The search for three missing climbers on Aoraki/Mt Cook remains on hold and Sevu Reece has been discharged without conviction following an incident at a Cup Day party last year.
Fergus Morunga, departing head boy of Lindisfarne College, was called a “once in a generation head prefect”.
Principal Stuart Hakeney praised Fergus for his service orientation and involvement in various school activities.
Fergus plans to study law and political science at Canterbury University in 2025 with hopes of making a “positive difference”.
Lindisfarne College isn’t keen to say farewell to its departing “once in a generation head prefect”.
Originally from Wairoa, Fergus Morunga, or Ferg to his mates, joined Lindisfarne College as a stuttering year 8 boarder in 2018.
When he arrived at the school he found boundless opportunities to improve himself.
“I loved that and decided to get involved in as many things as possible because I saw coming from Wairoa some people don’t have it as well as they do down here,” Fergus said.
“As my grandfather said to me ‘You’ve got to make the most of your opportunities’, and so that’s what I decided to do.”
He spent his time at the school focusing on academics, learning to play the bagpipes, making movies, participating in sports, volunteering at the Women’s Refuge, and participating in speech competitions and reading sermons at the chapel, both of which helped him build confidence with his stutter.
“I was terribly nervous as a speaker and then once you do more of it you become comfortable – and we’ve got this saying at Lindisfarne, you become comfortable being uncomfortable.”
Outgoing Lindisfarne College Head Prefect Fergus Morunga speaks next to Rector Stuart Hakeney (R). Photo / Rebecca Scerri
But Fergus shared advice relevant to anyone struggling with anything, “just keep going”.
“Just keep pushing outside of your boundaries because you grow outside of your comfort zone.
“We all have our own things that we struggle with and that we find hard ... and the only way to fix them is to keep trying.
“At the end of the day remember they’re a part of you, they’re part of who you are and you might not be able to change that and that’s fine. Live with it, be proud of it, and if you can improve it, improve it – keep challenging yourself.”
Lindisfarne rector Stuart Hakeney called him “a really special young man who is just totally service orientated”.
“The greatest gift you can give others is your time and he has,” Hakeney said.
“He’s always out there on the field at lunchtimes, intervals, he’s in the dorms supporting the boys. He’s very, very special and everybody just loves him and I don’t know how we’re going to let him go, but we’re just going to have to.”
Fergus is heading to Canterbury University in 2025 to study law and political science hoping to find a job where “you get to work with a team to make a positive difference”.
“So yeah, we’ll see where life takes me.”
Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and spent the last 15 years working in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier. He reports on all stories relevant to residents of the region, along with pieces on art, music, and culture.
