In 1928, the board of Richmond School first lobbied for the erection of a new school as it was identified that the current one had served its purpose and was outdated, so plans were prepared and an application for a grant was completed.
It was then suggested that the school should be built on a better site within the borough, which resulted in the matter being delayed.
Eight years later, in early May 1936, the school committee chairman, W Coleman, stated that the prospects of a new school were brighter than they had been for some time and that there was hope that something would eventuate for Richmond.
By September the proposed plans were submitted and approved and were sent to the Department of Education. In May 1937, the dream of a new school came to fruition as building began on the site where Richmond School sits today.
Described as one of the finest buildings of its type in the Dominion, the new school was opened on 29 January 1938 by the chairman of Nelson Education Board, the Hon. W. H. Mclntyre.
It sat on an ideal site of about three and a half acres, centrally situated and conveniently removed from the main line of traffic.
The school was built on the most modern lines from plans prepared by the board’s architect, Mr A. Leaper, after investigations had been made into the latest features in school construction.
The impressive main entrance had double doors and four imposing kauri pillars extending from the veranda floor to the ceiling.
The building was cutting edge for its time with open-air classrooms with a total classroom floor space of 2064 square feet, capable of accommodating up to one hundred and eighty pupils. The central portion had headmaster and assistant teacher’s rooms, storerooms, and a janitor’s room.
Between the classrooms were cloak rooms running from the veranda to the back of the building.
The veranda was eight feet wide along the whole of the front of the building. At the eastern and western ends of the school were shelter sheds, at the back of which were bicycle sheds.
Concrete steps extended along the whole of the front of the building giving access to the veranda at any place from the concrete assembly area in front of the school.
The building was centrally heated and grill doors were provided at the entrance to the cloak rooms thus allowing for a free current of fresh air. Additional cupboards were placed under the blackboards in the front walls of the classrooms, easels were dispensed with and smaller byloplate boards fitted to the walls.
The school was equipped with electric lighting, heating pipes that ran between the hat and coat racks to assist in the drying of the children’s clothing in wet weather, and the old desks were dispensed with so every child was provided with their own individual table and chair.
Mr Hugh Brown, headmaster, shared his sentiments to those present: “The school’s aim was to teach the three arts; to build character so that pupils, on going out into the world, could take their proper place in the community.”
Celebrations for the opening, were combined with the school’s Jubilee and occurred over three days. Photos of each decade of past students were taken in front of the new building.
The celebration finished with a dinner, held under marquees on the school grounds where around 300 people attended.
