22.
My Retirement from Teaching
He moana pukepuke e ekengta
e te waka.
A choppy sea can be navigated.
Maori proverb
My retirement from the St. Joseph's Maori
Girls' College came in December 1990, after 24 years of
teaching at this high school at Greenmeadows In Napier.
As my 60th birthday was approaching, I decided to end my
teaching career. I felt greatly enriched through my
association with this college over so many years. during
which my appreciation of Maori cultural values and their
heritage had deepened. As I was about to leave I felt
that my heart would always remain with the school whanau,
the extended family to which I now belonged. I valued
this bond above all else. There is a Maori proverb, which
expresses this admirably:
He taura waka e taea te motu, engari he taura tangata
kaore e taea.
The rope of a canoe can be broken easily, but the bond
between humans cannot.
In 1990 I was greatly honoured to be the school's guest
speaker and the presenter of end-of-year school prizes
and awards, at the annual prizegiving ceremony held on
the school marae. This was a very emotional moment for
me, and I was glad of the support of my husband Wim and
our six children, who were present on this memorable
occasion. The beautiful pounamu. greenstone necklace and
earrings presented to me by the Board of Trustees of the
school will always be a treasured possession, a taonga
for life.
Although sad to leave the school, I felt some elation in
the knowledge that I had contributed the legacy of the
published history of this, the oldest New Zealand
boarding school for Maori girls. I wrote this history as
the official project of the 1990 New Zealand Commission.
In that year New Zealand commemorated 150 years of the
foundation of our nationhood with the signing of the
Treaty of Waitangi in 1 $40. In 1990 the Sisters of Our
Lady of the Missions, the founders of the school, also
celebrated their 125th jubilee, so the school history was
a fitting tribute to them.
Upon my retirement from full-time teaching Wim and I
resolved once again to visit our relatives in Holland and
in Britain and to see something of Europe again. We also
hoped to visit our Japanese friends in Japan. We decided
to leave the management of our farm in our eldest son's
capable hands. The hilly part of our property had
recently been converted Into a deer farm, with a portion
of that land covered in pine trees. The flats below the
surrounding hills are again vineyards, and produce four
classical grape varieties for our own winery: Merlot,
Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. These
vineyards are separately owned by our Sons Stephen and
John and ourselves. The wine produced from these
vineyards is marketed under our own label 'Linden
Estate'.
Before our departure overseas our youngest daughter,
Lucy, graduated from the School of Nursing at Hawke's Bay
Polytechnic. After three years of Intensive study she
passed the Nurses' State Final Examinations in March
1991, qualifying for the Diploma of Comprehensive
Nursing. She was also fortunate soon thereafter to obtain
a Staff Nurse's position at the Public Hospital in
Napier. With the ever-growing unemployment In New Zealand
during the current economic recession, many nurses are
now unable to find employment, so Lucy's success in
getting a nursing position locally was a great joy to us
all.
In March 1991, we were invited to St. Joseph's Maori
Girls' College for the official blessing and the
unveiling of the book on the history of the school, which
had been published in November 1990, prior to my
retirement from teaching at the school. The ceremony took
place on the college marae, where several copies of the
book were covered with a Maori feather cloak, te korowai.
This was an honour, which recognised the status of this
book in the life of the school, a gift to the past and
present students of the college.
It was strange to be one of the official guests, te
manuhiri, led onto the school marae with Sister
Crescentia Gibbs, a former school principal, my husband,
Mrs. Ruth Flashoff, a retired teacher of the school, and
a 1991 class of nursing students from the Hawke's Bay
Polytechnic, who were specially Invited on this occasion,
as part of their study week on Maoritanga. For many
years, I had been one of the teachers, who together with
the girls of this college had welcomed visitors and
distinguished guests onto the school marae. Now I was a
guest myself.
The welcome, te powhiri, by the assembled school pupils
and staff included Maori action songs and speeches as
usual. Then I had the privilege of lifting the feather
cloak, te korowai, which covered several copies of the
book entitled:
Nga KOrero Mo Te Kura Mãorl 0 Hãto HOhepa.
The History of St. Joseph's Maorl Girls' College
1867-1990.
These books were then blessed by the school chaplain. The
school hymn to St. Joseph, the school's patron saint,
concluded this official launching of the book.
After I had autographed several books for prospective
purchasers, we were all invited for morning refreshments,
a delicious assortment of cakes, scones and sandwiches In
the school dining room. This treat for guests was so
typical of the wonderful hospitality shown at the school
for the college te whanau whanui, the large extended
family and distinguished visitors. As we left the
College, I thought of the approaching celebrations on
10th October 1992, marking the 125th anniversary of the
foundation of the school for Maori girls by the Sisters
of Our Lady of the Missions in Nap ier. The founders of
this college had navigated the choppy seas on their
voyage from France to extend their mission to New
Zealand. During the early days of the school the Sisters
had encountered numerous difficulties and made many
personal sacrifices to keep the school open. The fruit of
the school which they founded will remain, because indeed
a choppy sea can be navigated, with God's help.
He moana pukepuke e ekengia e te waka.
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