Mr. Gerrit Van Asch, Director of the School for Deaf Mutes at Sumner, was born in Holland in 1836, and received his education in different parts of his native land. He was specially trained at Rotterdam with a view to his life-work, the teaching and training of deaf mutes. He visited several of the most important schools of Europe and especially those for articulation and lipreading in Germany. He went to England in 1859 by agreement, and there he introduced the pure articulation system by opening and carrying on a private establishment for the education of deaf mutes in a suburb of Manchester, avoiding all signs and finger language and employing spoken language and lip-reading only as a means of instruction and communication. Mr. Van Asch removed his school to Barnet, Herts, at a later date, and afterwards to Kensington, London, where he continued his work till October, 1879. Having been appointed in England by the Government of New Zealand, he came to this Colony in the latter year by the ship “Scottish Prince,” and having visited various parts of New Zealand, page 160 Mr. Van Asch selected Summer as suitable for the temporary establishment of the institution, technical instruction not being thought of at that time. Mr. Van Asch opened the institution in person, and the present staff of teachers has been instructed and trained by him. He is an enthusiast in his work, and is at all times willing to gratutiously advise parents having afflicted children between the ages of four and seven as to the best mode of treating them. Mr. Van Asch was married in 1866 to a daughter of Mr. C. Drury, of Sunderland, and has five sons and four daughters.