The hand-written Kuaotunu School roll of honour lists the names of 39 ex-pupils and teachers of the school who served during the First World War. The list includes the name of one woman, described simply as ‘Nurse Campbell’. This was probably Nurse Christina Campbell, who had trained at Thames Hospital, and who embarked for Europe on the hospital ship Maheno on 25 January 1916.
The roll of honour is on display in the Kuaotunu Centennial Memorial Hall in Blackjack Road. Formerly the Kuaotunu School’s infant school building, this was moved to its present site as a centennial project in 1940. It was formally reopened as a social hall and library on 14 November 1940. The Kuaotunu School itself was closed down in 1946.
Sources: ‘Opening Ceremonies of Centennial Memorials’, New Zealand Centennial News, no. 15, 6 February 1941, p. 25; R.A. Simpson, This is Kuaotunu, Kuaotunu, 1955, p. 33, photo between pp. 48-9.
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