Former Tamatea High School teacher Graeme Lister remembered for his lasting impact

Former Tamatea High School art teacher Graeme Lister is being remembered by his past students, family and former colleagues as quick-witted, friendly and genuine.

Lister died on Friday, April 25, aged 74. His funeral was on Wednesday.

Tributes flowed on social media from his past students, with one commenter describing Lister as “That Robin Williams Dead Poets’ Society teacher”, while another suggested a mural be made in his honour.

Lister’s older sister, Christine Edwards, said his passion for his students stayed with him right until he retired from teaching in 2014.

Former Tamatea High School art teacher Graeme Lister died on April 25, 2025.

“He retired before he turned 65, simply because he didn’t want the kids to have a broken term with a new teacher.”

She said the following year, in May 2015, Lister had a stroke before he was able to celebrate his 65th birthday.

“He was not supposed to have survived it, it was so massive ... and he did for 10 years, but he has been in care for that entire time.”

She said their family of four siblings grew up in Greenmeadows, and Lister, who was born premature, “was always the smallest”.

“He had a very ordinary childhood, lots of fun, lots of freedom.”

He later moved to Matamata to make it as an artist before he returned to Hawke’s Bay to spend his entire teaching career at Tamatea High.

“He had a passion for art and and passion for people and wanted to extend the kids’ knowledge.”

She described him as quirky and said her brother never married or had children.

Family gave him a bright blue coffin, and his funeral was well attended.

Luke Harris, head boy of 2012, had Lister as his house teacher and, while he didn’t have him as an art teacher, he said Lister still managed to make an impact on his life.

“Even if you weren’t a student of his, he’d find a way to be connected to the other students.”

He said Lister would greet “every single student on his way to class” and ask how they were.

“Every memory and every time you saw him was a good one - he was a great guy to see around and make your day.

“I had a lot of respect for the fact that he involved himself with things that were out of his comfort zone.”

Tamatea High School posted on social media, acknowledging Lister’s 33 years of teaching.

“Tamatea High became part of his DNA.”

The post said Lister retired from the school in 2014, but outlined how his influence would not be forgotten.

“He was a creative genius able to paint, sculpt, draw, photograph, carve and build beautiful objects. Graeme was ‘that teacher’ that students remembered and asked after.”

Graeme Lister at the opening of the new mural he designed and painted on Tamatea Community Police Station in 2014.

The post said Lister could turn his hand to many things and worked hard for the students.

“Graeme worked tirelessly to build our school waka and delighted in the joy that Waka Day gave all who took part.”

He designed and printed T-shirts for his beloved Tawa House, encouraged and helped students to design and create the colourful murals that were a feature of the school, and designed and painted the mural on the Tamatea Police Station.

He also created paint backdrops for the school ball, productions, organised a ski trip, and edited the school magazine.

“Tamatea High is sad to have lost such a special member of our whānau. We send our love to his family, who have lost a very special man.”

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based in the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.