Mahnoor Qadri (left), Annabel Robinson were joined by Val Cooney, Marlene Ware, Julienne Taylor, Heather Marks. Photo / George Novak
Mahnoor Qadri (left), Annabel Robinson were joined by Val Cooney, Marlene Ware, Julienne Taylor, Heather Marks. Photo / George Novak
Old embraced new at Tauranga Girls' College yesterday morning as the school's three new houses were revealed.
Six decades of history were celebrated at the special assembly as the school was joined by three of the four original house captains from 1958, when the school split from Tauranga College tocreate Girls' College and Boys' College.
Two existing houses, previously named after men, are being renamed and there is one new house.
The new houses will be named Whina, Sheppard and Te Auetu, after Dame Whina Cooper, Kate Sheppard, and local woman Te Auetu Hall.
Marlene Ware was the first captain at the school for Freyberg house, Julienne Taylor, the Batten house captain, and Valerie Cooney was Mansfield's former house captain, all women were now 79.
Heather Marks, 78, was there on behalf of her "dear friend" in both high school and university, Naera Naumann who was the captain of Rutherford house but had since passed away.
All four women sat around, cheeky hints of house competition were dropped here and there as they excitedly spoke of the moment in history they were now apart of.
Rutherford house will be one of those replaced, and Marks said the move was "appropriate and timely".
Tauranga Girls Colleges' very first house captains with the current house captains. Photo / George Novak
"It's also in the spirit of Rutherford because as a nuclear physicist, he was renowned for always leaping into the future in new directions. And that's what we're doing.
"Walking into the future backward, and drawing into the future all that we had in the past."
Marlene Ware agreed, with her house being renamed, but proud of the move. This was echoed not only by her but by the other women who were there the day the school first opened.
She said the initial move to the new grounds was something she remembered being against. She laughed as she said she would miss the trees and the boys.
Ware said it was amazing to see how far the school had come since her time there, and the responsibility and independence the girls now had was more than they did.
Katherine Mansfield, designed by student Alysha Gill. Supplied
Cooney wore her yellow badge, still intact after 62 years as she proudly paged through a scrapbook titled "A record of Achievements, 1947-1959".
She flipped to a newspaper clipping from the school's very first assembly after separating from Tauranga College in 1958.
She said changing the house names was a "wonderful idea" as she was "all for women".
Taylor, who was captain for Batten, admitted her house was not the sportiest.
Batten was, however, successful in winning debating and oratory cups.
The women spoke to the girls, giving insights into life at the school more than six decades ago.
Mahnoor Qadri (left), Annabel Robinson were joined by Val Cooney, Marlene Ware, Julienne Taylor, Heather Marks. Photo / George Novak
From the impractical rompers, they had to wear for PE and memorable fundraisers to the healthy competition, strengths, and weaknesses of each house at the time.
Laughs, cheers and awws came from the crowd of current students captivated by the old-girls.
Following the words from the women, they were each presented with a current badge of their former houses.
They then held on to a bunch of balloons with the current captains, and symbolically let them go.
Auetu House is still being designed as consultation iwi is still ongoing, designed by student Alysha Gill. Supplied
The day was months in the making, beginning when a school competition started, offering a $500 prize for new house names suggestions.
Year 12 students Mahnoor Qadri and Annabel Robinson's idea to use inspirational New Zealand women won.
Speaking to the assembly, they said they entered the competition because they wanted to see the diversity of the school better reflected within the houses.
"We wanted Tauranga Girls' College students to be able to identify with the houses, be inspired by them, strengthen house spirit, and encourage our students to be the best that they can be."
One-by-one, the girls revealed the houses alongside the new house logos designed by Qadri.
Jean Batten, designed by student Alysha Gill. Supplied
Whina, Sheppard and Te Auetu are the new houses.
There were cheers after each house name was revealed, and when Te Auetu was announced a "yeah" was excitedly called from the crowd. One girl was heard saying "I want to be in that house".
Toni Heke-Ririnui, from Ngāti Ranginui, worked with the school to share the story of Te Auetu and said the move from the school was "progressive".
Kate Sheppard, designed by student Alysha Gill. Supplied
"We felt they were being brave ... they're breaking down the norm. Going to iwi, have a Māori name as a house, and to be a woman at that, is quite progressive.
Te Auetu Harata Hall of Ngāti Ranginui was born at Huria Marae in the 1850s with strong family links to the land the college now stands on.
She was chosen for her bravery as she accompanied her mother - Matatu - to Pukehinahina to aid dying soldiers in the wake of the Battle of Gate Pā.
The school was still working with whanau to learn the story through her descendants who have, and still do, attend the school.
Whina Cooper of Te Rārawa became a national symbol for land rights and social justice for Maori, given the title Te Whaea o te Motu or "Mother of the Nation".
The girls explained to the school Whina was the foundation president of the Maori Women's Welfare League, and dedicated her life to racial harmony.
She led 5000 protesters 1000km from Northland to Parliament in Wellington in 1975 when she was 79 years old.
Dame Whina Cooper, designed by student Alysha Gill. Supplied
The influential member of the New Zealand suffrage movement, Kate Shepphard, was chosen for her passion for learning, advocacy women and children welfare.
She leading the campaign which eventually led to New Zealand women being the first in the world with the right to vote in 1893.
The houses named after prominent New Zealand-raised writer from the 1800s, Katherine Mansfield, and record-breaking Kiwi aviator Jean Batten would remain.
Mansfield would stay the yellow house while Batten was now blue, symbolic of the sky in honour of her achievements.
The two houses with men's names - kept from the pre-1958 co-educational Tauranga College era - were named after physicist Lord Ernest Rutherford, and war hero Lord Bernard Freyberg.
