Part Two
‘The Rocks of Indifference’
Auckland Teachers College, 1947 – 1964
by Cameron Gregan*
Roy Dickie, Principal of Auckland Teachers College from 1947 to 1962. From Manuka 1956 (Jubilee Edition).
From 1926 to 1946, the staff and trainees of Auckland Training College endeavoured to perpetuate the collegial atmosphere which they regarded as defining the experience of attending the College. This was despite a relocation to 72 Epsom Avenue from Wellesley Street, and despite such challenges as the Great Depression or Second World War. On the whole, they succeeded; and the experience of attending Auckland Training College continued to be socially fulfilling.
But the student community of Auckland Training College (or Auckland Teachers College, as it was renamed by principal Roy Dickie in 1947) was not indestructible. From 1947 to 1964, Auckland Teachers College was under pressure. First, it had to keep pace with socio-economic changes affecting Aotearoa. Secondly, it was pressured to train more teachers (and specifically secondary teachers). Thirdly, it was encouraged to prioritise depth of experience over breadth of experience. The political and organisational decisions which resulted from these pressures would eventually fracture the student community of Auckland Teachers College, and the first cracks began to show in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Something Old, Something New
In 1946, Duncan Rae resigned as principal of Auckland Training College to enter New Zealand’s Parliament. He was succeeded by Roy Dickie, who promptly changed the name of the College to Auckland Teachers College. Despite the name-change portending sweeping reforms, Dickie was committed to preserving the College’s unique character.
But at the same time as Dickie wished to support Auckland Teachers College’s student community, he understood that some rules of Auckland Teachers College harmed the student community more than they helped. Thus, from 1947, Dickie endeavoured to update the College’s rules to correspond with larger socio-economic changes. For instance, the sexes were still segregated at Auckland Teachers College for the most part. But in 1947, Dickie established a common-room open to men and women. Unfortunately, Dickie might have been ahead of his time (and ahead of his trainees). Despite being “the talk of the town”, most trainees were afraid to use the shared space.
Students were still discouraged from flatting, since Dickie thought flatting would distract trainees from their studies. Instead, one staff-member was charged with finding private accommodation for trainees who did not secure a place in one of the College’s hostels. Those hostels were Taranaki House, Rocklands Hall, and the infamous Rae House. Women trainees dormed at Taranaki House or Rocklands Hall.
Rocklands Hall, popular among women trainees for its views and gardens. From Manuka 1947.
Rae House, unpopular among Auckland’s health inspectors. From Manuka 1947.
Male trainees, meanwhile, lived in dilapidated army huts left over from the 1941 occupation of 72 Epsom Avenue by Aotearoa’s armed forces. But as the number of trainees at Auckland Teachers College grew in the 1950s and 1960s, more and more students were turned away from these hostels and had to resort to flatting. The resulting distribution of trainees across Auckland likely weakened the student community of Auckland Teachers College, but the degree to which alternative venues for socialising drew trainees away from Auckland Teachers College from 1947 to 1964 is difficult to gauge.
Yet, some things remained unchanged. Trainees were still subject to strict rules, and expected to dress impeccably. From 1950, one staff-member organised “a little mannequin parade [each year], showing appropriate dress for college, or socials or a ball…” Those balls were still supervised by staff-members, and were still alcohol-free affairs. In addition, standards of dressing remained high. So high, in fact, that some male trainees donned white gloves at social events so as to not mark the women trainees’ dresses.
In addition, from 1947 to 1964, the experience of attending College continued to be reminiscent of high school. Trainees still attended classes from 9:00am to 3:30pm, Monday through Friday. Even the timetabled lunch-time was said to resemble “a secondary school playtime”. Trainees’ timetables were also still structured so as to encourage socialising. Even when timetables were modified in 1956 so that trainees spent more time in schools, they were obliged to return to 72 Epsom Avenue every Thursday to participate in organised sports and cultural activities.
The College’s tennis-courts and sports-field are spread out before the main building. Auckland City Council, Epsom from Mount Eden, 1958, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 580-02160.
Under Pressure
From 1956, trainees spent more time at schools for the same reason that students were turned away from hostels: there were more trainees attending Auckland Teachers College than ever before. Following WWII, Aotearoa was short of teachers, and Auckland Teachers College was expected to meet that demand. From 1927 to 1950, the College’s population grew by 300 trainees. But from 1950 to 1960, the College’s population grew by another 300 trainees, to the point where 1000 trainees called 72 Epsom Avenue home. This exasperated Roy Dickie, who believed that in order for teachers’ colleges to achieve their objective of socialising trainees, their rolls should be limited to around 450 trainees.
The community of Auckland Teachers College in 1949. Unknown, Auckland Teachers College, 1949, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1456-1.
Unfortunately, the establishment of Ardmore Teachers College in 1948 did little to reduce the pressure on Auckland Teachers College. Therefore, in 1949, the College introduced a one-year course for primary teachers, which trainees over the age of twenty-one could take instead of the usual two-year course. The trainees who took this course were known as Section T, and the course came to be known to Auckland Teachers College trainees as the ‘pressure-cooker.’
Ardmore Teachers College, a repurposed military base. Whites Aviation, Ardmore Teachers Training College, Auckland (1949), WA-20276-G.
During the 1950s, Aotearoa was desperate for teachers. But Auckland specifically was desperate for secondary teachers, especially since the school-leaving age was raised to fifteen in 1944. In addition, between 1950 and 1960, fourteen new secondary schools were built in Auckland (and six more were planned). Because of this pressure, a distinct post-primary department emerged at Auckland Teachers College in the 1950s. This department was composed largely of University graduates studying to become teachers of specialist subjects. Notably, in 1956, a system was established where trainees were admitted to Auckland Teachers College and seconded, full-time, to the University College of Auckland. After finishing their University studies, these trainees (known as ‘Division U’) would complete a one-year graduate course at the College.
At the same time as Auckland Teachers College was expanding, Roy Dickie was eager to improve teaching’s reputation. Many attempts were made to connect Auckland Teachers College to Auckland’s universities, so that Auckland Teachers College trainees could acquire more prestigious qualifications. In 1961, Dickie was successful in petitioning the Department of Education to reclassify the certificates awarded to graduates of Auckland Teachers College to encourage trainees to take more university courses.
Still Going Strong
The division of trainees between primary and secondary departments, and between courses and subject-areas, would contribute to the fracturing of the student community of Auckland Teachers College. Further fracturing would result from trainees being encouraged to divide their time between College and University. But from 1947 to 1964, most trainees were unaware that Auckland Teachers College was slowly changing under their feet. Rather, the experience of attending Auckland Teachers College from 1947 to 1964 continued to be socially fulfilling for most trainees.
The annual College picnic continued to be an event not to be missed, as proven by Roy Dickie chartering a plane to get himself to Motuihe Island for the occasion one year. Meanwhile, Auckland Teachers College’s annual dramatic productions remained popular. One student, most interested in rugby and tramping, still helped with several productions and said they “really involved people”, meaning both staff and students.
A still from the College’s 1964 production of ‘Arawata Bill’. From Manuka 1964.
Inter-college tournaments were also occasions to remember. When Ardmore Teachers College opened in 1948, the annual tournament with Wellington Teachers College became a triangular tournament. This tournament was eventually replaced by the North Island Teachers College Annual Tournament in 1958, in turn replaced by a series of inter-college sports field days in 1962. A special 1954 issue of Auckland Teachers College’s student magazine, Quadwrangle, provided a colourful description of the triangular tournament that year:
“With two or three hakas and a band(?) including bag-pipes, cow-horns, drums, cymbals, and the inevitable recorders, the noise was enough to let the other colleges know that Auckland is not to be trifled with.”
An example of an inter-college sports tournament, though from 1938. Auckland Weekly News, Annual sports tournament between student teachers from Auckland and Wellington training colleges (1938), Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections AWNS-19380817-58-03.
The College’s staff and trainees shared responsibility for perpetuating a collegial atmosphere. Indeed, one staff-member remembered being involved in sports around Auckland Teachers College: “On Saturday afternoons in the cold months, I used to put on very warm clothes and go to Windmill Road to watch the basketball… and the hockey, and generally the staff supported those things.” The trainees of 1947 to 1964 seem to have appreciated this attention as much as their predecessors, and it was not uncommon for the principal and other staff-members to be invited to social events organised by trainees.
But from 1947 to 1964, trainees assumed more responsibility for organising social events. Specifically, in the 1950s, the College’s previous programme of ‘peripatetics’ (excursions) was replaced by ‘field trips’ largely financed by the students themselves. These field trips proved popular, with a 1963 issue of Quadwrangle describing them as “an essential part of the College programme…”
A student teacher from Indonesia who visited Auckland Teachers College in 1964 was well-positioned to comment on this interesting dynamic, and contributed the following words to Manuka’s 1965 edition: “The students were the active ones, behind whom their teachers stood as friends and advisors.”
Growing Pains
But while most trainees saw the success of social events from 1947 to 1964 as proving the strength of Auckland Teachers College’s student community, trainees in leadership positions began to express concerns. Specifically, the Student Executive was concerned that Auckland Teachers College’s overpopulation was making it difficult for trainees to connect:
“[Sports] Field Days, unfortunately reduced in number from previous years, have played their part admirably. It was said that more students met each other in Hamilton than is usual in a month at College.”
Similarly, in 1963, the editor of Quadwrangle expressed concerns that clubs were struggling. “They obviously don’t want everybody to be aware these clubs exist — secret societies, perhaps?” But even in 1953, the editors of Quadwrangle were cautioning against student apathy. Indeed, the magazine’s final 1953 issue expressed concern that most of the magazine’s efforts had “crashed upon the rocks of indifference.”
While the Student Executive might have blamed the fracturing of the student community on overpopulation, and Quadwrangle might have blamed student apathy, the division of trainees between courses and subject-areas also compromised the integrity of the student community from 1947 onwards. Section T, who only attended Auckland Teachers College for one year, and who were older than most trainees, sometimes found it difficult to adjust to the “quieter pace” of College. Meanwhile, the University graduates who attended Auckland Teachers College often failed to engage with classwork or social events at College. For instance, most of Division U had little contact with Auckland Teachers College once they commenced their University studies; despite technically being trainees first and foremost.
But again, that Auckland Teachers College’s student community was suffering because of political and organisational decisions made from 1947 to 1964 was not obvious. As explained, on the surface, the student community of Auckland Teachers College seemed as strong as ever (to those trainees who attended social events). But in the 1964 edition of Manuka, Norman Lovegrove (principal from 1962) warned that things would soon come to a head. Specifically, Lovegrove announced that from 1965, the Auckland Teachers College ‘high school’ timetable would be replaced by a ‘University’ timetable. In the final article in this series, I will discuss how this and other changes made between 1965 and 1986 ultimately undermined the unity of the student community at Auckland Teachers College.