History
The origins of the school are in Petone, near Lower Hutt. In 1905, a secondary school, Petone District High School was added to Petone (primary) School which served a growing population employed in the Gear Meat Works and Railway Workshops. From 1910, urban growth encouraged citizens to lobby the council for a local school. 18 acres (73,000 m2) of land was bought in 1915 and in 1926, the school moved to its current site on Woburn Rd, as an amalgamation of Petone District High School and Hutt District High School, with a roll of 142.
The first principal was H. P. Kidson and the school had nine classrooms and one laboratory. To school felt rural with sheep grazing the land, loaned by local farmers. The first caretaker, Mr. H. J. M. Stirling, died while in the school’s employ, and a sundial for his memorial was unveiled by the then Prime Minister and local MP for Lower Hutt, Walter Nash. Until recently, this sundial was maintained as a memorial to those students who had died during their time at the school. However, this landmark was removed in recent years, due to unknown reasons. The school’s first Rhodes Scholarship was awarded to D. Vere-Jones in 1957, who had been Dux in 1953. He represents the school’s reputation for scholarship and the many academic honours that past pupils have been awarded over its history.
In the 1930s, girls were expected ‘by voluntary labour, to keep the flower beds in order’ and boys planted trees and had the opportunity to join the Cadet Company, which involved rifle drill parades and provided the guard of honour at the opening of the nearby Riddiford Baths. The 1940s saw the building of air-raid shelters in the grounds and the effects of polio outbreaks with the early closure of the school for the year in 1947. After the closure of the Petone Memorial College in 1998, its pupils were incorporated into Hutt Valley High School, which greatly increased the roll.
The only part of the School Uniform to not have changed since 1926 is the Boys Socks.
Read more about this topic: Hutt Valley High School
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