Figure 1.--I'm not sure where the precisely wgere the Pencarrow school is located. We know that it was near Wellington at the southern tip of North Island. The background suggests a rural area. The class portrait here was taken in 1969. It was the Standard 3 class. Standard was one of the New Zealand terms for peimary-level grades or forms. |
Available information shows that primary schools continue the policy of not requiring uniforms with the exception of the Catholic and private schools. Children seem to wear more casual clothes than in the 1950s. Boys mostly wear short pants, but we see fewer school uniform items. Many girls wear dresses, but some girls dress more cassually in short pants. Many boys come to school barefoot, but not as many as in the 1950s. Almost all secondary schools required uniforms which were normally strictly enforced.
The basic New Zealand approach of allowing primary children to wear their own casual clothes continued in he 1960s. Exceptions here were the Catholic schools and private schools. Boys a most state primary schools wore a wide range of casual clothes. A few might wear school uniform items. Many of the boys were barefoot. This was especially true at rural schools, but many city schools as well. Girls in the early 60s mostly wore dresses, but by the end of the decade we see girls wearing short pants and other casual clohes as well. Many girls also came to school barefoot, but some what less commonly than the boys. When the children moved to secondary schools they began wearing British-style uniforms.
We notice some images from representative New Zealand schools.
I'm not sure where the precisely wgere the Pencarrow school is located. We know that it was near Wellington at the southern tip of North Island. The background suggests a rural area. The class portrait here was taken in 1969. There was no school unifoirm which was the case in most New Zealand primary schools. It was the Standard 3 class. Standard was one of the New Zealand terms for peimary-level grades or forms. The children here wear casual clothes. The boys mostly wear short pants, but we see fewer school uniform items. While primary schools did not require uniforms, many mothers bought school uniform items like grey shorts and shorts and grey sweaters. You can see some of those items here, but casual clothing is more common. Many girls wear dresses, but some girls dress more cassually in short pants. Some of the boys are barefoot, but many boys wear sandals and shoes.
We are not sure yet where Otamumu is in New Zealand, perhaps South Island. New Zealand schools place considerable emphasis on outdoor activities and sports. The leading sport of course is rugby. Even primary schools like the Otamumu Primary School had rugby teams. Here the boys wear standard stripped uniforms. The boys seemed to have played barefoot.
