Mrs Playford (nee Lorna Monckton) was a pupil of Craven School from 1898 until 1906 (see The Colonial One: Loran Monckton of Newstead, 1975). Mrs Playford supplied the following identifications of the girls in this photograph: Back Row (L to R) Ethel (Gisborne), Annie Dalrymple (Bulls), Nina Riddiford (Marton), Mary Harding (Mount Vernon, Hawkes Bay), Thanna Prices (Hawkes Bay), Heni Woodbine-Johnson (Gisborne niece of Lady Pomare), Dora White (Hawkes Bay). Second Row (L to R) Rita Kebbell (Pahiatua), Violet Russell (Hawks Bay, daughter of Sir William Russell), Ruth Hewitt (Fitzherbert), Connie Dalrymple (Bulls), Belle Robinson (Taikorea – now Mrs Glenn), Lorna Monckton (Featherston now Mrs Playford). Front Row (L to R) Winifred Clarke (Hawkes Bay), May Woodbine-Johnson (Gisborne – sister of Heni), Heta Cargill (Hawkes Bay – niece of Miss Anna Fraser of Craven School), Flora Kebbell, Marjorie Russell (sister of Violet), Laura Harding (Hawkes Bay) .

Mr Mervyn Dearsly, chairman of the Whanganui Education Board, officially opened the new hall in March 1979. The hall, which doubled as a gymnasium, has a marae type appearance with beamed ceiling and tukutuku patterns. The construction cost $160,000.