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Music Room
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Photogallery
Music Room - photo by Steve Le Feuvre, October 1980
The Music Room was almost like a "second home" to Steve Le Feuvre during his days at Princo (1970-1975)......music lessons, Band
practices, preparing for music festivals, teaching "rabble" to play instruments....Oh, what memories!!
Does anyone know when the Music Room was added onto the end of the Clive/Scott dining room?
In the right foreground is the "tennis wall", the back of the Gym.
Responses:
Ron Bullock (Scott 1948-1953) writes:
The Music Room did not exist when I left the School. There was a driveway there, giving access
to the kitchen, and a garage for the school truck. I remember one day careering round that
corner between the kitchen and the garage on my bike, heading for the top fields, and running
smack into the truck, which was parked on the driveway. I went over the bonnet and hit the wing
mirror, slashing my eyebrow - a lucky escape, I must say. I still have the mark, where no hair
grows, although it is not visible to the casual observer. And the tennis wall - another
innovation since my day, as, of course, were the swimming pool and chapel.
Brod Purdy (Rhodes 1958-1961) writes:
The Music Room: I spent many an hour there between
1958 and 1960 (when I was unceremoniously removed by the then head (a Mr Wigmore) who wanted me
to restart the school Scout troop) getting to grips with an Eflat / B flat bass. If the photo
shows the door facing the gym, which is what it looks like, then it was not attached to
Clive/Scott Dining Room when I left school in 1961. The music room was in the same area, but I
have no recollection of it being that way round! In my day, we entered from the other side.
It may be the case that my memory fails me regarding its attachment, and that post 1961, the
door was moved from one side of the building to the other.
It was interesting to see the 'Tennis Wall'. Again, in my day this had a large chicken wire
fence surrounding it so that the tennis aficionados could bounce the ball against the wall with
no worries about it going astray. Just out of shot to the right, and opposite the door to the
gym, would have been the school tuck shop...I wonder if that is still there?
Jitze Couperus (Hawke 1954-1960) writes in response to Brod Purdy:
You are right about the music room. I don't think it was appended to the end of the Clive/Scott
Dining Room, and the door was definitely on the other side - just up the hill from the Science
labs, and I think the building itself was on the other 'side' of the Dining Room (as seen in the
picture).
And indeed - just 'this' side of the tennis wall was the tuck shop where some of us were
rostered for duty to stand behind the counter. Somebody once left the fridge door open on
closing shop, and all the ice lollies melted over night. The master-in-charge (George Outram I
think it was) was sore upset.
David Creswell (Clive 1964-1970) writes:
On page 21 of The Impala 1964 - the final item
reads :
"Another addition to the School was the conversion of the former workshops - music room, into an
extension of the main dining room for Junior House."
This was where Junior House took our lunches during 1964. It can be seen attached to the lower
right hand side of the Clive/Scott dining room in the 1932 'Binks' photo of the school. During
1964 several of Mr Lockhart's music lessons were endured in the dingy wooden room which became
the junior prep room of School House in January 1966.
Some time towards the end of 1964 to 1965 was when the new Music Rooms were built/first
utilised. I cannot, however, recall any building work taking place at that site.
A few day later, David wrote again:
Clive House Report in 1966 Impala - pg 37, 3rd para : 'Clive regained a study at the beginning
of term - the old "senior study", which had been used as a Band Room - and our cramped space has
been slightly alleviated'.
It would seem that the band took up residence in the new music rooms in January 1966.
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