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Parnell House Ceremony - November 2020
Tuesday, 1 December 2020
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On Sunday 29th November, a very special ceremony took place at the Parnell Boarding House here at King's College. The current Parnell Boarding House building is due to close its doors at the end of this 2020 school year as Parnell House begins its transition to eventually become a day house. And so… the doors of the current Parnell House building were opened for the last time to play host to a large gathering of Old Collegians, current Parnell students, their families, and past and present Parnell and King's College staff who all gathered to celebrate and honour the rich history of boarding that has occurred within Parnell House over the past 96 years. Approximately 180 Old Collegians arrived on the day to join, support, reminisce and share their memories of their time as a boarder in Parnell House. The ceremony began with a Ceremonial walk of Remembrance starting at the Old Averill House on The Drive with the gathering winding its way up to the house. Old Collegians and guests were then welcomed back to the House with a Karanga and Mihi Whakatau involving Old Collegians, current students and family members and led by Lincoln Savage former King's College staff member and Parnell House Tutor. Following the Mihi there was an opportunity to hear fond memories and stories from a past Housemaster and several Parnell House Old Collegians, there was a special blessing from Reverend Gareth Walters, then the lowering of the flag and the school haka performed by the current Parnell students with several old collegians joining in. The afternoon ended with a fine afternoon tea of food and refreshments and much reminiscing as people wandered through the house looking at all the photos from days gone by. You can see all the photos from the day by following the link below Parnell Ceremony Photos A little bit of history….. Parnell House was established in 1924 with 27 Boarders under the name of Middlemore. In 1928, the change to the name of Parnell was made, to mark the affiliation of King's College with the old Church of England Grammar School in Parnell - the sale of which in 1893 produced funds later used in purchasing the present site of King's College. Like School House and St John's, Parnell initially occupied a wooden building on the site of the present School House built as a 'temporary' measure in the early twenties. In 1969 the boys moved into their permanent home on the private road between School and Selwyn Houses. Parnell is currently transitioning from a boarding house to a day house as part of the King's College Master Property Plan. Students have since been temporarily split into Parnell Boarding and Parnell Day groups. Remaining Parnell boarders are currently situated in the old Averill boarding house while Parnell day students will be situated in the newly built Parnell house in the Day House Precinct. You can see archived information and old Parnell House photos by following the link below here. Parnell Archives |