NEWS & EVENTS A personal memory of Tony Holland from a friend and Colleague
The College community was shocked to hear of the death of Head of Technology Tony Holland who had been at the school for 43 years.
Monique Martin-Ellis knew Tony as both a colleague and a friend. She says, “Boys and staff remembered Tony as a quiet, incredibly kind man who always went out of his way to help others. Over his time at College, he held a number of acting senior roles and he was seen as a ‘go to’ person who could always be relied upon to do a job well. He would never advertise his talents, he would just get on and do things.’’ Among those roles, he was a workshop teacher, graphics teacher, HOD Technology, Senior Master, ran the book exchange, was MiC of shooting, MiC of water polo for many years, and ran the long jump on Athletics Day for 40 years. “Tony had an incredible range of experience,’’ Monique says. “He came from a technical drawing background and had a huge amount of knowledge because of this. With the introduction of computers, he was constantly upskilling and adapting to the ever-changing technological environment. I think it is a real tribute to his skills that he had four students achieve NCEA Scholarships, which are few and far between in our subject. “Tony had a very strong work ethic. He was always there for the boys
at lunchtimes and after school and would never say ‘This is my time, I can’t help you’. I can’t remember a week without someone, boys or staff, coming to ask for his help, and he never said no to anyone no matter how busy we were. He would bring in vegetables and fruit from his garden and, on weekends, he would always be busy helping someone cut down a tree, fix something around their house or just lending a hand. “When my husband and I moved to Christchurch, he and his wife were there for us. I would always go in to have a chat before class and he took an interest in me and my family, and made me feel that nothing was a bother and he was always around. The first time I called him on a weekend was when I was out and came back to find my husband, who had started on the renovations on our house, had ruptured a wall pipe and steam was coming up through the floor. Who do you ring on a Saturday afternoon? You ring Tony. “He arrived in 10 minutes, came, looked and fixed. “Tony was involved with Rolleston House as Assistant Housemaster for more than 30 years and, as well as looking after boys in the House on a day-to-day basis, he would get involved with any fund-raising
activity. He was Mr Reliable and I remember not long after his death, a staff member said ‘It’s fair to say that no one knew just how much Tony did around the place’. That’s because he was so capable. “He has left a huge hole in Christ’s College and in my life and I am so grateful I had the honour of knowing him.’’
Christ’s College Canterbury
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