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- 75th Jubilee History and Register (1936 - 2011)
75th Jubilee History and Register (1936 - 2011)
- By Alumni Editor
- Published 30/06/2011
- 75th Jubilee
Editor's Review of 'The Owl Spreads its Wings'
The 75th Jubilee History and Register has been worth waiting for. Three years in preparation, the project involved extensive research (and some keen detective work on the part of the Hamilton brothers) to uncover a story which has taken 75 years to unfold. This is a beautifully presented, hard cover book, opening with a fascinating account of the founding of St Peter’s. Subsequent chapters explore the growth and development of the school and readers will find plenty of entertaining anecdotes relating to the eccentricities of various staff and students. The layout of this book is visually appealing with numerous colour photographs and summaries of sporting and cultural activities; there is much of interest for anyone who has had an association with this unique and very special school.
The authors, Bruce and Don Hamilton, with Masters degrees in History and extensive experience of independent schools in NZ and overseas, were well placed to embark on a comprehensive history of this nature; however, despite having collaborated on a number of school histories previously, they found the St Peter’s book somewhat challenging, for a number of reasons. Still, it proved in the end to be ‘a story which deserves to be told’.
The St Peter’s Trust Board commissioned the work in 2008, allowing a full three years for preparation. This time frame proved necessary as considerable research was required, including interviews with over 100 people: alumni, staff, parents, trust board members and friends of the School; the authors also spent countless hours trawling through assorted documents such as trust board minutes, reports, official and unofficial documents, school Chronicles, prospectuses, and painstakingly examined thousands of photographs, many of which had no names attached.
This hard work has resulted in an impressive volume of over 500 pages, comprising a comprehensive history of the School, a register of all the students who attended St Peter’s and all the staff for whom we had records. There are 48 pages of colour photos and over 800 black and white photos throughout the book.
To order a copy, please contact the Development Manager, Diane Baker, at the following e-mail address:
DianeB@stpeters.school.nz
The authors, Bruce and Don Hamilton, with Masters degrees in History and extensive experience of independent schools in NZ and overseas, were well placed to embark on a comprehensive history of this nature; however, despite having collaborated on a number of school histories previously, they found the St Peter’s book somewhat challenging, for a number of reasons. Still, it proved in the end to be ‘a story which deserves to be told’.
The St Peter’s Trust Board commissioned the work in 2008, allowing a full three years for preparation. This time frame proved necessary as considerable research was required, including interviews with over 100 people: alumni, staff, parents, trust board members and friends of the School; the authors also spent countless hours trawling through assorted documents such as trust board minutes, reports, official and unofficial documents, school Chronicles, prospectuses, and painstakingly examined thousands of photographs, many of which had no names attached.
This hard work has resulted in an impressive volume of over 500 pages, comprising a comprehensive history of the School, a register of all the students who attended St Peter’s and all the staff for whom we had records. There are 48 pages of colour photos and over 800 black and white photos throughout the book.
To order a copy, please contact the Development Manager, Diane Baker, at the following e-mail address:
DianeB@stpeters.school.nz