Stratford: Shakespearean Town Under the Mountain

( Stratford’s Early Years: 1878 – 1890) pp 19, 20

“Education was another priority for Stratford’s growing population. The Taranaki Education Board claimed in June 1880 that there were no funds available for a school in the town, but by November 60 children were attending ‘half-time’ private schools in Stratford and Midhirst. Run by a Mr Donnelly and Mr Tom Blair, they ere attended mainly by children of the men working on the roads and railway, which were described as a ‘floating’ population. A Mr Johnson also ran a half-time school in Tayler’s Boarding House in 1880.

Agitation and a petition from parents eventually bore fruit and a site for a new public school on Fenton Street was gazetted in June 1881. Mr William Johnson was appointed headmaster for the new school that was finally opened in April 1882. Though elderly, he lived in a picturesque punga house built on several acres on Cardiff Road.”