Charlie Herbert at 100. Part II of II

 My father, educator C M (Charles MacKenzie) Herbert looked back on the educational influences that shaped his life and identified seven stages. This blog post, which covers the period from 1957 onwards, draws on his notes and other papers lodged at the Alexander Turnbull Library (1) and his discussions with me.

5/Papatoetoe High School 1957-1963
In 1957 Charlie left Ardmore College and embarked on the next stage of his career: foundation Head of Department (HOD) in Social Studies at the new Papatoetoe High School. He wrote in his notes:

"We began from the ground floor with Third Form only. I had plenty of time to build up resources, an improved version of our Mangakino scheme. Not every school welcomed Social Studies. Older teachers, especially historians, fought to retain traditional approaches; youngsters (the new geographers) were fighting for an equal place. Margaret Roberts, who had recently joined the school inspectorate, introduced me to other young teachers who were also enthusiastic about a social studies which would bring together elements of History, Geography,  Economics, Anthropology, Political Studies in a study of people. We began planning for the first teachers' refresher course in Social Studies since 1945.
"Social Studies was introduced in March 1959 with a fanfare of trumpets but there was no follow-up until we formed an Auckland Social Studies Teachers' Association and produced a booklet on the teaching of social studies in Secondary Schools. Also, in 1961 I wrote Discovering Geography in New Zealand (2), trialled with Papatoetoe pupils."

This small textbook was so popular that a second edition was printed. Thirty years later, my sister Deborah was surprised to see a copy on the desk of one of her colleagues, an English teacher. The teacher explained that she used it to illustrate good clear English. Recently, I managed to obtain my own copy from a Hamilton-based bookseller. It arrived in good condition, its packaging festooned with a colourful array of stamps.

From November 1961 to February 1963 Charlie was in England as an exchange teacher and he took the family with him. During term holidays, Charlie, Bobby and the children travelled widely in the UK and Europe. The photo below shows the family's arrival back in Auckland: Ann, Gayle and Deborah, with Paul in the background and Charlie on the right.

Charlie Herbert and family arriving home on MS Willem Ruys 1963. Herbert family collection

6/Aorere College 1964-1978
The sixth stage in Charlie's life in education is summarised in his curriculum vitae:

"In November 1963, I was appointed foundation principal of a new secondary school, Aorere College in Papatoetoe.
"My time at Aorere College can be split into two sections. As foundation principal I was responsible for building up an orthodox multi course co-educational secondary school from an initial intake of 180 third formers in 1964 to a full school of 1100-1200 pupils in forms three to seven by 1970.
"In 1971-1972, I spent a year at the University of London Institute of Education as a New Zealand Universities Fellow studying different aspects of secondary education. After my return I endeavoured to develop a school that was closely involved with its community."

Charlie explained in an interview with the South Auckland Times (August 23, 1978):
"Aorere College has over 90 adults attending day classes and extra-curricula activities covering about 130 different subjects. Over 2000 people attend the College's outside activities. This is a community school, and former pupils and senior pupils are eager to involve themselves in helping and teaching the younger ones. We try to build a record not only of what people want in the area but what they offer others. I suppose we could be called a giant learning exchange."

During his time as principal Charlie encouraged and empowered his staff to the extent that seven or eight went on to lead schools themselves. 

7/National Advisor in Community Education, 1978-1989
On his "retirement" in 1978, Charlie became the National Advisor in Community Education for the Department of Education. This seventh stage is summarised in the citation for an award presented to him by the NZ Association of Community Education:
"Charlie travelled the length and breadth of the country, coordinating and sharing the ideas being developed in community education. He visited every community education outpost, injecting energy, suggesting alternatives, creating networks, putting the 'loan operator' in touch with others, remembering names and initiatives. He was always encouraging, and always optimistic, even in the face of political change.
"Charlie had the breadth of vision to appreciate that there were different approaches to learning – formal, non formal, close to home and distant. He pursued the idea of learning as a lifelong process. Through his energy and vision he inspired others to turn this vision into reality.
"His Charlie Herbert Newsletters to Schools not only kept those in the field in touch with what was going on in community education throughout the country, but also served as a catalyst for innovation. For more than a decade he provided a national lead in linking the many strands of adult community education. Hundreds of adult educators have been influenced by his energy and vision."

During the twenty years after his second retirement Charlie maintained his links with the education sector; mentored his children and eight grandchildren; wrote his memoir (3); helped green-fingered Bobby in their spacious garden at Red Hill, Papakura; and indulged his love of travel – he and Bobby visited over 100 countries together. The photo below shows Charlie and Bobby with their children, Paul, Deborah, Ann, and Gayle in the front.

Charlie & Bobby Herbert with their children 2007. Herbert family collection

Charlie died peacefully in his sleep during the night of November 27, 2009. Bobby followed him two and a half years later.

Footnotes:
(1) MS-Papers_9549. Herbert, Charles MacKenzie, 1921-2009 : Papers 1937-2009. [Collection]
(2) Herbert, Charles M., Discovering geography in New Zealand, London: Longmans, 1961
(3) Herbert, Charles M., From wheelbarrow to carryall; a story of some Public Works communities in New Zealand, Wellington: Trade Union History Project, 1999

Charlie Herbert at 100. Part I of II

My father, educator C M (Charles MacKenzie) Herbert, would have turned 100 this month. His career was multi-faceted, and to his last days he showed a keen interest in life-long education. 

Charlie Herbert, 86, addressing CLASS (1) Conference 2008.

When looking back on the educational influences that shaped his life, Charlie identified seven stages. His notes on these stages are with his papers in the Alexander Turnbull Library(2), and he also discussed them with me shortly before his death.

1/Early years
Charlie was born on June 4, 1921 in Cromwell, Central Otago. His father, Charles John Herbert, worked as a guard on the Public Works Department train. His mother, Margaret MacKenzie, was a Scottish nurse from the village of Lochcarron.
A month after his birth the Herberts, along with Margaret's sister Chrissie and her husband Jack Sharman, were transferred to Matata in the Bay of Plenty. Charlie's sister Violet was born here in 1923, and the Sharmans were like second parents to them. The two families were moved to a succession of public works settlements. Until he was  nine Charlie had never switched on a light, answered a telephone, or got hot water from a tap; and he had attended five schools. 

Charlie Herbert with his sister Violet & his mother Margaret, Matata, 1926.

A stable and happy period in Charlie's boyhood was the five years, 1932-1926, when the family lived at Waitaki Hydro in North Otago. He wrote in his notes, "I had teachers of great ability, particularly Andy Davidson and A W F O'Reilly, who knocked me into shape. I matriculated(3) after three years." 

Charlie Herbert is centre front and Charlie Snr back left in this photo at Waitaki Hydro, ca.1934

After his mother's death in early 1937 Charlie spent a year at Christchurch Boys' High School but was "lost in a big school."

2/Formative years 1938-1948
In November 1937, aged 16, Charlie was accepted as a cadet in the Public Service and moved to Wellington. He spent two years in the Treasury, which was a small, closely knit department. He was persuaded to join a public speaking and debating group, and gained confidence for the first time. In 1939, he did History I and Geography I at Victoria University College. A strong influence was John Beaglehole who, Charlie wrote, "tore me apart in front of the whole History class with respect to my first essay. I felt humiliated at the time but learned a lot."
This was followed by Teachers' College, and part-time Canterbury University, in 1940-1941. There George Jobberns, "taught a very human geography, always relating it to people and with a fund of stories."
In 1940, Charlie Senior, although well over military age, enlisted in the army with the help of a friend who was a recruiting sergeant. He sailed overseas in the Third Echelon and he died in hospital in Egypt at the age of 52.
In December 1941, Charlie was mobilised into his army territorial unit, New Zealand Scottish. The battalion want into camp in Dunedin. One evening he spotted a pretty girl singing in a church choir: Agnes (Bobby) Poulter. The two became engaged in 1943, shortly before he went overseas, having transferred to the RNZAF. He trained as a navigator in Canada then spent 18 months in the RAF Trainees' Pool (RAFTP) in the UK. His war service was a broadening experience for him, and a confidence builder. He arrived back in New Zealand in late January 1946, and he and Bobby were married the following month.

Charlie & Bobby Herbert, wedding day Feb. 1946. Herbert family collection

They settled in Christchurch where Charlie returned to university, graduating MA (Hons) in Geography. He and Bobby had their first child – I was born in 1947. Charlie could not get a job in Christchurch: "there was a queue at every school." Then he saw an advert for a new district high school in a new hydro town, Mangakino in the South Waikato.

3/Mangakino 1948-1951
Charlie found the four years in Mangakino exciting. He wrote in his notes, "You could see men changing a wasteland into a town and farmlands before your very eyes: the first tinge of green reaching to the horizon, the first birds and worms, the forests still young, the river turns into a lake."
He enjoyed the job challenge. "Form 5 History and Geography had a syllabus, but there was nothing for Form 3, so I could create my own... My emphasis was on people against a background of time and place. The starting point, and point of constant reference, was the local area (community) – a systematic study – and we would then go out in space and back in time."
Charlie learned the art and craft of teaching in Mangakino. He also pursued his keen interest in sports, qualifying in eleven of the twelve events for the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association (NZAAA) Diploma in Athletic coaching. In Mangakino he and Bobby had two more children: Gayle and Paul. 

4/Ardmore Teachers' Training College 1952-1956
Charlie had five years as a geography lecturer at Ardmore College. He wrote in his notes, "There were tremendous opportunities: two historians and two geographers sharing ideas; no departmental syllabus or inspectors' visits. Students lived on site. We continued the tradition of field work with local visits (farms, factories, the port, the city, Huntley coal, afforestation); the Central Plateau, the South Island; and then, on a chartered DC6, to Australia."
"Norman Whatman and I wrote a series of articles for the magazine National Education, Feb-Dec 1954, called 'The Teaching of Social Studies in New Zealand'. There was plenty of time to think. Some basic ideas: a single picture is worth a thousand words (building up visual resources); detailed unit studies (involving people, then drawing the wider pattern from this); work sheets (providing a lead for individualised study); the importance of relationships (teacher and pupil)."

From 1954-1955, Charlie was a member of a committee for drawing up a new syllabus in Social Studies for Primary Teachers. During this period Charlie also completed an MA in History at the University of Auckland, "The Changing Patterns of Public Works Settlements in New Zealand, 1919-1949.
In 1954 he and Bobby completed their family with the birth of Deborah.

Charlie & Bobby Herbert and family, Ardmore College 1954. Herbert family collection.

Footnotes:
(1) CLASS. Community Learning Association through Schools
(2) MS-Papers-9549. Herbert, Charles MacKenzie, 1921-2009 : Papers. 1937-2009. [Collection]
(3) Students sat Matriculation (later University Entrance) in their third or fourth year of high school.

Blog by Ann Barrie. To be continued.

Owhiro Bay: Monarch Butterfly poem

 

Monarch butterflies have become important symbols for me during the five years since my husband, Bill Barrie, died. When I was newly widowed, I began writing poems as a way of working through my grief. Here is one about monarch butterflies:

Monarch butterflies are rare now, I've heard,

yet two came to our garden this year's end. 

The first I spotted six hours after Bill died,

crawling on my grandson's rugby ball.

Its wing is torn; it will die soon, he said,

and fed it honey. Then it disappeared.

Seven weeks later I saw one dancing

in still air over fuchsia flowers

and is orange glory made my heart sing.

It fluttered away then reappeared

jet black. Had death come again?

Suddenly it flew back into colour –

I'd been watching its shadow on the wall.

From forty-nine days after death, Buddhists say,

spirits of dead travel from one life to the next.

Perhaps the butterfly king was Bill on his way.

Monarch butterfly on rugby ball. Ann Barrie 2015

This summer of 2021 is my last at Owhiro Bay. Forty-five years after I came to live here with Bill Barrie, I have sold the house. In a few months' time, I will move to a retirement village in nearby Kilbirnie. There are lovely gardens, and Bill would be pleased to see me happy there.

Meanwhile, I've enjoyed the chrysalides on my grandson's  two swan plants at Owhiro Bay. And I was relieved when some of them delayed hatching until he arrived for a visit. Mesmerised, I took a series of photos.

New-born monarch butterfly. Ann Barrie 2021

Monarch butterfly. Owhiro Bay. Ann Barrie 2021

Child holding Monarch butterfly. Ann Barrie 2021

 

Blog by Ann Barrie

Great Barrier Island vignettes 2020, Part 6

 These vignettes touch on St John’s Community Church, the Barrier's night skies, and Gail's and my departure from the Island.

Friday January 17, 2020

Before dinner, the three of us went to Medlands Beach for a swim, and I noticed a sign taped to the picnic table: ‘Enjoy this table until 9.00 pm tonight. After that, you are most welcome to join our stargazing tour. Bookings can be made at Good Heavens.’ This reminded me that Great Barrier is an International Dark Sky Sanctuary, and I made a mental note to step outside before retiring for the night.

On our way home, we called into St John’s Community Church. Morning worship is offered each Sunday – Presbyterian, Anglican, Catholic, local residents, Methodist in rotation – and everyone is welcome at all services. The church also has a food bank, because there is some real hardship on the island.

St John's Community Church, Great Barrier Island. Photo Ann Barrie 2020

At 1 o’clock in the morning, I got up to use the bathroom, and suddenly remembered the night sky. I pushed open the bathroom window and gazed straight at the Southern Cross and a wedge of the Milky Way – so crisp, so close, I could almost touch it. The contrast between dark sky and brilliant stars was intense, perfectly framed for me.

Saturday January 18, 2020

Gail and I took a final walk to Kaitoke Beach, then packed our bags and made sandwiches for later in the day. We’ve enjoyed holidaying together, and will do it again. We farewelled David and insisted we could push our suitcases the short distance to Claris Airport.

‘Your flight’s two hours after Gail’s,’ he said to me. ‘I’ll drive you to the airport later.’

‘The wait doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I’ll watch the world go by. I’ve got all the time in the world.’  

Great Barrier Island. Information Centre at Claris Airport. Photo Ann Barrie 2020

Great Barrier Island, Claris Airport. Auckland plane being loaded. Photo Ann Barrie 2020

Blog by Ann Barrie. 

*Find information about Great Barrier Island's night skies at: https://www.greatbarrier.co.nz/great-skies/

*In 2013 Great Barrier Island had a permanent population of around 940, primarily in coastal settlements such as Tryphena at the southern end. Other communities are Okupu, Whangaparapara, Port Fitzroy, Claris and Kaitoke. There is no central power, and houses require their own generators. There is also extensive use of solar water heating, solar panels for electricity and wind-powered generators.

*A little gallery of photos to finish. The first one shows a quirky pine cone picked up during one of our road trips with David. The second is lovely knitwear from the Heritage & Arts Centre at Claris. And the third shows Gail's & my friend, Val, stepping into a small plane at Ardmore in 1964.

 

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Great Barrier Island holiday vignettes 2020, Pt 5/6

These vignettes touch on the Community Heritage and Arts Village,  and David's cats. 

Signpost at Claris, Great Barrier Island. Photo Ann Barrie 2020

Friday January 17, 2020

Our last full day on the island. We visited the recently opened Great Barrier Community Heritage and Arts Village at Claris.  Gail tried on a crocheted Octopus hat in brilliant shades of green, blue and purple. ‘Do you think I should buy this?’

‘No.’

Octopus hat at Great Barrier Community Heritage and Arts Village. Photo Ann Barrie 2020

Gail Watson & Ann Barrie at Great Barrier Community Heritage and Arts Village. 2020

Communications Technology. Great Barrier Community Heritage and Arts Village. 2020

 Later, over lunch, we discussed the new heritage centre with David.

‘I’ll need to find even more exhibits for my museum,’ he said, ‘now that I have competition.’

Gail shook her head.

‘Your museum is quirky and individualistic,’ I explained. ‘People will keep coming’.

Hippie outside Milk Honey & Grain Museum, Great Barrier Island. Photo Ann Barrie 2020

David’s rabbit shooting expedition last night was unsuccessful, so he went out again in the afternoon, determined to get fresh meat for his four cats. Later, he returned triumphant. His cats are not permitted in the backpackers’ area, but they roam freely in his own quarters, and have a self-feeding system for their dry food.

Self-feeding system for cat at Wiltshire Manor, Great Barrier Island. Photo: Ann Barrie 2020

Cat at Wiltshire Manor, Great Barrier Island. Photo: Ann Barrie 2020

Blog by Ann Barrie. To be continued.

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And, two more photos from Gail's & my schooldays: 

Papakura High School dance 1963. Jackie Fagan, Val George, Ann Herbert, Robyn Stuart, Annette Hawke and Gail Watson. Sixteen years old, Form 6A (year 12). We are wearing pretty knee-length dresses sewed by our mothers or aunts. The seniors from Form 6A had decorated the school hall in an ancient Roman theme:

Ann Herbert being enrolled as an Air Ranger by 'Captain' Lorna Clauson 1964:

Great Barrier Island vignettes 2020, Part 4

This post describes the Kauri Falls Walk and the Kaitoke Hot Springs track. 

Thursday January 16, 2020

This was Gail’s and my big day out. David drove us to Whangaparara, an area that was once bustling with, successively – a whaling station, a timber mill, and a gold and silver mining industry. The three of us walked to Kauri Falls (45 minutes each way) along an old tramline track that is part of a system of bush tramlines from kauri logging days. There are beautiful trees here, and signs at the entrance outlining kauri dieback precautions.

Entrance to Kauri Falls walk, Great Barrier Island, Photo Ann Barrie, Jan. 2020

Kauri Falls walk, Great Barrier Island, Photo Ann Barrie, Jan. 2020

Kauri Falls, Great Barrier Island, Photo Ann Barrie, Jan. 2020

Then David delivered us at the entrance to the Kaitoke Hot Springs Track and drove home to attend to his backpacker business. It’s 45 minutes walk to the sulphurous hot springs, and we got glimpses of the Kaitoke Swamp which has plants endemic to the island. The springs are dammed at a fork in the Kaitoke Creek and the mud under our feet felt very hot. We chatted to people who arrived as we were pulling on our togs, and one woman recounted the tale (fact or fiction?) of an elderly local who enjoyed bathing further along the river, and that’s where he passed away, wedged in his little hot pool.

Gail Watson & Ann Barrie at Kaitoke Hot Springs, Great Barrier Island, Jan. 2020

Last night we'd assured David we were perfectly capable of walking the 4 km home and so we set off resolutely along the road to Claris. At first, home was just around the corner, but as the afternoon got hotter and we got wearier, the road lengthened. We collapsed onto the bench of a school bus shelter, and I read a sign, the first we’d seen: Claris 2 km. ‘Perhaps it’s time to use the thumb,’ I suggested to Gail. ‘David said someone would pick us up.’

‘Hmmm. Some of those cars are travelling too fast for conditions. Here, have more cashew nuts and water.’

I didn't press the point.

We got back eventually, and devoured hearty sandwiches of avocado, ham and tomato followed by coffee and generous chunks of Gail’s fruit cake. Visitors arrived to yarn with David, all of them amazed we'd walked four kilometres in the hot sun. Gail mentioned the speeding vehicles, and David recounted the tale of two Japanese tourists, guests of his, who took their hired 4WD onto a windy unsealed road at night and wrote it off. They were uninjured but had to pay a $2000 excess. 

In the evening, David went rabbit shooting, and Gail and I retired early, exhausted after our walk.  

Claris, Great Barrier Island. Photo Ann Barrie Jan. 2020

To be continued.

Blog by Ann Barrie

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More snapshots from Gail's and my Papakura High School days:

(1) Ann Herbert, Gail Watson & Annette Hawke at Hunua Falls, 1963:

(2) A weekend at Jackie Fagan's place beyond Clevedon. Here we are first thing in the morning: Annette is face down, still asleep; and beyond her are dark-haired Jackie, and then Ann, Gail, and Val George: 

(3) The same weekend. At left are Ann Herbert, then Gail Watson – we've clearly been swimming in the sea and bronzing ourselves – and then Jackie and Annette. At the far right is Val, always the most glamorous of our group:

(4) And just to show we scrubbed up quite well, here is the 1964 Papakura High School photo for Form 6A (nowadays called 'Year 13'): Our teacher is Mr Lonie. The front row L to R shows Elizabeth Tremaine, Gail Watson, Valerie George, ?, Merolyn Sharp, Ann Herbert, Bev Luke and Iris de Malmanche. 

Great Barrier Island vignettes 2020, Part 3

This post is about Gail's &  my visit to (a) the northern part of Great Barrier Island and (b) Tryphena on the West coast. I've also included photos of us as carefree schoolgirls in 1963-1964.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

LL from Port Fitzroy had invited us to lunch, and so we collected the Englishman from his home and drove north on winding Aotea Road. This road, which was unsealed before Great Barrier became part of Auckland Super City, climbs up through bush and ferns – the scenery is completely different to the dry south. LL and his wife have built a fine house incorporating a tourist flat overlooking Port Fitzroy. LL said he can feel his guests begin to unwind as soon as they reach this beautiful spot. A builder by trade, he also is a keen reader. He said he educated himself by reading novels – and that my World War II novel Deserter; a novel based on true events* is exactly the sort of book he likes to read. David promised to lend him his copy.

Great Barrier is an excellent place for outdoor recreation. All Department of Conservation land on the island became the Aotea Conservation Park in April 2015, and the Department has issued a booklet with a detailed map of walking and tramping tracks, and routes, along with DOC Campsites and huts, and areas where mountain bikes can be used.

DOC map of Great Barrier Island walking tracks. Photo Ann Barrie 2020

By early afternoon there was a dramatic change in the weather. When we arrived on Sunday, David was badly needing rain to fill – or at least half fill – his tank. Today his wish was granted. The rain bought low visibility, and despite Great Barrier Air’s sophisticated navigation systems, at least one of their planes was unable to land. Two stranded tourists arrived at Wiltshire Manor: Luke and Lucille, young English doctors who had spent a fortnight tramping on the Barrier.

David’s ‘guest in residence’, I’ll call him Tony, proved a great help in showing new guests the ropes. He’s a long time Barrier resident who enjoys buying top quality photographic equipment and tramping boots but resents spending money on his car. This vehicle has long been unwarranted and unregistered – many locals used to drive that way – but Tony was pulled up the other day by the local policeman. The latter was very reasonable and gave him 28 days to replace four tyres, get the brakes fixed, and arrange for the rust cut out. Gail and I suggested it might be cheaper to buy a new car, but Tony likes his old one. 

Wednesday January 15, 2020.

Fortunately for the stranded tourists, the rain cleared. Once he'd seen them off, David drove us over the spine of hills to Tryphena on the West Coast for coffee at the Mulberry Grove General Store. Gail and I shared a large almond Danish pastry flown over from Auckland. The café/store was buzzing with tourists who'd arrived on the ferry; and two sisters played lively duets on the piano.

Mulberry Grove General Store, Great Barrier Island. Photo Ann Barrie 2020

In the afternoon, green-fingered Gail and I went for a stroll and she added to her collection of cuttings (it doesn’t include protected plants). The collection includes a yellow daisy from LL’s wife; a Scarborough lily from David; and peppermint-scented pelargonium and a hedging plant from David's Kaitoke friend. 

Gail Watson on Great Barrier Island. Photo Ann Barrie 2020

At 6 o’clock we were entertained to dinner at the Englishman’s house. He had fought off his jet lag to prepare us Italian-style spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce, fresh asparagus and a poached egg. A professional man who took early retirement, he acknowledges he’s out of condition and lacking motivation. Gail and I suggested he could find an enthusiastic business partner and set up a gym in his basement – he could charge others to use the gym. There are already other enterprises at Claris including electric bike hire, a chippery, and a sarong shop.

Sarong shop at Claris, Great Barrier Island. Photo Ann Barrie Jan. 2020

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From the photo album: (1) Papakura High School sports day 1963. Jill Mitchel in track suit, Robyn Stuart in school uniform; Val George, Ann Herbert & Gail Watson in sports rompers and ready to cheer on Freyburg House.

Papakura High school 16-year olds out cycling in the country. From left to right: Annette Hawke, Val George, Gail Watson, Elizabeth Tremaine, Jacky Fagan, and, on horseback, Iris de Malmanche:

https://www.amazon.com/Deserter-novel-based-true-events/dp/0473390655

Blog by Ann Barrie. To be continued.