Foreword
For ‘The Heart of a Great School’ by Wendy Pettigrew
That former
generations of Collegians built and generously endowed the beautiful building
we know as ‘the chapel’ speaks volumes about the quiet inspiration legions of
Old Boys and now Girls derived from their faith and strength of purpose
nurtured therein.
This year of
2012 marks one hundred years since the chapel opened for worship. It is not, as
we know, the first Collegiate chapel but replaced the much earlier lovely
wooden one that became All Saints Wanganui East and served that community for
nigh on another fifty years.
The chapel is
indeed the heart of a great school. It is no ordinary building but one that
through generations has harboured the hopes of thousands of students who have
prayed and worshipped within its walls. It stands as a memorial to the hundreds
of boys who, through war, never saw the fulfillment of their young lives and
whose names are recorded there for evermore. We all remember that fine hymn
‘Lift up your hearts, we lift them Lord to thee’ to the accompaniment of the
now historic grand pipe organ encouraging every boy to lift up his voice in
song. (130)
The chapel means
so much to all who have passed through the school and who have been instrumental
in endowing it so worthily. Twenty five years ago under the direction of old
boy architect Bruce Dickson and with fund raising activities chaired by Stuart
Veitch the extensions and refurbishments were undertaken and so sensitively was
this accomplished that it is today difficult to tell original from new.
And now in 2012
under the careful guidance of Gordon Craig the centenary committee has raised
the funds to refurbish the exterior of the chapel and the now priceless stained
glass. Yet to do is the completion of the fund raising for the refurbishment
and extension of the now 86 year old memorial pipe organ and then we of this
generation have passed on to the next and future generations a great building
that enshrines the soul of the school.
As the chapel
enters its second century we offer our appreciation and thanks to Wendy
Pettigrew for writing this book. Her writings, with the able assistance of
Collegiate Museum curator Richard Bourne, have ensured an excellent record of a
building that truly lies at the heart of a great school.
Yours sincerely
Donald Trott.
