The Dawning of a New Era
‘Vasanta College’ was officially opened on the 19th of February 1919, with 26 scholars and 11 boarders on Mount St John, Epsom, Auckland. Mr S. T. Butler, L.R.A.M., was the first Acting Principal of the school who offered his services for free for the first year. Boarding accommodation was in the house on the property renamed ‘Vasanta Centre’. This house is now the national headquarters of the New Zealand Theosophical Society, known as ‘Vasanta House’. Vasanta is an Indian rendition of Dr Annie Besant’s surname.
The early vicissitudes of the school were many and various and must often have been heart-breaking. Difficulties seemed almost insurmountable at times, especially in regards to finding a principal and retaining the boarding-establishment. Finally, in 1922, effort in the latter direction had to be abandoned and the school was continued for day pupils only. Mrs Beatrice Ensor, member of the English Section, original founder of the international ‘New Education Fellowship’, wrote advising that the only way to have a successful school was to ''first find the teacher", the teacher with enthusiasm, the right attitude towards the problem and the devotion to make it a life work. Time proved that when the Trust Board accepted the services of Miss Bertha H. Darroch. She stayed with the school for 32 years. (photo)
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Mr C Jinarajadasa’s visit in 1919 from the Theosophical Society’s international headquarters in India encouraged developments as he spoke at the Town Hall about ‘Child Welfare in a Model Municipality’ with the town Mayor present. A resolution was made from his talks that the New Zealand TETB should affiliate with the ‘Theosophical Fraternity in Education’ to bring together Theosophists who were in the teaching profession, so that they might know and bring into their work the new ideals in education. Jinarajadasa visited the school again in 1949. Films were made of the students performing at the school on this day. In March 1934, Krishnamurti also from Adyar, visited and spoke to a large captive audience at the school, shown in the photograph below.
Mr J. R. Thomson, President of the New Zealand Section, wrote in 1922:
“We are really trying to fit ourselves to be custodians of the Wisdom for this Dominion. The ordinary school does not educate to any appreciable extent. Many educationalists are imbued with the old notion that the present system is all that it ought to be, though it has failed utterly to touch the noblest part of the child, for the simple reason that those at the head of it have no idea of the highest and best in the child. That is the radical difference between a Theosophical school and an ordinary school. Our school is intended to be a place where the cream of the nation shall be educated. It is not the weak, inefficient souls we want, but the very best.
We want our Theosophical school to be a centre in the Dominion where we can educate and draw out the qualities of our future leaders, artists and craftsmen, and there is no place where that can be better done than under a Theosophical roof. Members can help if they will, but some will not, because they are ignorant of the great ideal. There should be places for the undeveloped and the weak egos, but not necessarily in a Theosophical school. Those who seek to help should try to visualise the ideal school and weave around Vasanta College, which is the nucleus of a number of schools in our Dominion, a halo of the noblest and the best thought they can command, and thus protect it from the intrusion of undesirable thoughts. This will make an atmosphere in which the best souls in our Dominion will grow and expand rapidly. Many have that ideal, but others are so tied to a smaller conception of things that they are hindering the realisation of that great ideal by pin-pricking regarding small details. Some think that the school is not successful. They lack vision. We need men and women with imagination, with power to see the future and to detect the nascent qualities lying in those egos. We want everyone to co-operate in this sublime work, and if you want to develop vision, believe and trust.
There is one of the Great Brotherhood who has education as His special department, and if we make the right atmosphere He will ray upon Vasanta College His wisdom, because we, in our small way, are specialising it as a centre of the Wisdom. We make the conditions and He fills the cup. Those who constantly emphasise small details make leaks in the channel through which the force plays. It is not our College; it is not the Board's College; it is the Masters' College. Mistakes we have made, difficulties we have overcome, but that College will be, it must be, a success, if we play our part. We have all made difficulties; the Principal will perhaps make mistakes, but we shall create truly if we have the creative idea.
Build, therefore, in your meditation every day, an uplifting noble thought around the College; visualise the great ideal which we shall attain. We are all seeking to make the College a success, but there is a lack of that intuitive perception of the goal. I want each member of this Lodge to feel that it is his privilege to make it a success. We should go forward shoulder to shoulder and unitedly do the work, and never mind the pessimists, because it is to be a wonderful success. We are going to do the work for this Dominion. It is through education that achievement is to be obtained. It is to be obtained by your and my cooperation in this splendid work. You can; nay, you will, make it a success.”
To celebrate the end of the first year about two hundred persons, including the children, attended a Garden Social at Vasanta College, Auckland. Such fairs were held each year with games, stalls, crafts, plays, singing and dancing on the front lawn. In 1922, reflecting on the garden party celebrations, the retiring Principal, Miss M. Hamilton, thought it doubtful if any school in the Dominion had a playground of equal beauty.
“We are really trying to fit ourselves to be custodians of the Wisdom for this Dominion. The ordinary school does not educate to any appreciable extent. Many educationalists are imbued with the old notion that the present system is all that it ought to be, though it has failed utterly to touch the noblest part of the child, for the simple reason that those at the head of it have no idea of the highest and best in the child. That is the radical difference between a Theosophical school and an ordinary school. Our school is intended to be a place where the cream of the nation shall be educated. It is not the weak, inefficient souls we want, but the very best.
We want our Theosophical school to be a centre in the Dominion where we can educate and draw out the qualities of our future leaders, artists and craftsmen, and there is no place where that can be better done than under a Theosophical roof. Members can help if they will, but some will not, because they are ignorant of the great ideal. There should be places for the undeveloped and the weak egos, but not necessarily in a Theosophical school. Those who seek to help should try to visualise the ideal school and weave around Vasanta College, which is the nucleus of a number of schools in our Dominion, a halo of the noblest and the best thought they can command, and thus protect it from the intrusion of undesirable thoughts. This will make an atmosphere in which the best souls in our Dominion will grow and expand rapidly. Many have that ideal, but others are so tied to a smaller conception of things that they are hindering the realisation of that great ideal by pin-pricking regarding small details. Some think that the school is not successful. They lack vision. We need men and women with imagination, with power to see the future and to detect the nascent qualities lying in those egos. We want everyone to co-operate in this sublime work, and if you want to develop vision, believe and trust.
There is one of the Great Brotherhood who has education as His special department, and if we make the right atmosphere He will ray upon Vasanta College His wisdom, because we, in our small way, are specialising it as a centre of the Wisdom. We make the conditions and He fills the cup. Those who constantly emphasise small details make leaks in the channel through which the force plays. It is not our College; it is not the Board's College; it is the Masters' College. Mistakes we have made, difficulties we have overcome, but that College will be, it must be, a success, if we play our part. We have all made difficulties; the Principal will perhaps make mistakes, but we shall create truly if we have the creative idea.
Build, therefore, in your meditation every day, an uplifting noble thought around the College; visualise the great ideal which we shall attain. We are all seeking to make the College a success, but there is a lack of that intuitive perception of the goal. I want each member of this Lodge to feel that it is his privilege to make it a success. We should go forward shoulder to shoulder and unitedly do the work, and never mind the pessimists, because it is to be a wonderful success. We are going to do the work for this Dominion. It is through education that achievement is to be obtained. It is to be obtained by your and my cooperation in this splendid work. You can; nay, you will, make it a success.”
To celebrate the end of the first year about two hundred persons, including the children, attended a Garden Social at Vasanta College, Auckland. Such fairs were held each year with games, stalls, crafts, plays, singing and dancing on the front lawn. In 1922, reflecting on the garden party celebrations, the retiring Principal, Miss M. Hamilton, thought it doubtful if any school in the Dominion had a playground of equal beauty.
Pleas for financial assistance were heeded by the membership:
“If we can make Vasanta a model of Theosophical educational methods, we shall accomplish an important piece of practical objective work for the New Era, which will more than repay the sacrifices made by teachers, helpers and subscribers.”
Lodges like Oamaru had an Order of the Round Table whom sent regular donations of money to assist the school and students. Another source of financial aid the college received was when lodges became defunct such as the Vasanta Lodge (formerly Onehunga), which handed over its property and funds. Members could subscribe to the Vasanta College Guarantee Fund (Sinking Fund) in which monies lent were paid back in full with interest. Proceeds of the sale of Vasanta Farm were invested in this as well.
A ‘Bertha Darroch Fund’ was set up for her since she went without full pay many a year. In later years it transformed into a Retirement Fund for all staff.
Two scholarships, called “The Samana Scholarships”, were established by a well-wisher of the school. The aim of the donor was to assist children who were likely to be devoted servers in their later years. Assistance was given by the TETB for the education of expatriate George Hurt at the ‘Brackenhill Theosophical Home School’ in England.
The TETB strove to put into practice the latest ideas and highest ideals of modern education. In 1936 the Vasanta Garden School was engaged in teaching along the lines of the ‘Dalton Plan’ developed by Helen Parkhurst who had been trained in Montessori methods. Maria Montessori’s influence had extended into the theosophical community. She taught at the International Headquarters of the Theosophical Society in India for a number of years with her son. Publications such as ‘Education for the New Era’ encouraged new ideas and discussion in lodges nationwide. Communication on teaching methods was discoursed between the Australian theosophical ‘Morven Garden School’ in Sydney and the TETB, their reports being published in the magazine Theosophy in New Zealand. The membership was always kept abreast of new developments and concepts worldwide and encouraged to feedback, as the long term vision was to have schools operating throughout the country.
Miss Daphne Darroch wrote in ‘The Torch’ in 1937:
“Education falls into two divisions – The mechanical subjects (reading, writing, arithmetic, means of livelihood, etc) which give the mastery over the physical environment. The creative subjects (Art, music, dancing, literature, philosophy etc) which aid him to master the forces of the spiritual world, to evolve as an ego, and to discover himself as a God - not a man. Methods of presentation have swung from an over emphasis of sinking oneself in “working all together” in the team or community spirit, to that of a consideration of the individual alone ideally; these poles meet and balance when the citizen learns to serve his community by contributing to the whole the efforts of his own individual uniqueness.”
In 1931 the TETB wrote:
“The work of the school under Miss Darroch and Miss Worthington has been carried on happily and successfully. The report of the Government Inspector states that ‘the work of the school is being conducted in a very efficient manner the methods employed are on modern lines and are educationally sound, abundant opportunity is provided for the development of initiative and independence of thought and action; the order and control, the general bearing of the pupils, their attitude to their work, and their willing response, are very good indeed, and reflect much credit upon the conduct of the school. Adequate provision is made for the development of social graces and the cultural and physical side of the children's natures.’ ”
“If we can make Vasanta a model of Theosophical educational methods, we shall accomplish an important piece of practical objective work for the New Era, which will more than repay the sacrifices made by teachers, helpers and subscribers.”
Lodges like Oamaru had an Order of the Round Table whom sent regular donations of money to assist the school and students. Another source of financial aid the college received was when lodges became defunct such as the Vasanta Lodge (formerly Onehunga), which handed over its property and funds. Members could subscribe to the Vasanta College Guarantee Fund (Sinking Fund) in which monies lent were paid back in full with interest. Proceeds of the sale of Vasanta Farm were invested in this as well.
A ‘Bertha Darroch Fund’ was set up for her since she went without full pay many a year. In later years it transformed into a Retirement Fund for all staff.
Two scholarships, called “The Samana Scholarships”, were established by a well-wisher of the school. The aim of the donor was to assist children who were likely to be devoted servers in their later years. Assistance was given by the TETB for the education of expatriate George Hurt at the ‘Brackenhill Theosophical Home School’ in England.
The TETB strove to put into practice the latest ideas and highest ideals of modern education. In 1936 the Vasanta Garden School was engaged in teaching along the lines of the ‘Dalton Plan’ developed by Helen Parkhurst who had been trained in Montessori methods. Maria Montessori’s influence had extended into the theosophical community. She taught at the International Headquarters of the Theosophical Society in India for a number of years with her son. Publications such as ‘Education for the New Era’ encouraged new ideas and discussion in lodges nationwide. Communication on teaching methods was discoursed between the Australian theosophical ‘Morven Garden School’ in Sydney and the TETB, their reports being published in the magazine Theosophy in New Zealand. The membership was always kept abreast of new developments and concepts worldwide and encouraged to feedback, as the long term vision was to have schools operating throughout the country.
Miss Daphne Darroch wrote in ‘The Torch’ in 1937:
“Education falls into two divisions – The mechanical subjects (reading, writing, arithmetic, means of livelihood, etc) which give the mastery over the physical environment. The creative subjects (Art, music, dancing, literature, philosophy etc) which aid him to master the forces of the spiritual world, to evolve as an ego, and to discover himself as a God - not a man. Methods of presentation have swung from an over emphasis of sinking oneself in “working all together” in the team or community spirit, to that of a consideration of the individual alone ideally; these poles meet and balance when the citizen learns to serve his community by contributing to the whole the efforts of his own individual uniqueness.”
In 1931 the TETB wrote:
“The work of the school under Miss Darroch and Miss Worthington has been carried on happily and successfully. The report of the Government Inspector states that ‘the work of the school is being conducted in a very efficient manner the methods employed are on modern lines and are educationally sound, abundant opportunity is provided for the development of initiative and independence of thought and action; the order and control, the general bearing of the pupils, their attitude to their work, and their willing response, are very good indeed, and reflect much credit upon the conduct of the school. Adequate provision is made for the development of social graces and the cultural and physical side of the children's natures.’ ”
After World War Two reinforcement of moral support continued. Miss Emma Hunt, General Secretary from the NZ Section HQ wrote to members:
“In Vasanta we hope to make the right conditions for a centre of Peace in which the new age ideas can find fruition, and in which the forces which work for the realisation of Brotherhood may be organised and through which they will flow into the outer world. In this work the School is not the least of the factors.”
In the late 1950s grandiose plans were drawn for a replacement school on the site. Being in a healthy financial position, money was available for the build, although continuing frustrations at being unable to secure suitable teachers forced the board to close it. This decision was believed to be in the best interests of the students. Families were able to enrol their children in new schools at the beginning of term two so that disruption to their education would be minimal in 1959.
Compiled and written by Lara-May Thorne
Next Chapter: Closing of the School
“In Vasanta we hope to make the right conditions for a centre of Peace in which the new age ideas can find fruition, and in which the forces which work for the realisation of Brotherhood may be organised and through which they will flow into the outer world. In this work the School is not the least of the factors.”
In the late 1950s grandiose plans were drawn for a replacement school on the site. Being in a healthy financial position, money was available for the build, although continuing frustrations at being unable to secure suitable teachers forced the board to close it. This decision was believed to be in the best interests of the students. Families were able to enrol their children in new schools at the beginning of term two so that disruption to their education would be minimal in 1959.
Compiled and written by Lara-May Thorne
Next Chapter: Closing of the School