NELSON COLLEGE was not co-ed, but two colleges

* BOYS COLLEGE (opened with 8 students in 1856)
* GIRLS COLLEGE (opened with 68 pupils in 1883)

DELIGHTFUL DANCE
Evening Post - September 7 1935
... The dance held last night in St Francis Hall, (Hill Street, Thorndon), by the Wellington branches of the Nelson College Old Girls' and Old Boys' Association was a most cheerful affair. There was an excellent orchestra and the hall was crowded. Of course all the extra decorations (which always supply the necessary indivicual touch to any dance, but are scarcely needed otherwise in this attractive hall) were in the college colours, dark and light blue. Scolloped balances of crepe paper in these colours were attached to the five hugh parchment shades suspended in the centre of the ballroom and cast a pleasing light on the dancers. Panels of streamers were hung on the walls between the tall windows, and streamers, spring flowers and foliage, a college crest, and a white shield bearing the name "Nelson" in blue letters decorated the stage and showed up well against the rich red velvet hangings. There was much more accommodation for sitting out in the ballroom on this occasion as cabaret tables with comfortable chairs grouped about them were arranged all around the hall. Each table had a little centre piece of dark and light blue.
The supper room looked very gay. Silver [url-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epergne]epergnes[/url] filled with orange and yellow paper chrysanthemums and birch decorated the tables, fringes of orange and yellow streamers hung over the archways, and there were paper garlands overhead.

Mrs Camille Malfroy (president of the Old Girls' Association in Wellington) and Mr Malfroy were present; also Miss Lorimer (patron of the associaiton and ex principal of the college). Mr B. A. Moore (president of the Old Boys' Association) and Mrs Moore, and Miss Ethel Christie (secretary of the parent branch in Nelson). Mrs Malfroy wore a graceful black satin frock with a train and a shoulder spray of cyclamen and maidenhair fern, which was presented to her by the committee. Miss Lorimer, who was also presented with a shoulder spray, wore deep burgundy lace, and Mrs B. A. Moore's frock was of black chiffon

The combined dance committee comprised:
? Miss Eileen MURPHY, secretary, who wore black figured crepe marocain with crystal shoulder straps and a black velvet coatee
? Mrs H. JOWETT, cherry georgette, diamante studded
? Mrs C. L. MALONEY, figured crepe
? Mrs L. NELSON, liberty-figured georgette
? Miss Tiora MEADOWS, deep green flat crepe trimmed with gold lame
? Mr A. N. DAVIES, Secretary
? Alan MOSS
? R. SAMSON
? C. W. HOLDSWORTH

AMONG THOSE PRESENT
MARRIED
? Mr and Mrs Harry ATKINSON
? Mr and Mrs L. R. BAIGENT
? Mr and Mrs J. A. BRUCE
? Mr and Mrs James CABLE
? Mr and Mrs CAMPBELL
? Mr and Mrs COMPARINI
? Mr and Mrs J. GILCHRIST
? Mr and Mrs Harold le G. HOLTHOUSE
? Mr and Mrs L. HUNTER, Masterton
? Mr and Mrs H. JOWETT
? Mr and Mrs F. KING
? Mr and Mrs W. S. LAWN
? Mr and Mrs W. LEIGHTON
? Mr and Mrs C. L. MALONEY
? Mr and Mrs Grenfell MORGAN
? Mr and Mrs Alan MOSS
? Mr and Mrs R. MOWAT
? Mr and Mrs L. NELSON
? Mr and Mrs E. P. NORMAN
? Mr and Mrs R. PALMER
? Mrs Robert PEARSON
? Mr and Mrs PETHERICK
? Mr and Mrs E. ROTHWELL
? Mr and Mrs Harry Louis Percy SMITH, Railways District Engineer all over NZ, Auckland, Napier, Greymouth, Wellington, Invercargill. He married Isabella Lamberton COCHRANE in 1916
? Mr and Mrs S. TAYLOR
? Mr and Mrs Percy SMITH
? Mr and Mrs A. C. WILLIAMS
? Mr and Mrs G. L. WILLS
? Mrs P. H. WRIGHT

MISSES
? Dr Helen Beatrix BAKEWELL (house surgeon at Palmerston North, acting director of school hygiene, school medical officer for the Hutt district, also wrote papers on the Mental Hygiene of Childhood). Born 28 Feb 1898, Helen was the daughter of Frederick Haslam Freschville Bakewell & Helen Mary Brown. She graduated from Otago Univeristy M.B. Ch.B. in 1920. Her father was a school teacher in Marlborough in 1893, later appointed first assistant master at Thorndon & later headmaster at Greytown. Helen had 2 brothers, Dr Robert Frescheville Bakewell in Christcuhrch & Dr Roger Anker Frescheville Bakewell in Petone - read also The Freschevilles
? A. BARLOW
? Mildred BOYD-WILSON
? Miss BROWN
? J. BURNETT
? Nola CABLE
? Joan CAMPBELL
? D. and J. CARADUS
? Noel COCHRANE
? V. COLEMAN
? Miss COWLES
? Miss CHRISTIE, Nelson
? Jean CROUCHER
? Marion CROUCHER
? M. DAVIS
? K. DICK
? Lorna DONNE
? Joan ELLISON
? M. ENRIGHT
? Flo FISHER
? Jessie FORBES
? Helen GARDNER
? D. GERARD
? M. GIBSON
? Joy GILL
? Thyra GILL
? Barbara GILLESPIE
? Nancy GILLESPIE
? Lois GOLDSMITH
? Betty HAINES
? Kath HODGSON
? Miss HOGG
? Peggy HOGG
? Yvonne HOLMES
? H. HURLE
? R. JACK
? M. JACK
? E. JELLANDS
? Lorna KESSELL
? June LUCKIE
? Molly MACASSEY
? E. MacLEAN
? Monica MALFROY
? Nancy MEINHOLD
? Sheila MEREDITH
? Val MAUDSLEY
? V. MATTHEWS
? Mancy MEINHOLD
? Gwen MILLER
? Pat MUNRO
? Joyce MURPHY
? J. NALDER
? Juliet NATHAN
? B. PATON
? D. PETHERICK
? J. PURDIE
? Audrey RANDALL
? Zita ROWE
? Margaret SALMOND
? M. SHEPHERD
? Joan SMITH
? Janet STELLE
? Jo SWAN
? Lorna THOMPSON
? Ruth TOWNLEY
? V. TRIESTER
? E. TROUTBECK
? Betty WATERS
? Dianna WATERS
? Nancy WATERS
? M. WELLS
? Peggy WRIGHT
? Miss VICKERY
? S. YATES

MESSRS
? H. N. AVERY
? J. BALHARRY
? C. N. BIRKS
? W. R. BIRKS
? Gordon BLYTHE
? B. BOYD-WILSON
? J. H. BUDDLE
? J. O. BURNETT
? D. CAREY
? O. CIMINO
? G. O. COOPER
? J. S. COWLES
? K. K. COWLES
? D. B. DALLAS
? N. G. DAYSH
? G. DICK
? A. DUNCAN
? K. DUNCE
? Mr FERGUSON
? F. J. FOOT
? Jack FOOT
? F. FORDHAM
? D. GERRAD
? F. GOWER
? John GRANGER
? B. GREIG
? D. H. GRIFFIN
? C. L. HENDERSON
? Lance HIGGINS
? A. HILL
? H. HILLS
? Ray HOLLIS
? J. G. HOLMES
? R. JACK
? W. JACK
? K. JEFFERY
? Mervyn JONES
? O. F. JOHNS
? R. JOSEPHSON
? R. KELLER
? Ian KIRKCALDIE
? A. LAWSON
? Athol LAWSON
? A. LEWIS
? B. NATHAN
? H. NEWBERRY
? J. G. MacLEAN
? R. H. MacLEAN
? Denis McGRATH
? Pat McGRATH
? H. M. McINTOSH
? S. McLEAN
? D. F. McLEOD
? R. W. MITCHEL
? J. P. MULES
? J. de MUTH
? W. L. MURPHY
? M. NATHAN
? Owen NICHOLLS
? A. PETHERICK
? J. PETHERICK
? R. RAWLINSON
? J. H. REANY
? C. REDWOOD
? R. ROY
? B. RYDE
? J. SHELLY
? A. R. SIMM
? P. F. SIMM
? J. SIMPSON
? Mr SLADDEN
? K. G. SMITH
? J. THODY
? C. TOSSMAN
? R. TOWNLEY
? Alan WARDELL, Masterton
? I. WATT
? Q. WRIGHT
? Jock WYLIE

PHOTO
Nelson Boys College c1890
taken from Foundation and History of Nelson College