Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today / Hastings Leader

Karamū High School students from the 70s set to return decades later

Hastings Leader
4 Aug, 2024 11:29 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Jacqui Kiddle (left), Leyette Callister and Jonathan Hensman are planning for Karamu High School's 1970s reunion celebrations.

Jacqui Kiddle (left), Leyette Callister and Jonathan Hensman are planning for Karamu High School's 1970s reunion celebrations.

Decades have passed since the 1970s, yet the connection between Karamū High School and its former students remains.

Hastings’ first co-ed school will host two days of events on September 6 and 7 for anyone who attended in the 70s.

After the success of the 2022 foundation event, which celebrated its foundation year, 1962, and the following decade, the 1960s, June Clark, a long-serving teacher and former deputy principal, said the school wanted to welcome the second decade of students back.

Following a similar format as the 60s celebration, the 70s event will include a mix and mingle session held on the Friday, off-site, and a morning of events held at the school on Saturday, followed by a dinner off-site in the evening.

“It gives former students an opportunity to reconnect with the school and their peers, share memories and see what’s changed, but it is also very beneficial for current students,” Clark said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The keen organising committee of Jonathan Hensman, Jacqui Kiddle and Leyette Callister (née Braid) have been tasked with contacting ex-students.

Long-serving staff member Wayne Wooster is in the process of tracking down and reaching out to former staff.

Clark said the group intend to continue the tradition by celebrating a decade every two years, ending with the 2000s in 2030. Then, in 2037, for the 75th jubilee, they will celebrate with everyone.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The 1970s saw profound growth for the school both in terms of the buildings and students, with attendance consistently above 1000.

Foundation principal Norm Wilde finished his tenure in 1971 and was replaced by Bob McGarvey, who held the position through to 1985.

By 1974, Karamū was the largest school in Hawke’s Bay, and among the top 12 largest in the country.

Prefab buildings were delivered to accommodate the large school roll until the second half of D Block, which provided four classrooms, a Biology Lab, and a Technical Drawing Room, was completed.

In 1979, the High School’s Board of Trustees was formed.

Principal Dionne Thomas, a former student herself, said it is important to keep the connection alive with former staff and students.

The Tira Ora Karamū Alumni Association was formed in 2020 to maintain the strong bonds between the school and its community.

“Tira Ora” is the name given to the branch of the Karamū tree.

“Anyone who attended either as a student or on staff is forever a branch of the Karamū tree, and we urge you to stay connected,” Thomas said.

Anyone who attended Karamū High School in the 1970s can email tiraora@karamu.school.nz or register at this link: https://forms.office.com/r/EvnDmwpCDu

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hastings Leader

Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

Operation Sphinx: How undercover officers cracked the Ariki Rigby gang-related murder

11 Apr 07:00 PM
Central Hawke's Bay Mail

Hawke’s Bay’s shearers' golden moments at the Golden Shears

03 Mar 01:42 AM
Hastings Leader

Hastings Boys' High Building Academy excited for changes coming in 2025

15 Dec 11:29 PM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hastings Leader

Premium
Operation Sphinx: How undercover officers cracked the Ariki Rigby gang-related murder

Operation Sphinx: How undercover officers cracked the Ariki Rigby gang-related murder

11 Apr 07:00 PM

Top cop: 'I was always confident that we were going to get Mr Heremaia.'

Hawke’s Bay’s shearers' golden moments at the Golden Shears

Hawke’s Bay’s shearers' golden moments at the Golden Shears

03 Mar 01:42 AM
Hastings Boys' High Building Academy excited for changes coming in 2025

Hastings Boys' High Building Academy excited for changes coming in 2025

15 Dec 11:29 PM
How one viral photo unlocked the story of a Hawke’s Bay man many ignore

How one viral photo unlocked the story of a Hawke’s Bay man many ignore

15 Dec 10:07 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP