Welcome, come on in
13 Aug 2019
Hundreds of interested people streamed through the College gates on Sunday 4 August, taking the opportunity to visit the Dining Hall and see the other heritage buildings around the Quad as part of the Te Pūtahi Open Christchurch series of events.
Art History teacher and architectural historian Robyn Peers liaised with Te Pūtahi Open Christchurch organisers Erica Austin and Jessica Halliday and briefed their volunteers, as well as recruiting Year 12 students Joshua Mortensen and Jamie Yee, Year 11 students Tim Stewart, Hamish McCulloch and Freddie Sudell, and Year 9 student Eric Kuo to represent College. Robyn, Joshua, Jamie and Tim all gave talks, with Robyn putting the Dining Hall in its historical context – it was originally built as a memorial for the staff and Old Boys who died in World War One (now commemorated in the Chapel) – and talking about its architecture and its place in College life today.
“It was a brilliant day, superbly organised by the team behind Open Christchurch,” says Robyn. “We had a steady stream of visitors throughout the day and it was lovely for our volunteers to work with theirs. The public were very interested to talk to the boys about their College experience and the boys did a wonderful job representing the school.”
Te Pūtahi Open Christchurch invites the public to discover the city through architecture and public spaces with free, one-off access to special buildings and a range of themed walking tours. It runs for 11 weeks, from 30 June–7 September.
