Cyclone Gabrielle-hit Omahu School may return two years sooner than expected

Omahu School could be back in Omahu in Term 1 of 2024 after the Ministry of Education first predicted up to a three-year wait. Photo / Warren Buckland

The distant dream of a return to their cyclone-hit school grounds has just become far closer for Omahu School.

Only a month ago, students and staff faced the prospect of up to a three-year wait before they could return to their much-missed home campus.

They have been working from the gymnasium at Irongate School since Cyclone Gabrielle.

The school was able to announce in a newsletter this month that the school could be back to Omahu in term one of 2024.

“In conjunction with the Ministry of Education, at last week’s board meeting, we were informed that the ministry is working towards moving Omahu School back to Omahu in Term One 2024,” the newsletter said.

“Please continue to watch this space as the board deliberates with key people in terms of what now needs to happen.”

Principal Te Kewena White said he wanted to acknowledge the hard work of the Ministry of Education in getting to this point.

“It [the process] has been like a time machine, it has gone so fast,” White said.

He said the news of a quicker return was great from a student and community point of view, with their tentative return schedule now in time for the school’s 125th anniversary.

He said he and the rest of the school were thankful to Flaxmere College for their offer to host the school starting from Term 4.

The school now plans to stay at Irongate School until the end of the year.

Jocelyn Mikaere, MoE hautū (deputy secretary) for Te Tai Whenua (Central), said recent clarification provided by the local council around the classification of land has enabled them to review their plans for the remediation of the Omahu School site.

“Omahu School expressed a strong desire to return to the site as soon as possible and to be a part of the overall Omahu community remediation plan,” Mikaere said.

“We intend to facilitate this by refurbishing the school’s library, which suffered minimal damage after Cyclone Gabrielle, and once remediated, utilising it as temporary teaching spaces.”

She said that would allow Omahu to return to working on the school site while the rest of it was fixed.

She said the overall school remediation project may still take two to three years to complete.

James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible for audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz