BROTHER EUGENE FLAHERTY (1931-1993)

Eugene and his twin sister Margaret were born in Greymouth on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, on June 8th 1931, the first born of William and Florence Flaherty of Ross, a saw-milling township 80 km south of Greymouth. His uncle James O'Brien was at that time the Member of Parliament for Westland, and later Minister of Mines and Transport. His younger brother, Brian, lived in Brisbane, following a very successful career in teaching and educational administration.

Ross was then a small township of 500 people dependant upon a large sawmill and a lime kiln, and was the rail head for South Westland and prosperous farmland to the north and south.

Eugene completed Form I at the Convent School in Ross, a two teacher school. In 1944, at another small Catholic school in the coal mining township of Runanga, he was Dux in Form II. In 1945 he entered Third Form at Marist Brothers' High School in Greymouth where Brother Dominic Henley was Principal and Brother Clarent was on the staff. He was in Brother Clarent's science classes for three years and Clarent also taught him music theory.

He played rugby in both school and club teams and represented the West Coast at Fourth Grade.

At the time he left Marist at the end of April, 1948, he was Head Prefect, a second year Fifth Former, having missed School Certificate at the end of 1947.

From Runanga the two took the "miners train" to school and each afternoon returned home on the "miners bus". Their companions from the State technical school were a hard bunch and gave the ten Catholic students a hard time.

Brother Maurice Russell was appointed Director/Principal of Marist, Greymouth at the beginning of 1948. The year did not begin well after an outbreak of poliomyelitis during the holidays. The opening of school was delayed a month. Brother Maurice quickly discerned that Eugene had reached a certain stage of vocational maturity. He was advised to go to the Brothers' Juniorate at Tuakau, where he was welcomed by two others who were to become Fiji missionaries, Sam Eathorne and Clement McGougan.

His stay began with three day retreat in complete silence. It was no wonder that on more than one occasion during those three days, isolated lonely and homesick, he thought of packing his bags and returning to Ross. After succeeding in the School Certificate examination at the end of 1948 he returned home for the Christmas holidays. The next year, Brother Lawrence, the Principal, appointed him Head Boy.

After passing the University Entrance Examination at the end of 1949, his "group" graduated to the Novitiate at Claremont, to begin twenty months of Formation as Marist Brothers. They made their first vows as Marist Brothers on September 12th 1951.
They left the Novitiate clothed, in the custom of the time, in black suits and Roman collars, topped off with black hats. Twenty-year olds in such attire always raised a few eyebrows.

In the Scholasticate, or House of Studies, training for the professional work of a teacher continued. The Superior was Brother Justin, who had for many years been an outstanding leader: Director, Provincial, and Master of Novices. He had also taught Eugene's father at Marist in Greymouth. He was a wonderful fatherly figure and if not loved, he was certainly greatly respected. There too, was Frère Paul, a Frenchman who had been expelled from his homeland in 1903. He had come to New Zealand, learned English, taught in the schools, and was loved dearly for his simplicity and humility.

The "Master" was Brother Gerard Mullin, a quite remarkable academic, who, before Vatican II, had already sensed the direction in which the Church was developing, and the road through which religious Congregations would travel. He made the greatest impact on Eugene and there is little doubt that through his bluntness, his challenges, his confidence and his humanity, he directed him into a style of Marist life that became the norm as the group matured in Marist ways. The Scholasticate regime was tough and they had twelve months to train and graduate as teachers, certified in the New Zealand system.

Midway through his teacher training he was called to Sacred Heart College to replace a Brother who was hospitalised. The fact that he was already losing his hair suggested that he was much older than his twenty-two years. The next year he was in Gisborne, and the boys thought he was 29. The following year he was transferred to Palmerston North and the boys put him at 52!

The Teachers' Certificate Examination was completed in September 1952 and all were poised for temporary appointments. Imagine his surprise (and horror!) to be appointed as cook to the Juniorate at Tuakau for three months. There meals had to prepared for 75 people three times a day. The final meal he had to prepare was for the Superior General in January 1953. Having successfully catered for the day, he boarded a bus and left for Gisborne where he had been appointed to teach the Standard 3 and 4, the first of that level to come to the Marist school. In that first class was a future Marist Brother, Brother Kieran Fenn.

His days in Gisborne were few. At the beginning of 1954 he was transferred to Marist Brothers' High School Palmerston North, to teach Form One. He spent four years there. Br Philip Greener was next door in Form II. There was no doubt that Philip had the greatest influence on him as a Marist Brother and as a teacher. He had exhaustive experience as the Headmaster of primary schools in New Zealand and South Africa. He later served as Provincial Bursar.

Eugene's years in Palmerston North with Brothers Urban, Anselm, Philip, Aloysius, Clement, Placid, Walter and Ralph were some of the most rewarding of his Marist life. His transfer to St. Paul's College at the beginning of 1958 was probably the most difficult year he experienced as a Marist Brother. St. Paul's College was established on the ruins of Sacred Heart College when it transferred to Glen Innes in 1955. Those pioneering years were especially difficult, but the Brothers there accepted the challenges presented by such an unusual change of fortune.

The Brothers in the boarding situation at St Paul's followed a daunting regimen. There was a non-stop teaching programme plus other tasks such as boarding master of the "babies" in Standards 3 and 4, sports coaching, study at the university, tuck shop supervisor – all day, every day, seven days a week. That one year had packed into it sufficient activity and crises to fill five! His transfer to Fiji in 1959 was an unexpected mercy.

Eugene arrived in Fiji on 4 February, a few days after school had begun for the year. Meanwhile, Brother Bertrand was holding the fort. With no more than a fortnight's notice, and no preparation for entry into a new country with a different educational system, an alien culture and pupils who took months to catch on to his "English". Fortunately, resilience and adaptability are part of the Marist Brothers' baggage.

At that time Brother Cassian was in his final year as principal of Marist Brothers High School. In Cassian's time there had been a great deal of development, including an extension to the original building. During these years the Grants-in-Aid system had been introduced by Government and this provided new resources for the employment of lay teachers. Among those at High School in 1959 was Hari Ram, an ex-student who later became the Permanent Secretary for Education. Brother Anthony McKay was the surviving pioneer teacher, who remained an inspiration through his meticulous adherence to detail, his dedication and the versatility of his interests. Brother More had been on the Staff since 1949 and his contribution to ten years of development at Bau Street was quite extraordinary. Brother Clarent, Eugene's former teacher and companion in Gisborne and Palmerston North was there to greet him as the fifth Brother in the Community.

There were just on three hundred students in those years. Fourth Form were already taking the Fiji Junior Certificate examination while in senior classes there were situations of transition. The Senior Cambridge examination was still an important feature of Sixth Form, the New Zealand School Certificate was being taken experimentally and the New Zealand University Entrance Class was being established.

As a "youngster" of twenty-eight, Eugene's main area of activity was in the Third and Fourth Forms, although he gradually invaded the more sophisticated territory of the Fifth Form. He studied accountancy that year in Brother More's night class for ex-students, taking the same examinations as the boys. He was somewhat taken aback in 1960 when the certificates were being awarded at assembly to hear Brother Lambert read out his name.

Two pioneer teachers returned to the School in 1960, Brother Lambert for a further three year term as principal, and Brother Peter to the science department which he had originally established. In 1962 the School celebrated its Silver Jubilee with the three pioneer teachers together again. One of Eugene's contributions was the Jubilee Magazine, a modest publication which recorded much of the history of the first twenty five years.

In 1953 Brother Anthony had established, with the help of some Senior Students, the "School Review". This was a monthly publication which recorded the happenings at High School. Later Brother More became the publisher and on his return to New Zealand at the end of 1959 the task fell to Eugene. With the help of talented young men, writers, artists and typists, the publication grew in stature and circulation. The Review Committee was a self-financing group that undertook the production of programmes for outside organisations and even promoted the first talent quest in the School, won by Malakai Vei singing Marty Robbin's "Devil Woman". The "School Review" was superseded in the early seventies by the publication of an annual magazine.

During his first four years at High School Eugene was very involved in all its activities, and sometimes thought he worked sixteen hours a day! He was a coach in rugby and athletics, a keen gardener, boarding master, responsible for the supplies and for the domestic staff, looked after the grounds and the equipment involved in their upkeep, supervised an army of boys who came to work on Saturday mornings, kept an eye on the maintenance needs, and kept a paternal eye on the school dog. In 1960 he coached the Albion rugby team of ex-students and managed it in 1961 and 1962.

Brother Lambert's term as Principal came to an end and Brother John Blewman, then principal at Marist Brothers' High School Greymouth, was appointed to replace him. Eugene was caught up in the shuffle, for Brother Theophane, Provincial, appointed him to replace John in Greymouth, his old school. He left for New Zealand aboard the "Arcadia" on 9 January 1963 with a heavy heart, but at the wharf was cheered by the sight of hundreds of boys who came to farewell him with some hearty singing.

Greymouth was a small provincial town of some 9,000 people. When Eugene was a student there were about ninety students at Marist High. When he arrived as Principal the roll had risen to 153, and the classrooms were in a new building. Students were not highly motivated towards academic excellence, or any kind of excellence for that matter, and so the six years in Greymouth were ones of hard work, frustration, and little satisfaction. Of course, no situation is all bad, and there were many happy times, with wonderful support from the loyal and active Marist Old Boys' Association and the Parent Teacher Association.

In a small town the principal of a school can very easily become a "big pea in a small pod." This was certainly the case during 1963-68 when he was treated with enormous respect within the community and called upon to participate in every function of any consequence. He became the first Marist Brother in New Zealand to become a member of Rotary.

At the end of 1968 his term in Greymouth came to its end and he was re-appointed to Fiji as headmaster of Marist Primary School, Vatuwaqa. He knew little about primary education and found the challenge of relating with the younger boys quite daunting. However, by his side was Brother Raphael, a veteran in the game, and so together, they managed to keep the ship afloat.

He left Fiji again in June 1970 for his first journey to Europe and to the exercises of the "Second Novitiate" in Fribourg, Switzerland. When he returned to his duties at Vatuwaqa in April 1971, he was appointed as the first Area Superior of the Brothers in Fiji. When the "Area" became a "District" in 1978, he was elected District Superior.

His term at Vatuwaqa came to an end in December 1971. He returned to the High School in 1972, where his main duty, besides a full teaching programme, was to be boarding master. He also began a long term as Careers Master within the School, a special opportunity to be close to the senior students.

After 1972 Eugene continued to be associated with High School in one capacity or another, while at the same time carrying out other duties for the Brothers in Fiji. For a period he lived in the House of Studies at Vatuwaqa, while commuting daily to the High School. In 1979 he attended the Conference of Provincials and District Superiors held at the Mother House in Rome every three years. He left Fiji on the day the South Pacific Games were opened at the National Stadium by Princess Alexandra. He travelled across the United States, stayed with our United Nation Ambassador, Old Boy, Berenado Vunibobo and then through London to Europe. He was back home in time to encourage his accounting students as they faced their final examinations.

On the completion of his lengthy term as either Area or District Superior he had some months of study leave. In 1982, after a holiday in New Zealand, he joined the Brothers' Retreat Team in the Sydney Province and spent two months with them, organizing retreats for students of the Marist Schools in Sydney. This was a rewarding experience, very useful for the students in Fiji.

He then went to Manila in the Philippines where he undertook a summer course in Guidance and Counselling at La Salle University. During this challenging course, in which he was years older than both lecturers and students, he was with the De La Salle Brothers community on the campus. Then he followed a six weeks Summer Course at the East Asian Pastoral Institute, together with Petero Mataca, Archbishop of Suva.

Back in Fiji in August 1982, he joined the Staff of the High School as Deputy Principal and Careers Master. All went along smoothly until May 1985 when Brother Clement, District Superior and Principal of Marist Brothers' High School had a serious heart attack. Overnight, Eugene was District Superior and the Acting Principal of the High School. Fortunately, Brother Clement recovered very well and returned to continue as Principal at the beginning of 1986.

In 1989 Eugene acted as Principal again at High School for two terms during the absence of Brother Clement on leave. At the end of that year he was asked to become Principal before he left for renewal in Rome and France, and he continued in that post until the end of 1992. Brother Eugene died suddenly shortly after his transfer to Marist Suva St community in 1993.