The tradition of reaching out into the community was established almost as soon as Canterbury College was founded. When the first Professors arrived in 1874, the College held a series of public lectures which all could attend. Professor Bickerton’s excelled in this area. His first public lecture was at the Oddfellows Hall, and was a full house attended by 400 people, at which he demonstrated natural laws of science using items such as pop guns and pickle jars.
Education in the Community
20 November 2023
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The programme from the Canterbury College Students' Association Conversazione of 1899, which included an extensive music programme and refreshments served between 9-10pm.
Following on from this success, staff and students instituted a tradition of holding ‘conversazione’, which were displays of their work and research for the public. The 1906 conversazione described in College Review relayed that the Biological Department and Professor Chilton ‘delighted visitors with a display of wonders’. The Townsend Telescope was showed off, and the instrument was ‘courteously trained on town’. Visitors to the display in the Chemical Laboratory by Dr Evans ‘could not help remarking between the instructive interest of the various experiments and the sordid dinginess of the building’, while Dr Farr gave a lecture on earthquakes, and students put on plays and sold copies of the Song Book. It was estimated that 1,000 people came through. The tradition was carried on by many departments up until WWII, and by some right into the 1960s. An Engineering conversazione in 1961 is said to have drawn a crowd of 12,000.
e concept of taking education out into the local community was first mooted as early as 1900, and eventually led to the development of the Workers Educational Association, founded in 1915. Funded by the College, classes were offered to working men and women in psychology, economics, history and literature. Options included public lectures or formal tutorial classes which were equivalent to a university level course. Classes consisted of up to 30 students and allowed for an hour's lecture followed by an hour of discussion. The WEA also organized summer schools at various locations around the South Island. The first summer school was held in Oxford in 1920, while the 1939 summer school was in Nelson. In 1928/1929 the summer school was hosted by Canterbury College, and 64 students attended. In his report for the W.E.A. James Shelley remarked “The discussions around the dinner table were no mean part of the experiences of the School. Here Professors, Lecturers, Labourers, Carpenters and Railway men all endeavoured to voice their ideas on various subjects.”
A poster for the W.E.A. Summer School of 1924, which was held in Geraldine. Popular summer school lecturer James Shelley is featured centre top.
