New hope for flood struck college

By Chris Marshall

Chill air and a heavy frost heralded a new era for Tauhara College last week as the college’s first new block in a major rebuild opened with a dawn ceremony.

The building includes staff room and administration, technology and science and has been gifted the name Waimarie by Ngati Hineure and Ngati Hinerau.

In opening, principal Ben Hancock admitted he had written two speeches for the day, one with a message about the hope, opportunity and possibilities that the building represented, the other with a theme of warning about the negative impacts that can occur when politics/politicians become involved in education, and the consequences for generations of students.

He then embarked on the first – “because that is what Waimarie represents – hope.” 

“This building is not just a response to what happened to us. It is a statement about what we still believe is possible for our rangatahi, and about the future we are determined to help them shape.”

He said the downpour and flood in late November 2020 changed the direction of the school.

“In those early days, the response was not always what we had hoped for from our support team. At one point… we were told ‘we supplied you with dehumidifiers, use them to dry it out’. 

“As it turned out, things were a little more complicated than that.”

However, over time, he said, the journey had become more structured and purposeful – though he did hint at potential challenges ahead.

“Today, a mere five years later, we are standing in the first of our new buildings – I say buildings – continuing the theme of hope.” 

It had been a testing journey of “perseverance, survival, combat, patience, frustration, resilience, and belief,” he said.

The school had worked with five different Ministry of Education delivery managers, five ministry property advisors, five ministry senior advisors, and three project managers. There had been countless meetings, design conversations, delays, changes, questions, frustrations, and problem-solving sessions.

However, he did thank several individuals as well as the construction company Livingstone Builders, which had also built the school’s two temporary ‘villages’, upgraded the hall and redeveloped the school’s gym.

Waimarie’s deeper story, Hancock recounted, reflected a hapū narrative of Onekeneke Stream.

“The story begins with our maunga, Tauhara, and follows the flow of water down past the school and the marae, before finally entering the lake. Through this narrative, we came to understand more deeply the importance of Onekeneke to hapū, and the impact that development has had upon it over time.”

The learning that would take place inside the building is connected to that story, he says.

“Our hope is that the rangatahi who learn here will not only gain knowledge and skills but also understand their responsibility to the world around them, to the whenua, to the wai, to their community, and to the generations who will follow.”

Waimarie was not just the building’s name, he says, but a reminder of what they want for every young person who comes through Tauhara College.

“We want them to be connected, confident, curious, resilient, and hopeful. We want them to leave us with the skills to contribute positively to their whānau, their community, and the wider world.

“Today, we open more than a block of classrooms. We open a new chapter in the life of Tauhara College.”

In closing he acknowledged the perseverance and commitment of the school’s staff, Board of Trustees and leadership team who had continued to put the interests of students first.

Those in attendance at the dawn ceremony included Reverend Tumanako Moke, the school’s kapa haka group, principal Ben Hancock, staff representatives, hapū from Waipahihi Marae, Ngāti Hinerau, Ngāti Hineure and representatives from construction company Livingstone Building NZ.

They were joined at the later ceremony by others including former principals, staff and students, Board of Trustees members, Ministry of Education representatives, project partners, current staff, students, whānau, Taupō mayor John Funnell and deputy mayor Kevin Taylor.

The new administration, science and technology building.

Ben Hancock

Reverend Tumanako Moke, the school’s kapa haka group and others contribute to the blessing on Wednesday.