The opening of the new administration building and refurbished H G Carver Memorial Library is made official by Harete Hipango, Wayne Brown and Tam Jex-Blake. Photo / Bevan Conley
The opening of the new administration building and refurbished H G Carver Memorial Library is made official by Harete Hipango, Wayne Brown and Tam Jex-Blake. Photo / Bevan Conley
After being closed for five years to undergo earthquake strengthening and a refurbishment, the H G Carver Memorial Library is back in action.
Affiliates of Whanganui Collegiate School gathered to celebrate its official re-opening on the weekend as well as the official opening of a brand new administration building.
The buildings were blessed by kaumātua John Maihi early on Saturday morning before speeches, the ribbon cutting, plaque unveiling and another blessing.
One of the speeches was by Whanganui Collegiate School headmaster Wayne Brown, who said that the upgrades were absolutely vital.
"It's been a long time coming, I've been walking past it every day for a year and a half. It will bring our staff together, our community together and our students together.
Together with the museum and big school, the new administration building and the refurbished H G Carver Memorial Library form The Bidwill Quad. Photo / Bevan Conley
"The students are walking around absolutely loving it."
H G Carver taught history, French and mathematics at Whanganui Collegiate School and was also housemaster Grey, senior French master and coach XV.
The library emerged from the WCS dining hall after Carver's wife Patricia donated £4000 to the school following his death in 1959 due to a short illness aged 58.
The H G Carver Memorial Library is listed as a heritage building, its refurbishment was designed by RTA Studio and carried out by W&W Construction in Whanganui.
"The students have done a phenomenal job working through it while the work has been done," Brown said.
"It still has its structure, but inside it has encapsulated 21st century learning."
Featuring brickwork, glass gables and views of the number one sports field on Liverpool St, the administration building sits where a science building was demolished in 2017.
The administration building, along with the library, museum and big school now collectively form a new external courtyard which is known as the Bidwill Quad.
The Bidwill Quad is named after Euan R W Bidwill, who was head prefect of Collegiate in 1935, a member of the First XV and Captain of the Crew, receiving the Beattie Medal.
Bidwill was a lieutenant in World War II. He returned to Featherston where he was a farmer and made many silent donations to Collegiate before he died aged 99 in 2016.
Nephew Sandy Bidwill was in attendance to unveil the Bidwill Quad Plaque and Whanganui College Board of Trustees chairman Martin Gray made a speech.
Tam Jex-Blake also made a speech, then participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony with Brown and National MP Harete Hipango.
The ceremony concluded with a blessing by the reverend Guy Savage.
