Archive #38/65: Gymnasium, 1987

The Club had difficulty finding a permanent home, which highlighted the lack of facilities on the College campus for indoor sport. The need for a full-sized Gymnasium was becoming glaringly obvious.

The College Council went ahead with plans to construct Stage 1 of the Gymnasium in 1985 – the locker room and corridor, and the Parents’ Association initiated a major fundraising initiative to gain sufficient funds for Stage 2.

The Parents Association hosted a Formal Dinner in 1985 after the prizegiving. A marquee, the interior of which was elaborately decorated in the Lindisfarne Colours, was erected on the Homestead Lawn. Catering was done by Mr Baxter and the Kitchen Staff, and the whole evening achieved what it set out to do – to make all parents aware of the importance to the College, of a full Olympic size Gymnasium!

The boys were also assigned Work Days to help boost the fundraising efforts. The 1985 Work Day raised over $10,000, the 1986 Easter Work Day netted $9,021 and the May Holiday Work Day raised $9,000. This substantial amount of money represented a fine contribution of this year’s group of boys towards the ultimate benefit of future generations of Lindisfarne pupils!

A great boost to the fundraising was given with the announcement donations – one of $50,000 and the other of $20,000, which succeeded in signalling the beginning of Stage 3, the showers, weights’ room and changing rooms.

The Gymnasium was officially opened on the 21st September 1987 by the Mayor of Hastings, Mr Jeremy Dwyer, who paid tribute to the entire Lindisfarne community for the manner in which it “never wavered from its course of providing such a magnificent facility for the boys.” The Parents’ Association organised a “Sportsman’s Ball”, which was held that evening to celebrate the occasion.

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