Arriving in New Zealand

When the time of our departure finally came, we travelled to Brisbane by train. This was a notable journey too as the oil soaked cotton waste in one of the axle boxes on our carriage caught fire and we were shifted to another car. With our goodbyes duly said to mother's relatives, we embarked on a little coastal vessel called the "Gaybow" bound for Sydney. All that I remember of that part of the journey was seasickness and the nasty smell of the boat. We anchored at Sydney not far from a drawbridge, which had to be raised to let us through the gap. [ed. Possibly where ANZAC Bridge is now located] After a wait of a few days we boarded the "Waikari", which also had that nauseating smell which characterised steamers right up till after the First World War. Father and Mother scarcely left their cabin during the whole voyage , which took about a week. My grandmother took charge of us boys so were well looked after. Tall silk hats were the fashion at the time and one of the passengers had the misfortune to have his blown overboard by a sudden gust of wind. I fully expected the ship to stop and attempt retrieve it and was very surprised to see everyone look unconcernedly as it quickly drifted from sight. Upon our arrival at Lyttelton, father went to Christchurch by train in search of accommodation for the family while mother stayed oin the ship with us boys. I had reason to remember this circumstance for I enjoyed sitting on a bollard looking at all the activity in the harbour, all of which was completely new to me. All went well until I fell from my perch and collided with the frayed end of a steel cable that punctured my leg just below the knee. it made a nasty hole but the stewardess made a neat job of patching it up. This incident left me with a scar which I bear to this day. It was November 4th and the following day was Guy Faulkes Day. I had never seen nor heard of this before but it was duly enlightened by my grandmother, who promised to mae a Guy for me the following year which she did.

Background and Call to Peru

Death of Arthur and Education

The following year (1915) I went to work at five shillings a week at Turnbull and Jones, a firm of electrical engineers, and by 1916 was earning seven and sixpence a week. In 1917 I transferred to T.H.Green and Co., a firm of wholesale grocers. My brother, Arthur, who was fifteen months younger than I, had worked there until his death at the end of 1916 (see below) and it was on account of the excellence of his work that I was offered this position. In the meantime I was attending evening classes at the Technical College in preparation for the Matriculation Examination which I successfully passed in 1920. That year I was appointed probationer at the Christchurch East School. The following year I entered the Christchurch Teachers College and commenced my University studies, my major subject being Education. I graduated from Training College at the end of 1922 and completed my B.A. the following year, during which time I taught part time at the Technical College. Under Professor James Shelley, who was an inspiring teacher I won the distinction of being the first student in New Zealand to gain a Master’s Degree with First Class Honours in Education. That year I took the middle term off in order to write my thesis on “The Effect on Children of the Transition from Primary to Secondary School”. This proved to be a most profitable field of investigation, which continued to interest me during the whole of my teaching career.

Note: Christchurch Teachers College
The College began in 1877 as a department of the Christchurch Normal School. There were 31 students on the roll: 25 women and 6 men. In 1905 the teacher training section of the Normal School was redesignated as the Training College with its own Principal. Initially a pupil-teacher system of teacher training operated. Under this plan, which lasted until 1931, students between the ages of 13 and 16 were engaged as pupil-teachers.

Note: Extract from Christchurch Cemeteries Database
Surname: MONEY
First name(s): ARTHUR THOMAS
Date of death: Thursday, 28 December 1916
Cemetery: Linwood Cemetery
Date of burial: Saturday, 30 December 1916
Block number: 35
Plot number: 306
Age: 15 years
Address: 16 MERSEY STREET
Occupation: CLERK
Place of birth: QUEENSLAND
Years in New Zealand: 12
Comments: Died: Appendix abcess, toxaemia