150 Years of Catholic Education in the Hutt Valley

1855 The first parish school was opened by Fr Forest SM in a room behind the church on High Street.  The schoolmaster was Mr James Curry from Taita and he was paid £10 a term to teach the 15 pupils.  The school was closed in 1874 because of financial difficulties but reopened in

1886 by Fr Lane who raised funds, refurbished it and set up a Parish administration to run it.  On 3 February 1891 at his invitation, the Sisters of Mercy   journeyed daily by rail from their Hill Street Convent in Wellington to teach at the school.

It was formally opened a week later by Archbishop Redwood.  The school roll at this time was 80 (20 boys and 60 girls).  They were taught separately. The population of Lower Hutt in 1887 (excluding Petone, Waiwhetu, Naenae etc) was 775, not including Maori.  Today it is a little over 100,000, including Maori.  The school burnt down in 1899, but it was rebuilt and reopened on a site behind the church in February 1900 at a cost of £243.

1909  The school was taken over by the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions.  Sacred Heart College was opened in 1913.  Its early pupils were the girls from Standards 5 and 6 at the Parish school. Due to the development and growth of the Hutt in the 1920’s, a new site was needed for Ss Peter and Paul School, away from the busy town.  (Population 12,000 in 1928).  Fr Daly, with his business acumen and foresight, purchased a property of three acres in what was then considered rural Knights Road, for £7,300.  An impressive two-storey brick building of five classrooms and shelters was built, costing £9,500.

1929  Ss Peter and Paul Parish School in Knights Road was opened by Archbishop Redwood (then 91 years old) on 21 April.  Mother Constantia was the Head Teacher. The school roll was 170.

Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions continued to staff the school until 1986, when Sister Merle Hiscock retired.  It has since been staffed by lay teachers.  St Bernard’s College in Waterloo Road was opened in March 1947, staffed by the Marist Brothers.  Most of the 100 pupils were the senior boys from Ss Peter and Paul School.  Brother Bernard was the first Head Teacher.

1976  The old brick school was demolished (it was an earthquake risk) and a new school was built with four variable teaching spaces.  New classrooms and facilities have since been added and further remodelling is planned for 2007.

2005  Ss Peter and Paul is now a thriving, integrated school in the centre of the community.  It has a roll of 460 pupils (25 non-Catholic) and a staff of 25 - 30.  Paul Roche has been Principal since 1996 and the school is highly rated by the Ministry of Education.  The Parish, Religious Orders, teachers, pupils, Boards of Trustees have a school to be proud of. 

Allan Devlin

Some Memories of Two ‘Old Boys’ of the School

The two-storey brick Ss. Peter & Paul School I came to as a seven-year old in 1937 was much more impressive than the more humbly housed Holy Cross School in Miramar where I had commenced in “Tiny Tots” and gone through Primers 1 to 6 and Standard 1. 

I enjoyed my five years in the imposing brick school.  My memories are altogether pleasant ones.  Rules for school uniforms must have been less rigid then, as I recall often going bare-footed from Alicetown to Knights Road — from choice, not because of the Depression. 

My education at the school in the hands of Sisters Marius, Gregory and Basilesse was supplemented by on-the-job training in the family’s dairy-cum-grocery in Cuba Street, on the Hutt side of the Petone ramp.  Whether the counting of change, the measuring out of milk and cream in billies, and the weighing of sugar and flour helped me do better in arithmetic, I cannot be sure, but it remained my best subject through primary and later at St Patrick’s College, Wellington. 

The Standards 5 and 6 boys must have been hardy types, because regardless of wind and weather we had to make our way weekly to woodwork classes at Petone Technical College, those with bikes “dubbing” those without.

It may be that my memory is faulty, but I don’t think my generation gave the Sisters too much trouble.  Being late for school, not doing homework, and trying to bob eels in the creek on the boundary were our major crimes.  Being caught smoking incurred dire penalties — but cigarettes were four-pence for a packet of ten then. (The more wealthy might have splashed out on Capstan and Craven A at a couple of pennies dearer). 

If I did not know it then, I realise it now: I owe a huge debt to the School and the Sisters of the Missions who taught me.  They were wonderfully competent teachers, dedicated to advancing our spiritual and educational welfare.  Thank-you to the Parish.  Thank-you to the Sisters.  Thank-you to my fellow pupils of 1937 - 41.

Cardinal Thomas S Williams

I have particularly strong and favourable memories of my time at Ss Peter and Paul School.  They have influenced my whole life.  Our education was centred on Christian values and life-style.  The teaching of the Sisters was extraordinarily good which has stood me in good stead in my own teaching career.  The discipline was firm and fair - we knew where we stood.  That’s not to say that there wasn’t the occasional hanky panky in the play sheds (or behind them!) 

It was the Depression years (the early thirties) and apart from not having the smart clothes and bags and cell phones and skate boards etc of today’s students, and having to walk to school in the rain, we didn’t seem to be too concerned about it.  (A 6 year old recently asked me:  ‘How did Jesus get to school?  Did His mother drive Him?’  ‘Don’t be silly’, his sister said - ‘they didn’t have cars in those days.  He had to go on His bike.’)  I welcomed the free school milk at play-time; but not the revolting golden syrup sandwiches for lunch.  On Fridays we were allowed to buy our lunch and were given 3d (three pence) each. 

This bought us 2d (two pence) worth of fish and chips (a scrumptious small piece of fish and a few chips) and a 1d (one penny) cream bun. 

When we were in Standard 5 we were allowed to take our turn to bike to the Convent on High Street to get the Sisters’ lunch.  The job was much sought after because we got ten minutes out of school.  The Sisters’ hot meal was put in tin billies and we had to be very careful not to spill any on the way back. 

I remember too, the short prayers - mantras - we often said repeatedly to gain reprieve from time in Purgatory for committing venial sins.  I’ve forgotten how much time off we gained if we said, “Lord have mercy” 1000 times. 

Have you noticed the three large, gnarled old ngaio trees along the fence line of the school in Knights Road?  We (the prefects) planted them on Arbor Day in 1936.  Not much else, apart from the brick fence, is recognisable. 

I remain truly grateful for all that the Sisters and Ss Peter and Paul School did for me. 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY -

and many more of them          
Allan Devlin