Mrs. Tarn, who is referred to as Headmistress of the Mount Cook Girls' School on page 376, retired from the position towards the close of 1896.

Miss Margaret Lorimer, M.A., Headmistress of the Mount Cook Girls' School, to which position she was appointed in November, 1896, was educated at the Girls' High School, Christchurch, where she gained a junior University scholarship in 1883, obtaining the degree of B.A., at Canterbury College, four years later, and in the following year that of M.A. In 1886 she joined the staff of the Christchurch Girls' High School, where, at the time of receiving her present appointment, she held the position of assistant mistress in charge of the senior mathematical work of the school.

The Rintoul Street Public School was opened on the 20th of July, 1896, to supply the needs of the fast-growing population in South Wellington, nearly 300 scholars being enrolled. In February, 1897, there were 420 children on the roll, with an average attendance of 350. The building, which was designed for 300 scholars, stands upon an enclosure of four acres, the situation being probably the best school site in the city. The school is built on modern lines, there being no narrow, intricate corridors, and the page 1505 class-rooms, being all twenty-five feet square, do not admit of more than fifty children being placed under one teacher. The headmaster is assisted by Mr. Alexander McKenzie, and Misses Reith, Kenny, Riddick, Wiltshire, Hutchen, and Player.