 In September 1903, Helen McKee and her mother relocated their boarding and day school for girls, Avonside College, from Inveresk (the former dwelling of John Anderson) to Linwood House. Helen McKee was a daughter of the highly esteemed Rev. David McKee, who came to New Zealand in January 1880 as the first vicar of North Belt Church (later known as Knox Church). The Reverend died after only ten months in New Zealand, though. The congregation provided generously for his widow and her children, and at some point, his wife started a school. Helen McKee became a pupil teacher at Riccarton School in 1887. Avonside College remained at Linwood House until 1911, when it relocated to Rhodes Street and was renamed Meriden College.
