St John's students give their principal a rousing haka as he becomes NZ citizen

The kapa haka group from St John's congratulating their principal as a new citizen of New Zealand. Photo / Paul Taylor

Paul Melloy got a rousing hake from his students as he officially became a citizen of New Zealand on Wednesday.

The principal of St John's College in Hastings was one of 42 people who were officially made citizens at a ceremony in Napier. The group hailed from 11 countries.

To the surprise their principal, the kapa haka group from St John's attended the ceremony and, after Melloy had received his certificate, performed a haka for him.

Melloy said he and his wife, Lorraine, whose names appeared in the middle of the programme, thought a mistake had been made when their names were skipped over.

He said it was a total surprise to find out they had been left until the end so a haka could be performed to them straight after.

"It was a total surprise, and very emotional."

Directly before the ceremony, Melloy was in a meeting with some of the boys before a planned school trip to Chile.

He said the meeting had made him run late for the ceremony, so the boys would also have had to rush to make it there on time.

Melloy has been principal of St John's for five years. He and Lorraine met while at university in Scotland, and the couple have lived in New Zealand for 24 years.

In a first for the Napier citizenship ceremony, armed police were stationed as security.

A Napier City Council spokeswoman said it was because at a national level, New Zealand remains under a high security threat.

She said unfortunately that meant events, including citizenship ceremonies, had to have a stepped-up security presence.

The ceremony was presided over by acting mayor Faye White. Councillor Annette Brosnan was MC.

The kapa haka group for William Colenso College also performed, at the start of the ceremony.