Southland Boys' High School (SBHS) is an all-boys school in
Invercargill
Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, and has been the only one in the city since Marist Brothers was merged with St Catherines to form
Verdon College
Verdon College is a co-educational Roman Catholic high school in Invercargill, New Zealand, teaching students from year 7 to 15 (ages 11–18). The college is named after Bishop Michael Verdon (1838–1918) who was the second Catholic Bishop of ...
in 1982.
History
SBHS was founded in 1881 and, in 1926, the original brick building was opened on the present Herbert St site. This building is called the Pearce Block in memory of Mr T. Pearce who was rector from around 1904 to 1929. Subsequent buildings were named after George Uttley, Malcolm Leadbetter, Don Grant and Laurie Cornwell. The gymnasium was named after Jim Page.
The west end of the Pearce Block suffered a fire during Easter 1980 which was well recorded in the 1980 year book "The Southlandian". The fire extensively damaged three class rooms on the upper floor whilst the Rector's, DP's and Senior Master's offices on the ground floor were water damaged (in the right hand side of the photo).
The school co-hosted the
2006 State Twenty20 Cricket Knock-Out Tournament
The 2006 State Twenty20 Cricket Knock-Out Tournament was a domestic Twenty20 tournament in New Zealand. The tournament was held in Invercargill on 10-12 November 2006.
A prize of $30,000 was on offer for the winners of the tournament. Teams re ...
in Invercargill.
Notable alumni
Well-known former students include
Jeremy Waldron
Jeremy Waldron (; born 13 October 1953) is a New Zealand professor of law and philosophy. He holds a University Professorship at the New York University School of Law, is affiliated with the New York University Department of Philosophy, and was f ...
, who attended the school until 1970 and is now a prominent legal and political philosopher in the United States, and
Andrew White, who played rugby for the
All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
in the 1920s. Back in the early 1980s there were several rows of framed photos in the downstairs corridor of the Grant Block of Old Boys who had gone on to represent New Zealand at rugby or cricket. One student,
Brian McKechnie
Brian John McKechnie (born 6 November 1953) is a former " double All Black" - representing New Zealand in both rugby union and cricket.
Rugby career
He played 26 matches for the All Blacks as a first five-eighth and fullback, most memorably be ...
, is the only Double All Black to date. He played 26 Tests for the All Blacks between 1977-1981 at Full Back and First Five-Eighth and also represented The New Zealand Black Caps in Cricket between 1975-1981. The Leadbetter Wing also had framed photos of the First 15 rugby team dating back to around 1913. Other notable All Blacks are 100 test veteran
Malili (Mils) Muliaina,
former captain
Paul Henderson who also played professional rugby for the Highlanders in Super Rugby, props
Jamie Mackintosh
Jamie Mackintosh (born 20 February 1985) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player currently playing for the Austin Gilgronis in Major League Rugby (MLR).
He previously played for Section Paloise in the French Top 14 competition. He wa ...
, and
Clarke Dermody.
The school also has a proud tradition in providing New Zealand schoolboys Rugby representatives. Recent names include
Robbie Robinson,
John Hardie and
Scott Eade
Scott David Eade (born 19 October 1992) is a New Zealanders, New Zealand rugby union player. He plays Fly-half (rugby union), First five-eighth and occasionally Scrum-half (rugby union), Half-back.
References
External links
itsrugby.co.uk pro ...
.
Gordon Hunter played two games for the
Otago
Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
rugby team, coached them from 1992-1995 in the
National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to:
* National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides
* National Provincial Championship (2006–present)
The National Provincial Championship, o ...
and was the first coach of the
Highlanders in 1996. Between 1996-1999 he served as an assistant coach and selector for the
All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
, moving to
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
to coach The
Blues in 2000. Hunter retired soon after that due to ill health, passing away in 2002 from cancer.
Outside sport,
George Mason
George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including s ...
has made a name for himself in television with recurring roles in hit programs such as ''
Shortland Street
''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...
'', ''
Go Girls
''Go Girls'' is a New Zealand comedy-drama television series that centers on four adult friends, three female and one male, living on Auckland's North Shore. In the fifth season it was the same premise, but this time centered on five adult fr ...
'', and most recently ''
Home and Away
''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...
'' (Australian soap). Also in the arts scene, New Zealand cartoonist
Shaun Yeo began his career supplying cartoons and illustrations to ''
The Southland Times
''The Southland Times'' is the regional daily paper for Southland, including Invercargill, and neighbouring parts of Otago, in New Zealand. It is now owned by media business Stuff Ltd, formerly the New Zealand division of Fairfax Media.
History ...
'' while still a student at the school.
Dave Cull
David Charles Cull (1 April 1950 – 27 April 2021) was the mayor of the city of Dunedin in New Zealand. He became the 57th Mayor of Dunedin in October 2010 and was re-elected in both the 2013 mayoralty race and 2016 mayoral election. Before ...
, a former
Mayor of Dunedin
The Mayor of Dunedin is the head of the local government, the city council of Dunedin, New Zealand. The Mayor's role is "to provide leadership to the other elected members of the territorial authority, be a leader in the community and perform c ...
, who attended the school from 1963 to 1967, died on 27 April 2021.
Houses
There are five houses at Southland Boys' High School,
four of which are named after past Rectors of the school, with Coldstream House being the exception. The Houses compete in Sports Days, Cultural Competitions, Swimming Competitions, Drama Productions, Fundraising Events among other activities.
* Coldstream House is represented by the colour Orange.
* Deaker House
* Grant House is represented by the colour Green.
* Uttley House is represented by the colour Blue.
* Pearce House
Rectors
Rectors of the school are as follows:
* Mr G W Blanchflower (1881 - 1885)
* Mr A H Highton (1886 - 1893)
* Mr H L Fowler (1893 - 1903)
* Mr T D Pearce (1904 - 1929)
* Dr George Uttley (1930 - 1946)
* Mr Malcolm Leadbetter (1947 - 1950)
* Mr Don Grant (1950 - 1963)
* Mr Laurie Cornwell (1963 - 1981)
* Mr
Jack Alabaster
John Chaloner Alabaster (born 11 July 1930) is a former cricketer who played 21 Test matches for New Zealand between 1955 and 1972. A leg-spin bowler, he was the only New Zealander to play in each of the country's first four Test victories. In ...
(1981 - 1988)
* Mr Rowly Currie (1989 - 1999)
* Mr Ian Baldwin (2000 - 2017)
* Mr Simon Coe (2017 - )
Notes
{{reflist
External links
All issues of the school's magazine (''The Southlandian'') from 1902 to 2019
Boarding schools in New Zealand
Boys' schools in New Zealand
Schools in Invercargill
Educational institutions established in 1881
Secondary schools in Southland, New Zealand
1881 establishments in New Zealand
1920s architecture in New Zealand