Delegate and to the Sacred Congregation of Religious in Rome. They believed that Cleary had promised them the St Peter's School site but as no written record could be found, the Bishop was informed by the Sacred Congregation of Religious that he could invite the Christian Brothers and the Apostolic Delegate ruled "that the Bishop is free to make whatever provision he may decide in the matter". The Marist Brothers accepted this ruling, but unhappily. [Paul Robertson wrote that, to be fair to the Marist Brothers, it should be pointed out that their community in Auckland included one elderly brother who was at St Mary's Cathedral College, Sydney in 1910. At that time, the Marist Brothers had complained to the Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal Patrick Francis Moran about their working and living conditions. The Cardinal ordered them to leave the college. He directed the Christian Brothers (under threat of interdict) to take over the college in their place, which they did. The Cardinal then granted to the Christian Brothers the requests that the Marist Brothers had been denied. Robertson goes on to say that when the Christian Brothers arrived in Auckland, they were seen as moving in on Marist "territory" by some of the older Marist Brothers. However there is evidence that the relationship between the Christian Brothers and the younger Marist Brothers was positive in the early days of St Peter's College: Paul Malcolm Robertson, "Nga Parata Karaitiana, The Christian Brothers: A Comparative Study of the Indian and New Zealand Provinces", a thesis for the degree of MA in Anthropology, University of Auckland, 1996, p. 41.] The leading Marist Brother protagonist through all of this trouble was also named "Brother Benignus" (he held the positions of "Director" of Sacred Heart College 1927-1932 and Provincial of the New Zealand Province of the Marist Brothers 1932-1941). ["Golden Jubilee Celebrated: Rev Brother Benignus", "Zealandia", January 4, 1945, p. 13; for more on the Marist Brother Benignus (and, another leading protagonist, Brother Borgia) see: Tony Waters, "Confortare, A History of Sacred Heart College, Auckland 1903 - 2003", Sacred Heart College, Auckland, 2003.]

Construction and opening of St Peter's College

The school was constructed on the corner of Khyber Pass and Mountain Road a site which been given to the church for educational purposes by the Outhwaite family. The Outhwaite family were descendants of an English lawyer, Thomas Outhwaite who was one of New Zealand's early colonists and was the first registrar of the Supreme Court in Auckland. The family not only bequeathed the site of the college but also a part of the fund required for its erection. [information provided by Liston in his speech at the opening of St Peter's College on Sunday 29 January 1939 at 3.30pm: Auckland Welcomes the Christian Brothers, Zealandia, Thursday 2 February, 1929, p. 5.]

The Christian Brothers to staff the school arrived in Auckland from Australia and the South Island for the 1939 school year. They were accommodated by the parish priest of Remuera, Monsignor J. J. Bradley, in his presbytery until the Brothers residence was habitable.Twenty-Five Years, St Peter's College Magazine, 1964, St Peter's College, Auckland 1964, page 11] Bradley, who had been a pupil of the Christian Brothers in Ireland, was responsible for the laying out of the grounds of the school - work which took ten months to complete. However, work continued until 1941 on the development of Reeves Road (a street that has now disappeared as it has been incorporated as the entrance to St. Peter's College), [supposedly named after William Pember Reeves (1857 - 1932), journalist, poet, cabinet minister and New Zealand High Commissioner in London: Graeme W. A. Bush (ed), The History of Epsom, Epsom & Eden District Historical Society Inc, Auckland, 2006, p. 424.] the building of stone walls, and the very significant soil transfer from the netball courts to level the playing fields. The year 1941 " ... saw the end of a familiar sight at the College when workers on the Government Relief scheme finished working on the grounds on November 1. These men spent three years working on the grounds at a very small cost, as the Government paid their wages in an effort to lessen hardship in the difficult post-depression years. Without their work and the guiding hand of Monsignor Bradley, the grounds with their three different levels [i.e. the netball court level (the netball courts [ the Auckland Catholic Netball Association which was founded in 1931 operated for many years on the netball courts at the corner of Mountain and Khyber Pass Roads in the St Peter's College grounds. In 2005 the Association leased the Windmill Road netball courts in Mt Eden and has operated its netball competitions there from 2006: [http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/projects/edenepsom/windmill.asp] ] have now become the school tennis courts), the old tennis court level (now filled in under the playing field level) and the playing field level, called the "St Peter's College oval" (now extended into the old tennis court level)] could not have been developed as they were". [A Glimpse at the Past, St Peter's College Magazine, 1964, St Peter's College, Auckland, 1964, Page 12]

The school was opened on Sunday, 29 January 1939 by Bishop Liston and in the presence of Hon H. G. R. Mason, Attorney-General and local MP, standing in for Rt Hon Peter Fraser, the Minister of Education (who became Prime Minister on the death of Michael Joseph Savage in 1940) the Mayor of Auckland, Sir Ernest Davis, and [http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/C/CallanJohnBartholomewKc/CallanJohnBartholomewKc/en| Mr Justice Callan] of the Supreme Court (who had been a pupil of the Christian Brothers in Dunedin and had also been a classmate of Liston's). Br Keniry represented the Provincial of the Christian Brothers, Brother Hanrahan, at the opening. The opening took place on a wet afternoon and, as he read his speech, Bishop Liston was sheltered under an umbrella held by the foundation principal of the college, Brother F.P. O'Driscoll.Auckland Welcomes the Christian Brothers, Zealandia, Thursday 2 February, 1939, p. 5.] In spite of the rain, a large number of friends and well-wishers participated in the opening.

It is noteworthy that, in view of the difficult history with the Marist brothers, Liston said, "this is a fitting occasion to pay tribute to the Marist Brothers for their long, honourable and fruitful record of service in the cause of education in the diocese of Auckland and throughout New Zealand: 'by their fruits ye know them' ". He also said later in his speech, "We welcome today the Christian Brothers, who are here at the invitation of the Bishop to take charge of St Peter's school and to have their part, along with the Marist Brothers and other religious communities, in our Catholic education system. They have their own traditions to give us, formed in the society's work of teaching since 1802, and the fruit of the experience gathered, to speak only of Australia and New Zealand, of over 500 Brothers teaching more than 20,000 boys". Liston added, " ... if I know the Brothers at all, the boys under their care will be put to hard work - an excellent thing - and teachers will not do for them what they should do for themselves. The thought of the years ahead and of the eternal life will be regarded as of first importance. Teachers will feel it their daily duty to fit the boys to bear life's burdens with a spirit of nobility and to meet life's problems with unfaltering courage". At the conclusion of his speech, Bishop Liston said, "This is a very happy day for me indeed for I owe much more than I can say to the training I received at the hands of the Christian Brothers in Dunedin long years ago".

The original school buildings opened in 1939 on the four acre Outhwaite site consisted of an incomplete two-storied class-block (now the Bro P. O'Driscoll Building) for the pupils and an incomplete two-storied residence (the brother's residence). They were designed by William Henry Gummer (1884-1966), a student of Sir Edward Lutyens and architect of some notable Auckland buildings such as the Dilworth Building in Queen Street and the old Auckland railway station in Beach Road. He also designed the National War Memorial and carillon and National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum buildings in Wellington. [Graeme W. A. Bush (ed), The History of Epsom, Epsom & Eden District Historical Society Inc, Auckland, 2006, pp. 279 - 280.] The two original school buildings were fully completed in 1944. [St Peter's College Silver Jubilee 1939 - 1964, Christian Brothers Old Boys Association, Auckland, 1964, pp. 7 and 8.]

The first year

On Monday, 6 February 1939, St Peter's College opened its doors [J.C. O'Neill, The History of the Work of the Christian Brothers in New Zealand, unpublished Dip. Ed. thesis, University of Auckland, 1968, p. 102.] with a roll of 183 pupils, aged from 11 to 14 (i.e. from Form I to Form IV).St Peter's College Silver Jubilee 1939-1964, Christian Brothers Old Boys Association, Auckland, 1964, p.7.] Five brothers comprised the original staff - Brothers O'Driscoll, Killian, Rapp, Skehan and Carroll. [Felix Donnelly, "One Priest's Life", Australia and New Zealand Book Company, Auckland, 1982, pp. 7-17: this autobiography contains a description of Felix Donnelly's experiences at St Peter's in its early days and makes particular mention of Bros O'Driscoll and Skehan; see also: Felix Donnelly, "Big Boys Don't Cry", Cassell New Zealand, Auckland 1978 and "Father Forgive Them", GP Books, Wellington, 1990. The latter is a novel which describes the hero's experiences at St Peter's and contains several fictional Christian Brothers.]

"The first day of school was unique - one of reconnaissance on both sides. The Brothers were new and unknown, even by repute!" "It is on record that at least two "first-day" pupils came, saw - and were never seen again after opening day. Form IV was the senior class the first year and comprised a select group ... .". ["The First Twenty Five Years", "St Peter's College Silver Jubilee 1939-1964", Christian Brothers Old Boys Assn, Auckland, 1964, p. 7.]

The average size of the four classes in the first year of the college was thirty boys. But Form IV commenced with fourteen pupils. These had come from ten different schools. There had been no unity in the textbooks used in these schools but also the boys had studied different subjects. By the end of the first term it was evident to the Brothers that there was quite a teaching problem and it was decided to start the second term of Form IV with Theorem One in Geometry and Lesson One in French, Latin, Algebra, etc. - all the start of Form III work. The object was to get through two complete years' work (Form III and Form IV) in two terms (i.e. the first and second terms - from May to December). Many of the fourteen pupils transferred down to Form III. For the senior class, play or recreation time was cut in half. School was conducted on Saturday mornings, when the week's theoretical study of Chemistry was tested by practical experiments. "No text books were allowed on Saturdays, and woe betide any student who didn't know the properties and tests for various gases and metals and their respective weights". "Time was precious, the pace was hot; these Christian Brothers, newly come to Auckland, had to try to establish some academic standards, and Brother O'Driscoll in endeavouring to penetrate the boys' thick skulls with gems of academic knowledge, used, in desperation, to thump or pound the blackboard to drive home important points. Being a solidly built man of no mean stature, he made quite an impression. It is recorded in the first year in his classroom at least half a dozen new blackboards were necessary". By the third term only four students were left - Bill Aitkin, Max Denize, Des and John Rosser. The following year (1940) Brother O'Driscoll allowed three to sit for Matriculation (University Entrance) and one for the Public Service Examination. All four passed. The first Dux of the college was Des Rosser, who with his twin brother John subsequently donated the Rosser Cup, presented each year for Dux of St Peter's College. ["This Photo is Unique", "St Peter's College Silver Jubilee 1939-1964", Christian Brothers Old Boys Assn, Auckland, 1964, p. 13.]

Great walls, new buildings and integration

The transformation of the grounds, the development of Reeves Road, the planting of lawns, garden plots and the front stone wall on Reeves Road continued over the next few years. "At the same time, tons of soil and rock were brought up from the site of the present [netball] courts to make the playing field. But the masterpiece of all the constructional work was the huge stone wall below the tennis courts [(and above the netball courts)] . The first pupils daily eagerly visited it as if it were some modern Great Wall of China, and watched in wonder as it took shape". ["The First Twenty Five Years", St Peter's College Silver Jubilee 1939-1964, Christian Brothers Old Boys Assn, Auckland, 1964, p. 8.]

After the end of the Second World War, significant developments were: the opening of the College chapel in 1953 (see below); the building of the first prefabricated classroom block; and the conversion of the old bungalow used as a shelter shed and of a classroom to a library in the 1950s. [Dinah Holman, "Newmarket Lost and Found", The Bush press of New Zealand, Auckland, 2001, p. 247.]

In 1961, St Peter's had the largest roll of any Catholic school in New Zealand [O'Neill, p. 108.] , having 834 pupils. More building projects became necessary.

In the 1960s, the Brother's residence was extended and a new science block consisting of science laboratories, classrooms and a demonstration room was built. This building was upgraded in the 1990s and is now called the Brother J. B. Lynch Science Laboratories. A large three-story set of classrooms plus assembly hall and squash courts were opened in the early 1970s.

The school became an integrated state secondary school with attached intermediate in 1982 under the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act 1975. At that time the entire Catholic school system (currently some 240 schools) was integrated into the New Zealand state school system, with all schools retaining their Catholic "special character". [Rory Sweetman, A Fair and Just Solution? A History of the Integration of Private Schools in New Zealand. Dunmore Press, Palmerston North, 2002.]

The school is, and always has been, a diocesan school in that its proprietor is the Catholic Bishop of Auckland.

Brewery land, Auckland Grammar and the motorway

In 1959, Archbishop [ In November 1953, the Vatican awarded Liston the personal title of Archbishop, acknowledging that while Auckland was not the archdiocese of the ecclesiastical province of New Zealand, Liston was the most senior active bishop, Nicholas Reid, James Michael Liston, a life, Victoria University Press, Wellington, p. 242] Liston purchased 2.5 acres on Mountain Road opposite the school. [Ibid. p. 225.] This land was owned by New Zealand Breweries and had been part of the Great Northern Brewery, later called Lion Brewery, which stretched from Khyber Pass along Mountain Rd up as far as Seccombes Rd. Part of the land purchased had been used as tennis courts for the staff. The land became available because, from 1950, New Zealand Breweries was concentrating its beer production at the Captain Cook Brewery further down Khyber Pass towards Newmarket. The Lion Brewery site was therefore sold off, part to the New Zealand Distillary Company and part, which included the tennis courts, to the Bishop of Auckland for St Peter's College. The site was purchased from New Zealand Breweries for £11,000 pounds per acre. [Graham Bush, "The History of Epsom", Auckland 2006, pp, 309-311; Graeme Donaldson, p. 10; "The Blessing and Opening of the New Playing Field", "St Peter's College Magazine 1960", p. 14. (Donaldson is mistaken in stating that the land was purchased from Dominion Breweries).] and is used as a rugby field (now called "The Cage"). Located on it is a sports pavilion (called Brother P. C. Ryan Sports Pavilion) replacing an earlier pavilion opened in 1960 - see below.

Henry Cooper, the Headmaster of Auckland Grammar School at that time, was also interested in this land for his school but the price New Zealand Breweries required for it (£30,000) was considered too high. Cooper was "particularly annoyed" that he failed to obtain the site as St Peter's got it for somewhat less than the price quoted to Grammar and which had been considered prohibitive by the Ministry of Works. However Cooper did graciously attend the official opening of the resulting new St Peter's College pavilion and field and he " ... offered the congratulations of the other schools of Auckland and expressed great pleasure that his friendly neighbours had obtained such a handsome new playing field". ["The Blessing and Opening of the New Playing Field", "St Peter's College Magazine 1960", p. 14.]

An influential shareholder in New Zealand Breweries was the company Campbell & Ehrenfried. Devon Hern [ Paul Goldsmith and Michael Bassett, "The Myers", David Ling Publishing Ltd, Auckland, 2007 pp. 208 and 248.] , a St Peter's College old boy, held an important position in the latter company and it is likely that he played some part in the purchase of the land for St Peter's College on favourable terms.

Henry Cooper used the episode in his argument for the transfer of the Mt Eden Prison quarries to Auckland Grammar for the creation of new sports fields for that school. He pointed out that the brewery site would have been very suitable for Grammar and that Grammar had been beaten to it by a "private school". An aspect of all this was the fact that the new North/South motorway development was projected to take the main Grammar rugby field which lay between the two schools. Although St Peter's was to be less affected, Auckland Grammar was supported by Archbishop Liston and the school in its opposition to the motorway and the projected route. Auckland Grammar argued that the motorway was going to adversely affect "two great schools" and should either be abandoned or re-routed. However, one of Grammar's suggested alternative routes was to be "further down" Mountain Road, which would have taken the motorway either through St Peter's College or through the Catholic netball courts which were used by the College and are now part of it. Either of these proposed alternative routes would also have taken out the newly-acquired and developed rugby field.

In the event, Grammar lost its rugby field in 1964 (but was later more than compensated by the Mt Eden Prison quarries) and St Peter's lost a small section of land on its south west extremity (by the Br Lynch Science Laboratories). St Peter's College was compensated by being sold Reeves Road at a concessional price. This disappeared as a street and much of the subsequent expansion of the school has taken place on its site. However both Auckland Grammar and St Peter's have since 1965 had to endure the motorway adjacent to both schools. ["The Blessing and Opening of the New Playing Field", "St Peter's College Magazine 1960", p. 14; Andrew Mason, "Henry Cooper of Auckland Grammar School", David Ling Publishing for the Auckland Grammar School Old Boys' Association, Auckland 2005, pp. 223 and 224; Paul Goldsmith and Michael Bassett, "The Myers", David Ling Publishing Ltd, Auckland, 2007 pp. 208 and 248.]

Chapels

From its opening in 1939, the Christian Brothers had a small "but handsome" chapel upstairs in the Brothers' House. It was equipped by past pupils of the Christian Brothers, one of whom, Father J Mansfield, who sixty years previously had been a pupil of the Christian Brothers in Dublin, donated the altar. The chapel was furnished in oak. The altar was walnut and primavera wood, backed by a rich blue and gold hanging. [ Auckland Welcomes the Christian Brothers, "Zealandia", Thursday, February 2, 1939, p. 5.] On 14 November, 1953 a larger chapel was blessed and opened by Archbishop Liston (he was granted the title of "Archbishop" around that time). This was built mainly on the initiative of the Chaplain of the School at that time, Dr Delargey. [Graeme Donaldson, p. 10.] Funds were raised by the Old Boys, Men's and Ladies' Committees and the pupils. The chapel cost £3,300. £3,000 was raised by an appeal (£1,400 from parents, friends and Old Boys, and £750 from the pupils including £200 as a result of "self-denial" days). [New Chapel at St. Peter's, "Zealandia", Thursday, November 19, 1953, p. 1.] "The opening of the chapel was all the more satisfying" because of the involvement of the pupils. [St Peter's College Silver Jubilee 1939-1964, Christian Brothers Old Boys Assn., Auckland 1964, p. 8. ] This chapel was located between the Brothers' House and the main school building (now called the "Br O'Driscoll Building"). The chapel was rectangular in shape. It had two aisles between which there were approximately ten pews which could accommodate a class or two. On the other side of each aisle were the Brothers' chairs and prie-dieus at which they recited their office each day, heard Mass and kept their own devotional books. The chapel was dominated by a crucifix and a large altar fixed against the south end wall in those pre-Vatican II days. A free-standing altar later replaced this so that Mass could be said facing the congregation. On the left was also a shrine to Our Lady of Perpetual Soccour, a devotion much encouraged by the Christian Brothers. On the South side of this icon was the door to a small sacristy which also served as a confessional for the school, where the school chaplain was available regularly. This sacristy issued onto a small cloister which connected the Brother's House with the school building. On the North side of the icon a door led from the chapel to the Brother's Common room and library in the Brothers' House. This also served as the general staff room for the college which was most useful to the lay teachers. There were folding doors along the northern or entrance end of the chapel. These doors could be opened so that extra congregation could be accommodated outside. From time to time Masses were celebrated "al fresco" there. "The chapel became a focal point and the good habit of a visit to the Blessed Sacrament before and after school [was] maintained over 60 years". [Graeme Donaldson, p. 10.] This chapel was demolished to free up access to the Brother L. H. Wilkes Technology Block which was opened in 2001. The present school chapel is a converted class room (originally one of the pre-fabricated rooms provided for the junior school in the 1950s). This is located near the northern end of the quadrangle of the College. The college is planning " for a more permanent College Chapel in the centre of the school". [Property Update, "St Peter's College Newsletter", 06/2005, Friday 15 April 2005; "Principal's Message: The Class of 2015", "St Peter's College newsletter", 11/2008, Friday 04 July 2008.]

The Christian Brothers

The Christian Brothers provided staff for St Peter's College from its opening until 2007. However, the numbers of brothers teaching at St Peter's College gradually declined from the 1970s. In 1975 there were 15 brothers teaching. In 1982 this number had reduced to eight. In 1988 it was 7, 4 in 1991, 2 in 1993, and 1 from 1994. [Paul Malcolm Robertson, Nga Parata Karaitiana The Christian Brothers, A Public Culture in Transition: A Comparative Study of the Indian and New Zealand Provinces, an unpublished thesis for MA in Anthropology, University of Auckland, 1996, p. 46.] From 1994 until July 2007, Brother Paul Robertson was the only Christian Brother teaching at St Peter's College. He was the Associate Principal of the college. [Ibid., p. 208. "Br Paul Robertson cfc", St Peter's College Newsletter, No 05/2007, 05 April 2007]

The integration of St Peter's College into the state education system also " ... caused a 'church/state' separation of the [Christian Brothers] community from the institution". [Robertson, p. 115.] This was demonstrated particularly in the formal splitting of authority in the school between the school Board of Trustees and the Principal of the College and the new role of the former in staffing matters. In 1992 the Christian Brothers shifted from the college to a new community house in Queen Mary Avenue, Epsom, acquired because it was near St Peter's College. [Ibid., p. 207.] Brother L. H. Wilkes wrote about what this meant for the Christian Brothers community. "For years the dread of leaving St Peter's house hung over the community at St Peter's. In 1991 it was down to months and in early 1992 it was down to weeks and to days. Nobody actually spoke definitely about leaving but everyone knew it was inevitable. I could just not imagine the community in an ordinary house in an ordinary street ...". [Brother L. Hubie Wilkes, "On Leaving a Monastery", Robertson, p. 116.] Some of the brothers teaching at St Peter's College in the late 1980s moved to another community house in Mangere which soon closed. [Ibid., p. 200] Apart from Brother Paul Robertson, the last Christian Brother to retain particular involvement with St Peter's College into the late 1990s was Brother V. N. Cusack. [Ibid., p. 206.]

In his Annual principal's report for 1988, Brother Prendergast expressed in effect a eulogy for St Peter's as a Christian Brother's school and perhaps a mandate for the school's future. Brother Prendergast said: "It is my pleasure to present to you the forty-ninth annual report. I do so as a proud past pupil, past teacher, and almost, past Principal of this school. In a sense I see my position in this school as completing a cycle which is a model of the church right through the world. In 1939 the Brothers first came to St Peter's and they came from the southern parts of New Zealand and from Australia. From that time the seeds of vocations were sown. The first Old Boy priest was ordained in 1950 and the first Old Boy Christian Brother was professed in 1954. The first old boy Christian Brother returned to teach in this school in 1965 [(Br Terry Felix Hunter(?))] . I was the first old boy Christian Brother appointed to the position of Principal and that was in 1980.

"In my first report at the end of 1980 I said that 'the time is fast approaching when the Brothers may no longer be able to maintain a presence in this school. Perhaps one of the more valuable endeavours of the Principals of recent years has been to prepare the school for that eventuality. There is no doubt that we are on the threshold of a new cycle of development'. The brothers have maintained their presence over those nine years, mainly the same ones as it happens and I can tell you that those who are around in other schools are just as old. You can draw your own conclusions.

"St Peter's has been a Christian Brothers school for forty-nine years. I don't know if you can say it is going to be a Christian Brothers' school next year. That is up to those of you who are here next year to maintain if you want to. I am going to put before you some of the characteristics of Christian Brothers schools. Christian Brothers' schools throughout the world have a remarkable similarity of purpose, spirit and tone. Allowing for culture change a boy from St Peter's College in Auckland will fit in easily in Cardinal Newman College, Buenos Aires [ [http://www.cardenal-newman.edu/ Colegio Cardenal Newman - A Christian Brothers' College ] ] or Waverley College, Sydney, or St Columba's School, New Delhi, or St Edward's College, Liverpool, or in schools in twenty other countries. All these schools reveal characteristics that help identify them as inheritors of the spirit and traditions of Edmund Rice, the founder of the Christian Brothers. These characteristics are not unique but they are distinctive.

Brother Prendendergast listed these characteristics as being: the encouragement given to pupils in Christian Brothers schools to strive for scholastic excellence in a disciplined atmosphere; a religious dimension that permeates the entire education available to students; the cultivation of a strong devotion to Mary, the Mother of God; the emphasis given to the care and concern for each individual in the school community; and a particular concern for the poor.

"These then are five distinctive characteristics of Christian Brothers' schools today. They are part of our heritage. Remaining faithful to that heritage is the challenge of the future. I believe St Peter's college exhibits these characteristics some more clearly than others. The challenge I put to you tonight is to maintain and build on those characteristics." [Brother J. P. Prendergast, 49th Annual Principal's Report - 1988, St Peter's College Magazine 1988, St Peter's College, Auckland, 1988, p. 4]

For the short biographies of some notable Christian Brothers who taught at St Peter's College see: "Congregation of Christian Brothers in New Zealand".

James Michael Liston

The Christian Brothers and St Peter's College held Archbishop Liston in high regard. He was always regarded as a special friend (if not ally and protector) of the college. He presided over almost every (if not all) the school prize-giving ceremonies from the first until his retirement in 1970. At the 1970 ceremony, in Liston's presence and in recognising his retirement, Brother B E Ryan the Principal of the college said: "His Grace has had his critics of course, as all men in similar positions have - he was even criticised for founding St Peter's College - but his achievements are sufficient answer in themselves. We of St Peter's in a certain sense owe him everything. Without His Grace's decision to open the new school in 1938, we humanly speaking, might not be here tonight to represent the thousands of boys and parents that have been influenced by the school in the past 32 years". [Report by Brother B E Ryan, Principal of the college, St Peter's School Magazine 1970, St Peter's College, Auckland, 1970, Page 5.] Nicholas Reid has written that Liston felt a lifelong debt to the Christian Brothers' School in Dunedin where he was a pupil and he often expressed that gratitude publicly on occasions involving Christian Brothers Institutions. [Nicholas Reid, p. 37.] However, Liston's gratitude did have its limits. There is a well-known story at St Peter's College concerning the large Christian Brothers monogram above the main northern entrance to the original school building. In the course of the creation of that monogram in 1938 or 1939, Bishop Liston arrived to survey progress on the building of the school. He ordered work to stop on the monogram because the school was "his" and did not belong to the Christian Brothers. The monogram remains unfinished to this day. But, of course, the college really was "his". It was and is a diocesan school owned directly by the Bishop of Auckland.

Liston was, however, very grateful to the Christian Brothers for establishing St Peter's College. In January 1943, Liston wrote to his old classmate Br Michael James Benignus Hanrahan, the Provincial of the Christian Brothers when the college was established, on the occasion of the latter's Golden Jubilee, saying: " ... Auckland has its special reason for gratitude. Perhaps I can put that simply by saying that from the first day the school has been all that you or I would wish it to be". [O'Neill, p. 105.]

When the school later adopted a new motto, it adopted the English version of Liston's personal motto "Amare et Servire", "To Love and to Serve".

t Peter's College today

The school has had a lay principal, Mr Kieran Fouhy, since 1989. Under his leadership, significant building projects have been completed. During the 1990s, as well as the renovation (and naming) of the Brother J. B. Lynch Science Laboratories, the Brother P. C Ryan sports pavilion replaced the original pavilion built in 1960 and the Brother W. R. Smith Music and Drama Suite was built. Brother Smith (1948 - 1953), the third principal of the college, had initiated the first school orchestra. [ Graeme Donaldson, To All Parts of the Kingdom: Christian Brothers In New Zealand 1876-2001, Christian Brothers New Zealand Province, Christchurch, 2001, p. 12]

Recent important buildings completed are the Brother L. H. Wilkes Technology Block (2001) (awarded the NZIA Resene Supreme Award for Architecture 2002 and the NZIA Resene Branch Award for Architecture 2001) and a dedicated building for the intermediate school on Mountain Road (2003) named after Brother V.A. Sullivan.Graham W.A. Bush, The History of Epsom, Epsom & Eden District Historical Society Inc, Auckland, 2006, p. 225] [Architectus website, St Peter's College Middle School: [http://www.architectus.com.au/index.php?page=89] .]

"St Peter's is still dedicated to the objectives of the Christian Brothers' founder, eighteenth-century Irish merchant Edmund Rice [(now Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in October, 1996)] : They were to encourage its members to serve the community in a positive manner. As such, some of the school's recent old boys have become lay member's of Edmund Rice communities, and have committed themselves to Rice's objective of bringing social justice. The school has always had a particular commitment to supporting Christian Brothers missions in Polynesia and, more recently, has organised annual trips to India for senior students"

"The school has also endeavoured to ensure outlets for the boy's sporting and cultural aspirations. In recent years St Peter's has attained national secondary titles in rugby, softball, soccer and music. By establishing both music [St Peter's College Music Department on bebo: [http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=6835726952&ShowSims=Y] [http://www.bebo.com/SPCMusicDepartment] .] and soccer academies in the late 1990s the school has encouraged excellence in pursuits that might be considered atypical within the context of educating New Zealand boys".

Houses

St Peter's Houses are named after four famous Christian brothers who arrived from Ireland in Melbourne on 15 November 1868 to establish the order in Australia. These four were Brothers Fursey Bodkin, Barnabus Lynch, Joseph Nolan, and their leader, Brother Ambrose Treacy. In 1875 Brother Treacy visited Bishop Patrick Moran, First Catholic Bishop of Dunedin, and promised him a community of Christian Brothers. In 1876, Brother Bodkin arrived with Brothers Dunne, Healy and McMahon to establish the Dunedin community, the first Christian Brothers community in New Zealand. [J.C. O'Neill, The History of the Work of the Christian Brothers in New Zealand, unpublished Dip. Ed. thesis, University of Auckland, 1968, pp. 17 - 27; Paul Malcolm Robertson, Nga Parata Karaitiana The Christian Brothers, A Public Culture in Transition, A Comparative Study of the Indian and New Zealand Provinces, an unpublished thesis for MA in Anthropology, University of Auckland, 1996, pp. 38 and 39]

The St Peter's College Houses and their colours are:
* Bodkin - Red
* Lynch - Gold
* Nolan - Blue
* Treacy - Green

Sport

St Peter's College has a strong sporting tradition. Amongst the highlights have been, in Rugby Union, the winning by the school First XV of the New Zealand Secondary School's Top Four Championship as well as the Auckland Secondary Schools Premiership in 1987. The latter feat was repeated in 1988. The best achievement in rugby was to win the Auckland Championship and the New Zealand First XV Knock out competition undefeated in 2000. In 1980 St Peter's College won the inaugural national Secondary School's Softball Championship and has won the Auckland Softball Premiership every year from 1994 until the present.Graeme Donaldson, To All Parts of the Kingdom: Christian Brothers In New Zealand 1876-2001, Christian Brothers New Zealand Province, Christchurch, 2001, p. 11; "St Peter's College Sport", "The Vision", Term 1, 2008, Edition 38, p. 4.]

In 2008 the following sports were played competitively by St Peter's College: Archery;
Athletics; Badminton; Basketball; Bowls; Cricket; Cross country running; Cycling; Golf; Hockey; Road running; Rowing; Rugby; Soccer; Softball; Squash; Swimming; Table Tennis; Tennis; Touch Rugby; Triathlon; and Waterpolo. [ St Peter's College Magazine 2007, pp. 73-103; [http://www.st-peters.school.nz/news_and_events/index.php| St Peter's Newsletter 09/2008, 06 June 2008] ] One sport promoted in the early days of the college but which is no longer provided, is boxing. [Felix Donnelly, "One Priest's Life", Australia and New Zealand Book Company, Auckland, 1982, pp. 7 and 8.] The school boxing championships were held annually, usually at the Municipal Hall, Newmarket. [for example, "St Peter's College Boxing Championships", "Zealandia", November 20, 1947, p. 13.]

Something of the college's sporting spirit, at least as it was in the 1970s when Rugby Union was even more dominant in New Zealand than it is in 2008, is described by John Tamihere. He wrote that if the Christian Brother's wanted a boy for the First XV, the boy didn't have much say in the matter. "They would walk around the school grounds at lunchtime sizing up" likely candidates to see if they might be any good. They picked out one boy because he looked usefully tall. "I'd rather play soccer", the boy protested, " ... but next minute there he was in the lineout, leaping." Under such pressure, Tamihere played for the college First XV (in 1976(?) and 1977) although he would have preferred to play Rugby League for the Glenora club [ [http://www.igougo.com/attractions-reviews-b32314-Auckland-Glenora_Rugby_League_Club.html| Glenora Rugby League Club] ] as his brothers did. He said that the college First XV at that time was composed of " ... not bad players", and they were " ... always competitive". "We didn't win a lot, but on the other hand we never really got hammered". "St Peter's used to play St Kentigern's, who were led out onto the field by their pipe band. When we played Anglican King's College there was no doubt this was a Catholics versus Proddies battle, though some of our toughest games were against other Catholic schools like St Paul's and Sacred Heart. If you think Maori society was tribal, you should have seen those Catholics". [John Tamihere and Helen Bain, John Tamihere Black and White, Reed, Auckland 2004, p. 38.]

In 1980(?), Hugh McGahan, captain of the New Zealand National Rugby League side, "the Kiwis" from 1986 to 1990, also played for the college First XV, under similar pressure to that exerted on John Tamihere. [Hugh McGahan, "Hughie: Hugh McGahan, Kiwi Captain", Nicholls Publishing, Lincoln, Canterbury, 1992, pp. 13 - 17] Even in 2008, although it has made a significant contribution to the sport, St Peter's College does not field Rugby League teams. However, Soccer has been accepted.

The North train and the railway station

The railway running along the western boundary of St Peter's has played an important part in the history of the school. From the time the school opened many students came from the western suburbs of Auckland along the route of the train and they used the train service (known at that time at St Peter's College as the "North train") to attend the school. Until 1964 the nearest station to the school was Mt Eden station, a ten minute walk to or from the school. By 1964 about 250 St Peter's boysTheir Own Station, "Auckland Star", Tuesday 15 September 1964, p. 4,] were using the train and walking between Mt Eden station and the school.

The college (Brother T. A. Monagle, who supervised the train boys and who travelled on the train each day for that purpose) approached the Railways Department to request that the train stop at the school. The college had several reasons for asking that the trains should stop there. "The traffic in Mt Eden Road had become very heavy, and was a constant danger to the younger and more thoughtless of our pupils, and another source of considerable danger existed at Mt Eden station where supervision was necessary to prevent accidents when the boys were boarding the train. Again, the train would disgorge its pupils at Mt Eden and then chug merrily past the school almost empty, leaving the boys to walk half a mile, often in heavy rain." [Our Railway Station, St Peter's College Magazine, 1964, St Peter's College, Page 39]

Brother Monagle persuaded the Minister of Transport [John Kenneth McAlpine (1906 – 1984) (National) was Minister of Transport 12 December 1960 - 12 December 1966.] to come and see for himself. In fact the Minister volunteered to walk up to the Mt Eden station from the school. "Well, somebody must have been pulling some strings up above, because on the day of the Minister's visit it rained cats and dogs, and even the odd pink elephant ..."The School Train, St Peter's College Magazine, Auckland, 1968, pages 25 and 26.] and Brother Monagle's request was granted. The North train stopped at St Peter's College for the first time at 8.30am on Tuesday 15 September 1964 for the 250 St Peter's College boys and a dozen from Auckland Grammar.

Another noteworthy event occurred in November 1965, when, for the last time, the North train had a steam engine on it. It was the last passenger train in the North Island to be pulled by a steam locomotive.

In relation to Brother Monagle, " ... it is generally agreed that he deserved the rank of Railway Employee. Surely no single person has ever held down so many positions at once - stationmaster, signalman, ticket inspector and guard, not to mention construction engineer, traffic officer and the occasional shot at engine-driving! During the many years that he was associated with the train, Brother Monagle became friends with most of the railway employees along the line as he made his trip each afternoon as far as Mt Albert".

Initially, only the "school" trains stopped at St Peter's College, once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

The St Peter's College railway station is now a formal part of the Auckland suburban rail network, attaining full station status in 1993 [Sean Millar, "Railway Stations of Auckland's Western Line: Boston Road to Waitakere before the 2004 upgrade programme", 2nd edition, Sean Millar, Huia, 2007, p. 4.] , and has been named prosaically after its nearest street as the Boston Road station. It is still a major transport link for St Peter's College. In 2008, up to a third of the school's enrolment (i.e. 400 students) commute by North train. [Mathew Dearnaley, "Safety drive holds shocks for star", "The New Zealand Herald", Wednesday, July 23 2008, p. A3: [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10522980] .]

The prison riot

St Peter's College and Auckland Grammar School are both located very closely to Mt Eden Prison. On Tuesday, 20 July 1965 there began a major riot at the prison. A St Peter's Form five Geography pupil wrote in his diary that night, " ... what an exciting day! There was a riot in the prison next door to St Peter's and the prisoners lit the jail .... It was blazing all day. The prisoners gathered in the main exercise yard and held the police and army at bay. The latest news is that [there is] a stalemate ... at the moment. The prison was surrounded all day by 300 policemen and soldiers. Of the total 300 prisoners, 60 have surrendered and 240 prisoners are still at large. During Geography period we watched the firemen being hampered by the armed prisoners and the inaccessibility of much of the prison. [A certain classmate] was not at school today again. He missed the most exciting day I have ever spent at St Peter's."

On Wednesday, 21 July 1965, the Geography pupil wrote: " ... today the prisoners were still under siege (if you could call it that as there has been no fighting). Last night they tried to build a barricade against one wall and so try to effect an escape over the wall. But the police fired a warning shot and the prisoners wisely refrained from any further measures of escape. They started to surrender at about 10 o'clock this morning and by 11 the prison was completely controlled by the police. When we watched from the Demonstration room during Geography today (9.30 - 10.00), we saw the first prisoners surrender. It has been very exciting and I was rather disappointed to see it end so soon. [The classmate missing the previous day] was at school today."

The next day, Thursday 22 July 1965, the Geography pupil wrote: " ... school was much quieter today after all the excitement of the last two days. All the prisoners except for 40 have or will be transported to other Penal Institutions as far south as Christchurch. Today the police were searching for any arms which may have been used during the riots. So far they have found one pistol. They think there is another one hidden somewhere. It was very cold this morning with 6 degrees of frost lying on the ground." Perhaps the coldness of the season assisted the prisoners' surrender.

Another experience of the riot was that of a St Peter's Form IV class: " [A] major disruption occurred on July 20 when the inmates of New Zealand's "Maximum Security Prison" (Mt Eden Gaol) rioted and set fire to the main block of the prison. Our class room, being adjacent to the gaol, was invaded by boys from nearby classrooms all trying to watch 'the fun'. [Two particular boys] brought a telescope and a pair of binoculars respectively, and many others brought transistor radios in case we missed anything." There was particular excitement when the army moved in. "Even teacher downed tools when something exciting looked to be happening." It was also noticed that on Wednesday 21st July, fewer boys were away from school. "Perhaps the rioting had something to do with it". [St Peter's College Magazine, 1965, St Peter's College, Auckland, 1965, pp. 37 and 55] Similar things took place at Auckland Grammar. [A teacher at Auckland Grammar later wrote; "On July 20, 1965, my room, B8, gave a great view of the Mt Eden Prison Riot, during which the inmates went mad, tearing around the exercise yard, burning mattresses and beds and anything else they could find. All the classes that came to me on that eventful day were allowed a brief look out of the windows at this sorry spectacle, before we started the lesson. After lunch on that same day, I returned to my classroom to find all the windows lined with boys, three to four deep, enjoying the fun. Many of them I didn't even teach. I allowed them to look for a little while and then yelled, "Get out of my room and off to your work!" The boys disappeared like magic, some out of the room and others to their desks, but they left behind them, enjoying the front row grandstand view, a row of masters. We chatted and joked together for a while before they all went their own ways to their rooms. Trust them to have the best grandstand view.'; C.N Nicholls ("Streak"), Fifty Years at Grammar or Tales Out Of School, ESA Books, 1987, p. 218.]

The riot dominated the media for the duration of the incident and subsequent days. [ For example: "Rioting Prisoners Burn Gaol" New Zealand Herald, Wednesday 21 July 1965, p. 1 and "Officers Held at Gunpoint As Hostages", p. 2; "Prison Riot Ends with Hot Meat Pies for All", "New Zealand Herald", Thursday 22 July 1965, p. 2. Also see; 'RIOTS', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966.Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 18-Sep-2007URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/1966/R/Riots/en ] In one report, the New Zealand Herald stated: "Although school lessons went on as normal at Auckland Grammar School and St Peter's College, on the prison boundaries, the Army took the precaution of shifting rifles from the Grammar School armoury [presumably, normally required for the school cadets] ." ["Rioting Prisoners Burn Gaol", "New Zealand Herald", p. 1.]

In spite of calls after the riot for the closure of the gutted prison, [ "No Place for Prison at Mt Eden", New Zealand Herald, Thursday 22 July 1965, p. 6; "Let This be the End of an Archaic Jail", "The Auckland Star", Wednesday 21 July 1965, p. 6.] Mt Eden Prison was renovated and is still operating as a medium-security institution that takes up to 475 male prisoners. [ [http://www.corrections.govt.nz/public/aboutus/factsheets/prisons/mteden.html Department of Corrections Mt Eden Prison factsheet] ] On 15 June 2007, the New Zealand Herald carried a report that a six-story jail would " ... replace the historic Mt Eden Prison and should take inmates by 2011. The prison will be built alongside the existing stone-walled jail, which will become an administration block". "The new plans have been designed to protect the existing prison as a historic place." "New Zealand Historic Places trust heritage adviser, architecture, Robin Byron said: 'The Department of Corrections should be congratulated for their commitment to preserving this nationally significant historic building'". In relation to the 1965 riot, the Herald article stated: "Prisoners rioted for 33 hours after a prison guard caught two prisoners trying to escape. Chaos ensued as prisoners burnt everything in sight, including prison records." [Elizabeth Binning, Go-ahead for new Mt Eden jail, The "New Zealand Herald", Friday 15 June, 2007, Section A, page 2.] On 7 May 2008, the New Zealand Government confirmed the redevelopment of the prison, with building operations set to begin in July 2008. [cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10508481&ref=watchafternoon|title=$216m prison to replace Mt Eden, Govt confirms|publisher=The New Zealand Herald|date=7 May 2008]

Mr Weal, the European Community and World Leaders

Mr Tom K Weal taught at St Peter's College for many years (1953-1989). During that time he undertook some interesting trips. During the St Peter's College summer vacation of 1970/1971, as Deputy Leader of the Social Credit Party, he mounted a one-man campaign in London to protect New Zealand's interests in relation to the entry of the UK into the European Community (then known as the EEC). Mr Weal felt that the British public was not aware of the damage which New Zealand would suffer if Britain joined the Common Market without safeguards for her primary produce. He spent three weeks talking to anti-market groups in England. He felt that British people knew that New Zealand would have to have a special arrangement if Britain entered the EEC, but that they did not know why. Mr Weal said he had found that very few people knew exactly what joining the EEC meant for Britain. He thought that that was why there was a great fear of going into Europe. He said: "The public just doesn't know what's going on in Brussels. For this reason they're interested in hearing the Commonwealth view on the negotiations and that's what I've tried to express." Mr Weal was invited to return to Britain and was urged to bring a member of the New Zealand Labour Party with him. "We wouldn't be here to play politics, but just to let people know what's in it for us if Britain joins the EEC," he said. He rejected the idea that he was "meddling" in British politics. "In fact one of the most successful things I did was to deliver a letter outlining New Zealand's objections to British membership to every MP before the Common Market debate," he said. Mr Weal thought that letter had an influence in the fact that more than 100 Labour members signed a petition opposing the entry negotiations.

On his way back to New Zealand, Mr Weal broke his journey in Rome, where he had an audience with Pope Paul VI. The UK joined the EEC in 1973, but there were special arrangements put in place for New Zealand primary product exports. Mr Weal was also in Zambia in 1970 where he met, and was impressed by, Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo of Lusaka .

In 1980 Mr Weal and his wife, Margaret, were in the UK and in Rome where they met Pope John Paul II. Mr Weal said to the Pope, "'Back at St Peter's College where I teach "Christian Living", three of my boys each want to be Pope'". " [The Pope] ... paused a moment, shook with mirth and stepping back to me with an appreciative grin, he said, 'Maybe'".

In 1982 Mr Weal went to El Salvador where as part of a "a trip of a lifetime", he met President José Napoleón Duarte of that country. [T K Weal, "A Memorable Character", "St Peter's College Magazine 1970", p. 12.; NZPA Staff Correspondent, Britons in Dark about EEC Says Mr Weal, New Zealand Herald, 25 January 1971, p. 5; Untitled article, "St Peter's College Magazine 1980", p. 45; "To El Salvador: The Experience of a Lifetime", "St Peter's College Magazine 1982", p. 55.] John Tamihere and Helen Bain, John Tamihere Black and White, Reed, Auckland, 2004, pp. 33-44: John Tamihere rated Tom Weal as his most influential teacher. Tamihere said that Mr Weal would link things to politics and, in particular, to New Zealand's agricultural policies. He would emphasise that grass was the most important New Zealand crop as it was the basis of the wool, meat and dairy industries. Mr Weal alerted John Tamihere to the impact that Britain's joining the European Common market would have on New Zealand's economy and society. New Zealand would have to wake up quickly to the loss of the relationship with Britain, find new markets and new ways of doing things, and start to back itself. "The way Mr Weal brought education to life gave me a strong interest in what I call the Kiwi-isation of our society", wrote John Tamihere.]

Principals

* Brother F. P. O'Driscoll (foundation Principal 1939 – 1944) [St Peter's College Silver Jubilee 1939 – 1964, Christian Brothers Old Boys Association, Auckland, 1964, p.5; Dinah Holman, Newmarket Lost and Found, The Bush Press of New Zealand, Auckland, 2001, p. 274.]
* Brother J. A. Morris (1945 – 1947) [A Glimpse at the Past, St Peter's College Magazine, 1964, St Peter's College, Auckland, 1964, Page 13]
* Brother W. R. Smith (1948 – 1953) [Ibid., Pages 12 and 16]
* Brother K. V. Watson (1954 – 1956) [Ibid., Pages 16 and 17]
* Brother P. C. Ryan (1957 – 1965)
* Brother B. E. Ryan (1966 – 1974)
* Brother N. C. Doherty (1975 – 1980)
* Brother J. P. Prendergast (first old boy Principal 1981 – 1988)
* Mr. Kieran F. Fouhy (first lay Principal 1989 – present) [Dinah Holman, Newmarket Lost and Found, The Bush Press of New Zealand, Auckland, 2001, p. 274]

Notable St Peter's College Christian Brothers

*

Notable former lay staff

* The Honourable Mr Jim Anderton (b. 1938): politician; taught in the intermediate at St Peters in 1959 and 1960 [St Peter's College Magazine 1960, pp. 10 and 15] ; President of the New Zealand Labour Party (1979-1984); Member of Parliament for Sydenham (1984 – 1996); Member of Parliament for Wigram (1996- present): former Leader of the New Labour Party (1989-1991), former leader of the Alliance Party (1991 – 1994), and current leader of the Progressive Party (2002 - present); Deputy Prime Minister (1999 - 2006), Minister for Economic Development (1999-2005), Minister of Agriculture (2005 - present), Minister for Biosecurity (2005 - present), Minister of Fisheries (2005 - present), Minister of Forestry (2005 - present), Minister Responsible for the Public Trust (2005 - present), Associate Minister of Health (2005 - present), and Associate Minister for Tertiary Education (2005 - present) [ [http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/MPP/MPs/MPs/1/6/2/162aa31caadf4b1d8ef56bae4159d3d8.htm New Zealand Parliament bio of Jim Anderton] .]

* Professor Kenneth Owen Arvidson (b. 1938): MA (Auckland), Poet and Academic; taught senior English at St Peter's College 1960-1963 (notably, he taught English to Sam Hunt in the lower sixth form in 1963); As a student at Auckland University he attended lectures by [http://www.library.auckland.ac.nz/subjects/nzp/nzlit2/pearson.htm| Bill (William Harrison) Pearson] , [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3328/artsbooks/1494/the_long_march.html;jsessionid=864522A93622E41450FCFD755DDB8C7E| John Reid] , M K Joseph, Allen Curnow and others. "His verse has appeared in literary magazines in New Zealand and internationally, and has been anthologised in Australia and Japan as well as the Penguin, Oxford and other New Zealand collections". "Temporal and spiritual matters balance one another in much of his poetry, in keeping with his Catholic cast of thought." "Arvidson's research interests include John Henry Newman, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Victorian literature and Australian literature." Since 1974 he has taught at the University of Waikato; Mr Arvidson endowed a prize for poetry at St Peter's which was awarded in 1962 and 1963 to Christopher Matthews (1962) and to poet Sam Hunt (1963). [Arvidson, K.O., Robinson and Wattie, The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature, Oxford, Auckland 1998, pp. 27 and 28; Aotearoa New Zealand Poetry Sound Archive/ Arvidson K O: [http://aonzpsa.blogspot.com/2007/12/arvidson-k-o.html] ] .

* Mr Jack Davey: Boxing coach at St Peter's College in the first decade of the school. ["St Peter's College Boxing Championships", "Zealandia", November 20, 1947, p. 13.]

* Miss Judith Edwards: influential and effective choir and singing teacher at St Peter's College late 1950s until 1962; trained as a singer by Sister Mary Leo at St Mary's College; in 1955 she won the John Court Memorial Aria Contest and she was a finalist in the first Mobil Song Quest in 1956. ["St Peter's College Magazines" "1960" (p. 70), "1961" (p. 7), "1962" (pp. 37 and 39); Margaret Lovell-Smith, "The Enigma of Sister Mary Leo:", Reed, Auckland, 1998, pp. 96, 102 and 206.]

* Mrs Wanda Ellis: provided 20 years of Secretarial support to St Peter's College until 1989. ["St Peter's College Magazine 1989", p. 48.]

* Mr Kenneth Coulton Gorbey (b. 1945) CNZM (2007, for service to museums): Museum Consultant and Academic; taught at St Peter's College in 1967; director of the Waikato Museum (opened in 1987); involved in the development of Te Papa, New Zealand's National Museum (opened in 1998); project director of the Jewish Museum Berlin (opened in 2001); teaches Museum and Heritage Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. [St Peter's College Magazine 1967, p. 24; Staff Changes, St Peter's College Magazine 1968, St Peter's College, Auckland, 1968, p. 17.]

* Mrs May Louisa Jury (1906-1971): Pianist; voluntarily played the piano for college functions and as accompanist for numerous school choirs for about 30 years from the enrolment of her eldest son, Lawrence, at St Peter's College in the early 1940s until 27 July 1971, 12 days before her death on 07 August 1971; Mrs Jury also served on the school tuckshop for 17 years 1948-1965; Mrs Jury's three sons, Lawrence, Vincent (Br Vincent Innocent Jury cfc) and Neil were all educated at St Peter's College. ["Ladies' Committee farewell Mrs M Jury, who has served on the Tuck Shop for 17 years", "St Peter's College Magazine 1965", p. 27; "Jury, May Louisa", "New Zealand Herald", Monday, August 9, 1971, Section 2, p. 13; "St Peter's College Magazine 1971", p. 10.]

* Mr Patrick Richard Lam (b. 1968), All Black, loose forward (1992), Teacher at St Peter's College (1991 - 1992) (see Notable Alumni of St Peter's College, Auckland under "sport").

* Mrs F Plank: Tutor in speech and reading amelioration teacher at St Peter's from 1965-1990; prepared students for the Trinity College speech exams. ["St Peter's College Magazine 1967", p. 32;"St Peter's Magazine 1990".]

* Captain W Quane (died 1971): athletics coach at St Peter's College for 20 years: "He was particularly effective when coaching pupils for hurdles". ["Captain W Quane: Tribute to a Stalwart Friend", "St Peter's College Magazine 1968", p. 36; "St Peter's College Magazine 1971", p. 10.]

* Mr Clinton Ridling: Deputy Principal of St Peter's College 1981-1996; he was Acting Principal of St Peter's College in 1986: he was therefore the first layperson to head the school; he was crucial in the transition of the college following its integration and from being run by the Christian Brothers to being largely lay-staffed. ["St Peter's College Magazine 1986", p. 4; St Peter's College Magazine 1996", p. 4.]

* Boris Srhoj (1942-2008): Secondary School teacher; long-serving teacher at St Peter's College, 1983-2008; his last year as a student at St Peter's was 1958 (?). ["St Peter's College Magazine 1960", p. 84; "A tribute to Boris", "Whats Coming up at St Peters", retrieved Sunday 17 August 2008: [http://www.st-peters.school.nz/news_and_events/whatscoming.php] .]

* Mr Ray Tanner: a long-serving, popular and gifted art history and music teacher at St Peter's College from 1974 until 2000(?); in 1998 he was head of the Art faculty; rugby coach and first XV manager. [Hugh McGahan, "Hughie: Hugh McGahan, Kiwi Captain", Nicholls Publishing, Christchurch, 1992, pp. 13-17; "St Peter's College Magazine 1998"; [http://www.oldfriends.co.nz/MessageBoardViewThread.aspx?thread=805384&institution=8180/ Old Friends] ]

* Mr John N Thompson: Speech and Drama teacher at St Peter's College for 15 years (1950-1965); especially effective in production of such dramas as "The Boy with a Cart", "The Roar of Brannam Woods", "The Atomic Age"; he encouraged students to carry out the production themselves, but not entirely, for his manuscript for the production on "The Murder Scene" from Julius Caesar for the 1962 Annual (and last) Concert contained more than 25 sketches as well as the entire text "copiously annotated" and such details as the particular type of make-up required and the shade of costume to be used; also helped individuals with speech defects or who suffered from shyness; he was an Anglo-Catholic and he interested some in that concept. ["St Peter's College Magazine 1966", p. 19.]

* Mr Victor Urlich (b. 1929): taught at St Peter's College 1964-1985.

* Mr Thomas K Weal (b. 1929): taught at St Peter's College 1953-1989; in the 1960s he particularly taught History to the Form three classes (Year 9); he was greatly loved for his willingness to depart from the curriculum to talk about any aspects of Philosophy, History, Religion or current affairs raised by students only too eager to encourage these instructive diversions; Deputy Leader of the Social Credit Party (then called the Social Credit Political League) 1970-1972; in 2008 he is the Honorary Consul in Auckland for El Salvador [O'Neill, pp. 108-109; [http://www.mfat.govt.nz/Countries/Latin-America/El-Salvador.php| MFAT - El Salvador] ]

Notable alumni

See: Notable Alumni of St Peter's College, Auckland

Notes

References/Sources

* A.G Butchers, "Young New Zealand", Coulls Somerville Wilkie Ltd, Dunedin, 1929.
* "Zealandia", 1939-1989.
* Auckland's First Catholic School - And its Latest, "Zealandia", Thursday, 26 January 1939, p. 5.
* Auckland Welcomes the Christian Brothers, "Zealandia", Thursday 2 February 1939, p. 5.
* New Chapel at St. Peter's, "Zealandia", Thursday, November 19, 1953, p. 1.
* Their Own Station, "Auckland Star", Tuesday 15 September 1964, p. 4.
* "St Peter's College Silver Jubilee 1939 - 1964", Christian Brothers Old Boys Association, Auckland, 1964.
* "St Peter's College Magazine", 1965, St Peter's College, Auckland, 1965.
* "St Peter's College Magazine", 1967, St Peter's College, Auckland, 1967.
* J.C. O'Neill, "The History of the Work of the Christian Brothers in New Zealand", unpublished Dip. Ed. thesis, University of Auckland, 1968.
* "St Peter's College Magazine 1968", St Peter's College, Auckland, 1968.
* "St Peter's College Magazine 1970", St Peter's College, Auckland, 1970.
* NZPA Staff Correspondent, Britons in Dark about EEC Says Mr Weal, "New Zealand Herald", 25 January 1971, p. 5.
* "St Peter's College Magazine 1975", St Peter's College, Auckland, 1975.
* Felix Donnelly, "Big Boys Don't Cry", Cassell New Zealand, Auckland 1978.
* E.R. Simmons, "A Brief History of the Catholic Church in New Zealand", Catholic Publication Centre, Auckland, 1978.
* Felix Donnelly, "One Priest's Life", Australia and New Zealand Book Company, Auckland, 1982, pp. 7-17.
* E.R. Simmons, "In Cruce Salus, A History of the Diocese of Auckland 1848 - 1980", Catholic Publication Centre, Auckland 1982.
* Felix Donnelly, "Father Forgive Them", GP Books, Wellington, 1990.
* Thomas J. Ryder, "Following all Your Ways, Lord - Recollections of Fr Thomas J. Ryder" (transcribed and compiled by Margaret Paton) (Privately published, no date - perhaps early 1990s).
* Hugh McGahan, "Hughie: Hugh McGahan, Kiwi Captain", Nicholls Publishing, Christchurch, 1992, pp. 13-17
* Mark Williams (ed), "The Source of the Song; New Zealand Writers on Catholicism", Victoria University Press, 1995, pp. 9 and 10.
* "NZ Catholic : the national Catholic newspaper", 1996- present.
*James Allen: "Growing Up Gay: New Zealand Men Tell Their Stories", Godwit, Auckland, 1996, pp. 106 - 108.
* [http://www.edmundrice.org.nz/index.php?page=/downloads/index.htm/ Paul Malcolm Robertson, "Nga Parata Karaitiana The Christian Brothers, A Public Culture in Transition, A Comparative Study of the Indian and New Zealand Provinces", an unpublished thesis for MA in Anthropology, University of Auckland, 1996] .
* Roger Robinson and Nelson Wattie, "The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature", Oxford University Press, Auckland, 1998.
* Margaret Lovell-Smith, "The Enigma of Sister Mary Leo:", Reed, Auckland, 1998.
* "Chambers Biographical Dictionary", Chambers, Edinburgh, 6th edition, 1999.
* "Liston College, 25th Jubilee Magazine", Liston College, Auckland, 1999.
* Peter Joseph Norris, "Southernmost Seminary: The History of Holy Cross College, Mosgiel (1900 - 1997)", Holy Cross Seminary, Auckland, 1999, pp. 42 and 43.
* Graeme Donaldson, "To All Parts of the Kingdom: Christian Brothers In New Zealand 1876-2001", Christian Brothers New Zealand Province, Christchurch, 2001.
* Dinah Holman, "Newmarket Lost and Found", The Bush Press of New Zealand, Auckland, 2001.
* "New Zealand Who's Who", Aotearoa 2001 New Millennium Edition, 2001.
* Rory Sweetman, "A Fair and Just Solution? A History of the Integration of Private Schools in New Zealand", Dunmore Press, Palmerston North, 2002.
* Bridget (Anderson) Harrod, "100 Years Catholic Education in Rotorua 1903-2003", St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Rotorua, 2003.
* Tony Waters, "Confortare, A History of Sacred Heart College, Auckland 1903 - 2003", Sacred Heart College, Auckland, 2003.
* John Tamihere and Helen Bain, "John Tamihere Black and White", Reed, Auckland 2004.
* Education Review Office, "Review Report, Auckland Grammar School", October 2005.
* Andrew Mason, "Henry Cooper of Auckland Grammar School", David Ling Publishing for the Auckland Grammar School Old Boys' Association, Auckland 2005.
* "St Peter's College Newsletter No 06/2005", Friday 15 April 2005.
* Graham W. A. Bush (ed), "The History of Epsom", Epsom & Eden District Historical Society Inc, Auckland, 2006.
* Nicholas Reid, "James Michael Liston: A Life", Victoria University Press, Wellington, 2006.
* "Bro V. N. Cusack Tuckshop", "St Peter's College Newsletter No. 08/2006", Friday 02 June 2006.
* "Roll", "St Peter's College Newsletter No. 02/2007", 23 February 2007.
* Amy Kiley, "Brothers to reorganise into one Oceania province", "The New Zealand Catholic", 8 April 2007.
* Sean Millar, "Railway Stations of Auckland's Western Line: Boston Road to Waitakere before the 2004 upgrade programme", 2nd edition, Sean Millar, Huia, 2007.
* "St Peter's College Newsletter No 08/2007", 01 June 2007.
* Paul Goldsmith and Michael Bassett, "The Myers", David Ling Publishing Ltd, Auckland, 2007.
* "St Peter's College Magazine", 2007, St Peter's College, Auckland, 2007.
* Maurice Smyth, "We're doing rightly: the life of Bernard Joseph McCahill", B. J. McCahill Trust, Auckland, 2007.
* Rick Maxwell, "St Peter's College, Auckland", Simerlocy Press, Auckland, 2008.
* " [http://www.st-peters.school.nz/news_and_events/index.php| St Peter's Newsletter 09/2008] ", 06 June 2008.
* Mathew Dearnaley, "Safety drive holds shocks for star", "The New Zealand Herald", Wednesday, July 23 2008, p. A3: [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10522980] .

External links

* [http://www.st-peters.school.nz/ St Peter's College website]
* [http://www.edmundrice.org.nz/index.php/ Edmund Rice Network]
* [http://www.erjustice.org.nz Edmund Rice Justice, New Zealand]
* [http://stats.allblacks.com/asp/schoollist.asp?sl_id=St%20Peter's%20College%20(Auckland)&stats_id=71/ All Blacks website, St Peter's College Epsom All Blacks]
* [http://www.architectus.com.au/index.php?page=91/ Architectus website]
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dauck.html/ Catholic-hierarchy website]
* [http://www.ak.catholic.org.nz// Catholic Diocese of Auckland]
* [http://www.catholic.org.nz// Catholic Church in New Zealand]
* [http://www.cardenal-newman.edu/ Colegio Cardenel Newman, Buenos Aires website]
* [http://www.ero.govt.nz/ERO/reppub.nsf/Institution/91E3ADC42E2AF495CC2571A9001A070F/$File/62.htm?OpenElement#_Toc140484479/ Education Review Office report]