Remembering the rector: 'A larger than life figure'
“He was a person that just gave, gave, gave to others and helped, helped, helped. He’s touched so many people’s lives.”
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A group of Ian Baldwin’s mates had labelled him the GOAT in recent years. GOAT of course is the acronym for greatest of all time.
It was a joking jibe at Baldwin after The Southland Times - at the end of 2016 - handed him the Southlander of the Year honour.
But as one of those mates - Rex Capil - reflects on the Baldwin’s life, he actually feels that nickname was fitting, given how many people Baldwin helped shape during his life.
The former Southland Boys’ High School rector died on Saturday leaving many people in shock and recalling the impact Baldwin had on Southland through the education sector.
Baldwin started his teaching career at Southland Boys’ in 1974. He had short stints at Cargill High School and Quest Rapuara/Careers education before returning to SBHS as deputy principal in 1991.
Baldwin became rector in 2000 before 17 years later - after 42 years in education - he retired in 2017.
“He was actually one of those larger-than-life figures,” Capil said about Baldwin.
“He was a person that just gave, gave, gave to others and helped, helped, helped. He’s touched so many people’s lives.”
Capil first came across Baldwin in 1980 when he was a third-form pupil and Baldwin was a teacher.
“I was absolutely bloody petrified standing in the canteen line and you would hear Mr Baldwin before you saw him. So, you knew to stand upright, and the socks were up.”
“He had a presence, but you respected it because after a while you knew he was actually there for you. He had that iron fist, but he’s got your back.”
Capil returned to Southland Boys’ High School as a teacher in the early 1990s. At the time Baldwin was the deputy principal.
“I’d moved on from being the pupil to being a colleague of his as a young adult. He was always my mentor, always the guy who was there when you need to reflect and chew the fat and get some reality back into your life.”
Capil departed the teaching profession in 1996 but has remained in close contact with Baldwin ever since - both in a professional sense and as a mate.
“There is a 15 or so year difference between us with our ages but he was my best mate. This was a real shock to me,” Capil said about Baldwin’s death.
After teaching, Capil joined regional development agency Venture Southland. One of his tasks was to oversee the Southland Education initiative.
Capil said that time provided more insight into the sort of person Baldwin was.
Southland Education was a Southland secondary schools collective joining together to market Southland offshore as a destination for international students.
Capil, Baldwin, and other Southland principals would travel to places like Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and China on a marketing mission.
Baldwin was a key figure in making it a success, Capil said.
“He was just the rock of that delegation. There can be a few egos involved when you get that many principals together.
“But he made sure it was balanced, that it was objective, and helped me by saying; ‘leave your egos at the door, we are actually here for each other, we are not competing’.
“It was an international marketing alliance that was recognised nationally as the best regional collaboration initiative in the educational space for about a decade. Again, Baldy was instrumental in that.”
Capil also pointed to Baldwin’s work in helping set up the Invercargill Secondary Schools Network Trust as another example of his willingness to roll up his sleeves and help those in the education system.
The Trust’s focus was on helping ‘at risk’ students.
“It was about kids who needed extra support and Baldy was one of those guys that was always there for the underdog and made sure people got a fair deal.”
“He drove the hell out of that and kept people honest and kept them understanding what we were trying to achieve.”
While Baldwin’s legacy as an educator is well known, and will live on, Capil points out Baldwin’s exploits as a rugby coach shouldn’t be overlooked.
He coached the school’s 2nd XV during the 1990s while Clive Williams was in charge of the first XV.
“He was an outstanding coach.”
“Him and Clive taught beside each other, coached the first and second XVs beside each other, and they spent a heap of time chewing the fat on innovations in rugby.
“While Clive was renowned for his coaching skills and record, Baldy was right there with him.
“I will never forget we were on the scrum machine with the first XV and I heard Baldwin, who was coaching the 2nds, yelling out that we are not going home until ‘those mongrels over there on the scrum machine go’ and Clive said; ‘we are not going until they bugger off’, so we had a long night on the scrum machine,” Capil joked.
Baldwin later helped Peter Skelt coach the first XV when players like Mils Muliana, Corey Flynn, and Clarke Dermody came through the school.
In 2017 Baldwin retired from his role as rector at Southland Boys’ High School and retired to Central Otago with family.
In April Baldwin spoke with The Tribune following the death of another former Southland Boys’ High School rector Jack Alabaster.
Baldwin described Alabaster as a mentor. He spent much of his career working under Alabaster.
“He was absolutely a stern person, but deeply compassionate,” Baldwin told The Tribune at the time.
“I am at odds with how some people see schools now. We do have declining standards.
“We do have more and more children who need some certainty in their school environment because the school is the only place where they will get predictability and certainty.
“Jack [Alabaster] provided that, there was certainty. You knew where you stood.
“Yes, he was stern, good on him. Staff and students needed it. His expectations were very explicit, there was no doubt. He was a major force in the school.
“Seriously, we need to stop faffing around in schools now, we need more Jack Alabasters who hold the line. They are not cruel or unkind, they know what they stand for and hold the line.”
While Baldwin at the time was describing Alabaster, he might as well have been providing an insight into himself and his impact as an educator.