Contact Details
Email: admin@haweraprimary.school.nz
Website: https://sites.google.com/haweraprimary.school.nz/haweraprimaryschool
Location: 261 South Road, Hawera, New Zealand
Phone: 06 2787709
Facebook: facebook.com/haweraprimaryschool
Lizzie Bell Barque Shipwreck
On Wednesday 24 July there was a commemorative service Pihama Cemetery for the seaman killed during the sinking of the Lizzie Bell barque* (1036 tons) which took place off the South Taranaki Coast on that same day in 1901.
(*A barque is a sailing ship, typically with three masts where the foremast and mainmast are square-rigged and the mizzenmast is rigged fore and aft.)
The service which is being organised by the New Plymouth branch of the Merchant Navy Association and include a wreath laying ceremony and roll call of the 12 sailors who died that fateful night.
The Lizzie Bell was travelling from Wellington to Newcastle, Australia when it struck rocks a mile and a half south of the Oeo river.
When the vessel struck rocks, two crew members fell overboard and were found dead, jammed against the rocks. The rest of the crew escaped in the boats, the largest of which overturned several times. The survivors managed to reach shore the following morning, Captain Reese and chief mate, W.G.E Barrow among them. Two of the crew died in the boat and another two died after making it ashore. The men made their way to the property of Captain Good seeking help. The wreckage of the barque was strewn along the beach.
An inquiry was held in New Plymouth on 30 July 1901, where it was found that the course as stated by the Captain was not steered and the loss of the barque was “occasioned by negligent navigation”. In all 12 of the Lizzie Bells 18 sailors lost their lives as a result of the shipwreck. Seven bodies were recovered, with five missing.
Facts on the mast of the Lizzie Bell
The most notable of all Hawera's flagpoles stood for many years in South Rd in the grounds of the Hawera District High School (1901-1919) and would claim to have the tallest school flagpole in New Zealand.
In 1903 the headmaster, Conrad Strack, (appointed 1896) and his school committee had the opportunity to purchase the mast from the wreck of the Lizzie Bell.
Strack and the school committee bought the barque's foremast, the spanker boom and a ship's bell from the owner of the salvage and brought them to Hawera by bullock wagon. The spar and mast were laid out on the school playground. Here the two pieces of Oregon pine were joined by local craftsman Mr Grant; a short spar was fixed at about halfway in order to secure steel cables (also from the Lizzie Bell) that would ensure that the mast remained steady and a pulley at the top and rope was attached for raising and lowering a flag.
Before the new mast was raised into position, Strack measured its length less the six feet of mast that stood in the soil and declared it to be 73 feet 2 1/2inches (22.31m) tall. Almost every child who attended the school declared it must be much taller.
From that point on the flagpole was the focus of special school assemblies when the school bugle band and the school cadets paraded. The uniformed school cadets went off to the Christchurch Exhibition in 1906 and joined in activities with hundreds of other boys from all over New Zealand.
The flagpole provided the centre of patriotic assemblies throughout the years 1914 to 1919 when ex-pupils in their khaki uniforms were given the best wishes of the school or welcomed home to Hawera.
Although it had been well protected in an iron jacket, the foot of the flagpole showed obvious signs of rotting, so the mast and spanker boom of the Lizzie Bell was lowered and a more modest flagpole took its place.
The bell from the Lizzie Bell continued to live on. While metal fatigue affected the bell we believe it still remains among the treasures of Hawera Primary School.
From Arthur Fryers 2014 article “Flying high at Hawera School”
Wattie’s Cans for Good!
Collect. Educate. Donate!
Welcome to Wattie’s Cans for Good! We’re back again for another year of our exciting national can ‘collection, creation, education and donation’ campaign run by The Salvation Army in partnership with Wattie’s for New Zealand schools.
Thanks to the incredible efforts of the 249 schools and kindergartens who participated in 2018, more than 95,000 cans were donated to Salvation Army foodbanks – restocking shelves in the high demand winter period.
Since Cans for Good began in 1994, nearly 1.5 million cans have been donated and this year through the support of New Zealand schools participating we hope to collect 110,000 cans taking us to a total of 1.6 million cans. With Wattie’s kick starting with 25,000 cans, this will make an incredible boost to local Salvation Army food banks at a critical time of year.
Please have your cans to the office by TUESDAY 13th AUGUST. Thanks!!
FAMILY RAFFLES
If you do not wish to participate please return the sheet to the office as soon as possible. Also if you would like to sell extras please pop in and collect one of our extra sheets.
We would like all money and sheets returned on WEDNESDAY 28th AUGUST. The winners of the $100.00 petrol and $100.00 grocery vouchers will be drawn at Assembly on Friday 30th August.
As we did not have a gala this year. All profits will go towards reducing the costs associated with our end of year/camp costs. Please see Ms O'Brien if you have any further questions. Thank you for your support.
