MULBERRY GROVE SCHOOL

OUR HISTORY 

Mulberry Grove School ~ Established 1962

Schooling at Mulberry Grove

The first recorded schooling in the area was by the Malcolms of their own children in the 1860s. (see Emilie Malcolm’s journal called ‘My Story’). The Barstows must also have been schooling their children since the late 1840s through to 1858 when they left the island. Between then until Mulberry Grove school opened in 1962 on the old landing reserve by the Todd property, home-schooling predominated until the one-roomed Tryphena School (currently next to the Tryphena Hall), opened in 1884 and Alfred Osborne became its first teacher with 20 pupils. This arrangement, with a variety of teachers, usually part-time but less so as time went by, continued up until December 1939 when it closed. So it was back to home-schooling and correspondence or boarding-school offshore until 1962.

Mulberry Grove Schools 50th Reunion ~ 2012

What a fabulous weekend of memories shared, laughs, tears and stories told.

Mulberry Grove School celebrated their 50th reunion the present site and recognised the 128 year history of schooling on Great Barrier Island.

Months ago a dedicated team got together to mastermind the celebrations. They researched and tracked down past pupils and staff, put it out on facebook, fundraised and organised in what culminated into a great weekend.

Many made the most of “Memory Lane” at the school where they could take their time viewing photos, articles, samples of students writing through the years, news articles and fill in some of the gaps for us. It is such a unique and rich history and made all the richer as so many past students and community members shared old photos and updated us on the amazing achievements of our past students. It was also a time to catch up with some the past principals and teachers to share the funnier moments . “ I remember when…” or “ Do you remember when….. ?”seemed to be the catch phrase of the weekend.

Great hilarity and tears of laughter abounded from Room 1 as audiences viewed the video archives and many wished they had had time to watch more.

Saturday night  at the club put  performances by past and present students in the spotlight. The students of Mulberry Grove School 2012 performed poetry and waiata and a passionate rendition of Tiki Tane’s , Tangaroa followed by past student Jesse Johnstone’s hip hop expertise and Hanna Judds’ musical skill  then  junior  teacher Allison Mackie rounded up the early part of the evening with Janis Joplin’s Mercedes Benz.

Monday’s brunch finale was amazing, the weather co-operated and the kitchen team worked like a well oiled machine. Delicious food accompanied the school student’s performance and washed down with a Don McGregor tale, of small planes and skydivers landing at Mulberry Grove School in a howling gale in true ‘Barrier’ style.

Whether you participated in the golf, the fishing competition or collected the items from Sarah Harrison’s cleverly put together scavenger-hunt, caught up with friends and family, the warmth and atmosphere across the island hummed.

It was wonderful to hear the laughter and exclamations of friends as they reconnected and caught up after many years. It started during the Friday night registrations, everyone buzzing during the weekend, right through to the farewell hugs and the promises to keep in touch and not leave it so long, at the wharf and airport.

Well done and thank you to all those who helped make the weekend a success

PS  I hear there is a 60 year reunion on the cards so more stories, more memories, more laughs and another chance to catch up. Only 10 more years to go.

By 1974 there were two teachers and one part-timer, with the roll rapidly expanding.

In 1983, the school log records two search and rescues that year - Bert Smith went missing at sea and a local resident was swept off a fishing vessel and was found after a long search. And on 19th June 1986 the centenary of the Taylor murder that occurred in Taylors Bay, was re-enacted by school students with Bruce Adams jn the TV camera for TV3.

The rolls for some of the years afterward are:

1983 62-76 pupils,  (opening roll 62 - by 12 Sept roll was 76)

1985 88-103,  (opening- 12th Dec)

1986 107-108 (opening roll- 19th Dec) and by

1987 107 pupils and five teachers.

(Kaitoke area school opened in 1988 in time to relieve the pressure).

By March 1992 Mulberry Grove School had 3 full-time teachers and one part-time teacher with a roll of 54.

On 2nd October the school library was opened.

The school log (from which most of this information is taken), records the large stranding of longfin pilot whales in March 1984 which required many local volunteers and indirectly led to the development of marine mammal medic training courses worldwide. At around the same time, there were defence forces on the island and naval vessels in the area on exercise Northern Safari. Personnel from HMAS Tobruk arrived at the school to construct a jungle gym.

 In 2007, the roll was 25 pupils with two and a half teachers….

The School's re-enactment of the Taylor Murder of 1886.

On 19th June 1886, a regular visitor to Tryphena in the firewood trade, the 17m cutter ‘Sovereign of the Seas’) came to Taylors Bay, just south of the present Tryphena light, with John Caffrey, Henry Penn and Penn’s associate Grace Cleary. No doubt the cutter had often loaded firewood from the landing reserve upon which the Mulberry School presently exists.  

The object of the visit was to abduct Elizabeth Taylor, with whom Caffrey had had a growing relationship with. Her father, the settler Robert Taylor, known as ‘Old Tusky’ for his stern nature), had some time earlier put a stop to it. Caffrey was not to be stopped. He and Penn landed, there were shots fired and ‘Old Tusky’ died. Elizabeth escaped while her young brother raised the alarm. The cutter sailed for Australia where they were wrecked and later caught at Kempsey in New South Wales. Returned to NZ, they were tried and the two men hung, Grace Cleary being released after turning states evidence.  

It was the major story throughout NZ for months.  

 One hundred years to the day after Old Tusky fell dead, children at the Mulberry Grove school put on a play reconstructing the main events of the story. It was even reported on TV ‘Top Half’ programme, filmed by Bruce Adams, an ex-resident.