Kawakawa Primary School set to celebrate 150 years

Kawakawa Primary School's kapa haka group will perform on both days of the celebration. Photo / NZME

One-hundred and fifty years have passed since Kawakawa Primary School first opened the doors of its coal mining building to welcome students.

And to mark the momentous milestone, the school is hosting a two-day celebration on Friday and Saturday that showcases the best of its hospitality.

The school has grown in size since its 1873 beginning. As of July last year, it boasted 175 students. The list of past students includes notable names such as All Blacks great Jack Goodhue, Labour deputy leader Kelvin Davis, and former Silver Ferns shooter Cathrine Tuivaiti (nee Latu).

At one time the district high school was part of the primary school until it was moved to Derrick Rd and renamed Bay of Islands College.

The school’s humble beginning is a reminder of Kawakawa’s roots as a 19th-century bustling industrial town that had the biggest coal mining operation in the North Island. Commercial mining ended in the early 1900s due to repeated flooding. Locals, however, kept extracting coal for their own use until the 1920s, when the shafts were permanently sealed.

Kawakawa was also home to the first railway in the North Island - a horse-drawn tramway for transporting coal to a river landing opened in 1868 - and missed out on laying claim to New Zealand’s first railway only by matter of weeks.

The scheduled celebrations include a pōwhiri on Friday at 10am followed by the opportunity to walk through the classrooms to meet current students and spot old photos and memorabilia along the way. At 12pm, the school kapa haka group is set to perform.

The festivities continue into Saturday, starting at 10am with games, a chance to add to the 150-year mural, cake cutting, more kapa haka performances, a train ride, dinner, and dancing all on offer.

For more information about the events visit the school’s website: www.kawakawaprimary.co.nz