John Fell
“I regret very much”, wrote the Te Rore newspaper correspondent in August 1903, “having to report that Mr Fell, our schoolteacher, is suffering from an attack of pleurisy and inflammation. In consequence the school has been closed for a week.”
John Fell, 40, was considered one of the best teachers in the Waikato. His unassuming manner had made him popular, and news of his illness was met with sympathy. Residents could count on him to sing at all entertainments across the district as he was very fond of music and possessed an excellent tenor voice. He was also admired for bringing the once struggling Te Rore Library into a flourishing condition. Several former residents of Te Rore had graduated as teachers under his tuition.
It was his work as a teacher that had brought the most benefit to Te Rore. Since being appointed to the school in 1895, annual examinations and inspections revealed student’s steady progress under his care. One year the school was closed for a fortnight during a measles epidemic and despite the upheaval of this the results were still “eminently satisfactory”.
In December 1901 a surprise visit was made to the school just as the children were being dismissed for their Christmas holidays. Mr Robinson, school committee chairman, said the reason for their visit was a very pleasant one – to present John with a purse of sovereigns. An address was also made recognising the able manner in which he worked for the school as well as everything he did for the good of the district. Every householder had subscribed to the gift. John was so much surprised that he did not know how to thank them.
John attended weekly drill classes on Saturdays for teachers at Hamilton and it was after one of these that he fell ill. Dr Pairman provided unremitting care for him but despite this, a lung haemorrhage set in and John died at the home of John Munro at twenty minutes to three on a Friday afternoon. The immediate cause of death was believed to have been overexertion at the weekly teachers’ drill. His demise surprised residents who knew he was ill but had no idea how seriously.
The day before his funeral, out of respect, the regular teacher’s drill class was adjourned immediately after assembly.
John was from Heywood, near Manchester, England, where his parents and a brother still lived. He had no near relations in New Zealand but as man of such a genial and kindly disposition he had made many friends who loved him and attended the funeral at Paterangi cemetery from near and far. Twenty-four members of the Paterangi Rifle Club, of which John had been general secretary and a very enthusiastic member, formed an escort and about 200 people in buggies and on horseback joined in the procession.
Te Rore Library owed its existence to his energy, and it was expected it would remain a standing monument to John’s labours in the district.
John Fell’s grave, Paterangi cemetery
