Alice in Fitzroy

In 1912, Te Henui Private School students hosted a production of the play Alice in Wonderland to celebrate their headmistress, Miss Shaw, who was leaving the school to marry. Included in a school magazine recently donated to the Puke Ariki Heritage Collection is a poem about the play, watercolour illustrations of the characters and scenes like the one featured here, and photographs of the children dressed in costume on Fitzroy beach. Nearly 200 people attended the event and £8 was raised. £3 was spent on a garden seat for the school grounds, and the remaining £5 was donated to the Melanesian Mission. Te Hēnui Private School opened in May 1910 at the Te Hēnui Church with ten pupils, the school was closed in 1914.