Jesse Ringer on his way to school
Jesse Ringer on his way to school

When the Matangi school opened, there were several ways of getting to school. Those who lived close enough walked to school. An early pupil, Trevor Hinton, is believed to hold the record for walking to school - he walked from Woodside Road, and is said to have never missed a day in three years. Where greater distances were involved, pupils rode a horse to school or came by cart. The horse paadock at the back of the school was a real necessity in those days, even though it cut down the playing area. A contingent of pupils also arrived at school from Bruntwood on the morning train, and took the train home again after school. This train also took High School pupils in to Secondary School at Hamilton, and if the guard is to be believed, the Matangi children travelling in to Hamilton for manual training in Standard 5 and 6 were the best behaved of all.

Dick and Diana Ranstead off to school, 1940
Dick and Diana Ranstead off to school, 1940


After the passenger trains ceased to run through Matangi, a bus service took some of the children to school. This bus started its run in Tauwhare, dropped children on the Hamilton-Morrinsville Road for their connection to Hamilton, and then returned to Tauwhare by way of Matangi dropping children off at Matangi School on the way. Bus services now bring children from Tauwhare Pa to school in the morning, and the High School bus picks up children from Woodside Road on its way back to Matangi to take a second load in to Hillcrest. The horse paddock has long since been converted into a playing field and the bicycle racks sees up to 20 bikes in fine weather.

References
Matangi Primary School 75th Jubilee 1910-1985, A School and District History