landscape

Otahuhu Primary School
Te Kura Tuatahi Otahuhu
1858-2018
Onehunga, Panmure and Howick.

He wahi tutaki mo nga tamariki o te ao The village of Otahuhu where the fencibles from the Ann were to live,
(A meeting place for children of the world) comprised of an area of 400 acres boarded by Fairburn Road, Hutton
Street Atkinson Avenue and Luke Street.

On the 15th May 1848, the sailing ship Ann arrived at the Waitemata As the bigger percentage of these ex-soldiers were labourers of the Irish
Harbour, with the sixth detachment of the Royal New Zealand Fencibles and English stock, they were set to work by the government doing public
and their families on board. The Fencibles came to New Zealand to provide works, mainly building roads, for which they were paid in small sum of
a defence force against possible invasion by southern Maori. The Fencibles three shillings and sixpence. Later this included the construction of the
and their families were to live in one of the four villages of Otahuhu, Great South Road and the stone Tamaki Bridge on Otahuhu’s southern
boundary.

Two years later, by 1850, there were 96 children under the age of seven but it was not until 9th August 1858, under the instruction of Mr. I.R.
in the Fencible community. Because their fathers were duty bound to Williams, that official school classes started. The parents were obliged to
attend church parades, which their children also attended, the Anglican pay a small sum of money for their child’s education and in order for the
Church authority felt that a school was necessary to cater for the education school to be subsidised by the Education Board, the curriculum had to
of these youngsters. By 1851, classes were held at the Anglican Church include, English Grammar, Geography, History and Spelling.
building, where the Reverend S. WARD fulfilled the dual role of Minister
and schoolmaster. During the first 14 years of school existence, from 1862-1865, classes were
suspended for a number of reasons: “the terrible muddy condition of the
In 1856, the Anglican Church Committee advertised for a schoolmaster, roads and therefore lack of attendance of the students,” and “Mr WILLIAMS
being out of pocket financially” and also “possible invasion of the district
during the Waikato Wars.”

Mr BURNS took over when school resumed in 1865 and although he did
not stay for long, he became the second of several headmasters to oversee
the education of hundreds of children. The first Otahuhu District School
was sited on the corner of the Great South Road and Station Road.

Those early years provided no luxuries, with bare floors, large classrooms

and many students in a room and a teacher with a hickory stick for (1889-1894) both contributed to the education of the children at Otahuhu.
misdemeanors. The younger girls wore ‘mother hubbard’ aprons over Mr ARMSTRONG was described as a ‘guiding influence'.
their outdoor clothes, boots on their feet, their hair often in plaits or
tied up with a ribbon. The boys often wore caps, some were barefooted, Mr Tom dummy text dummy WILSON accepted the position in 1894.
while others wore boots and knee high socks, with pants reaching down He was tedteyikjak keenly interested in horticulture and
to the top of their socks. the Junior Cadet Movement. At the beginning of
1902, this ldfsjdkfj new discipline was implemented into
Even with the Education Board’s small contribution, the amount received schools for Standard 5 and 6 boys. Known
was not really enough to support a teacher. Still under the administration as the New Zealand Junior Cadets, the boys
of the Church Committee this situation continued for about fourteen took this activity very seriously and the younger
years, until the Otahuhu District School Committee was elected in 1872. boys were eager to follow in their footsteps.
The Anglican Church then relinquished it responsibility. Classes were Otahuhu Primary School had such a unit under
then held in the Otahuhu Public Hall from 1873-1874. The Church Hall the command of Mr BULLEN.
was the rented for the following two years at £12 per annum.
One of Mr WILSON's pupils was Harold
Up until 1872, headmasters only stayed for a few months each, partly
because of the low pay. The wages were determined by the number of CLARK who began school in 1907. Mr
children attending school and if the absenteeism was high, then the
headmaster’s financial situation suffered. Harold CLARK, (now in his 106th year),

The role of headmaster from 1873 to 1880 was filled by Mr WANNUP passed his Standard VI Proficiency
and in the Inspector of Schools report in 1875 the number of children
in attendance had risen to 109. In 1878 a ‘penny saving bank’ was Certificate in 1915. In 1919 Dulcie
established at the school. The children brought along their money and
Miss GOULD the assistant teacher recorded the the amount, and by the NICHOLLS, started at Otahuhu Primary
end of that first year, £6 had been deposited, by the 50 children in the
scheme. Being thrifty was an important part of the children’s education. and gained her Standard VI Proficiency

Messrs T.H. BLANDFORD (1880-1889) and James ARMSTRONG Certificate in 1920. (They married in

1929 in the Otahuhu Methodist Church). Mr CLARK's

memory is still exceptionally good and he has fond recall

of his days at the Otahuhu School. He is the school's oldest living ex-pupil.

Sadly Mrs CLARK died on the 24th July 2008 in her 102nd year.

Mr Harold CLARK still remembers Mr BULLEN's Cadet Unit, which "wore

L-R: Sr. Aimee,
SSre.aMteadr:iaM. other Mary

uniforms consisting of Glengarry caps with Sr. Hildegarde (left) with Sr. Aimee
tassels, navy blue jerseys with epaulettes main corridor. A live musketry competition for Auckland schools was
printed with New Zealand Junior Cadets, held annually and Otahuhu Primary always did very well, much to the
navy blue shorts, black stockings with double pleasure of Mr BULLEN."
red bands and black boots. A colour sergeant
wearing a red-fringed sash was in charge and With the advent of World War One in 1914, the then government decided
a bugler completed the unit. Dummy rifles to disband the cadet units, to the disappointment of the boy pupils and
were used in training and when not in use, Mr CLARK.
were placed neatly in a rack in the old school's
Twenty-five years later, when World War Two commenced in 1939, the
Home Guard was formed and the volunteers used to gather on the football
field to practice marching when school was closed for the weekend. At
the swimming pool end of the football ground was a wooden shelter-shed
with a small locked room attached. Stacked inside were the `dummy

The Community with some more Sisters in brown serge (woollen attire)
Seated (L-R): unknown, Sr. Aimee, Mother Mary, Sr.
Maria, Sr. Bonoza. Standing (L-R) Sr. Hildegarde,
Sr. Marita, Sr. Olga, Sr. Columbelle, unknown, Sr. Gratian, Sr. Clement
Mary

Mrs. Margaret Nazareth

Miss Lilla D'Souza Miss Anna Drego

Mrs. Eidel Rebello

Miss Vicky Dias

Miss Cynthia D’So

rifles' the Junior Cadets had used all those years ago. They were resurrected, 40-feet deep, it was decided to cover it over with a concrete
dusted down and used to 'arm' the Home Guards. slab, before anyone else fell in.

Mr WILSON left in 1916 and was succeeded by Mr A.J.C.HALL, who was an At the end of 1921, the School Committee decided to run
"earnest advocate in the promotion of education". He served for a term of five a fundraising Queen Carnival. In 1922, five Queens were
years until 1921, when Mr A. MURDOCH became headmaster. selected and the Education Board promised to match
whatever was raised, with a £ for £ subsidy. They were
When Mr MURDOCH was appointed to Otahuhu, the headmaster's house was somewhat surprised when £1,090 was raised. The Queen,
at the end of the football field, although it was little more than a paddock. who won the carnival by raising the most money, was Miss
Because the previous headmaster, Mr A.J.C. HALL, had lived in Auckland, Norine McGEEHAN.
he had let the school house to the Otahuhu policeman, Constable MOSS, who
had stored equipment and chaff in one room of the house while the police The Education Board proposed to build a new school of ten
horses and a house cow shared the paddock. After the Education Board had rooms, but by the time the new school opened in 1925, only
sorted out the problem, Mr MURDOCH moved his wife and family to their new three rooms had been finished. Although the old school
home in April 1921. In the meantime he travelled by train from Newmarket to was advertised for auction, it's possible there was few or no
Otahuhu and walked up from the station in time to take Pupil Teacher classes bidders, because it was eventually demolished. The original
at 8 a.m., before school commenced each day. site on the Great South Road was divided into 14 sections

The well outside the schoolmaster's house was originally used by the Fencibles and sold by auction in 1927.
and a second one was sited near the Infant Department.
The headmaster's wife, Mrs The Infant Department, which was sited on the
Ivy MURDOCH, had a left of the stone gates on the Great South Road,
lucky escape one night. was then moved on skids to the western edge
She fell through the rotting of the property. Although six of the proposed
timber beams which covered
the well, but fortunately ten rooms were to be built at the same time
managed to hang on until she as the Infant Department extensions, the
was rescued. As the well was latter was completed first. Two rooms were
added and the official opening ceremony for

the Infant Department and the Memorial
Gates was performed on 17th October
1925. (Although the Infant Block is still in
use, the roof has been replaced. It is now

a multifunctional building, featuring a

classroom; an information centre, including library, computer suite; a Three tennis courts were laid, and a playing field levelled and grassed. This
teacher resource centre; and Resource Teacher offices). was used for rugby in the winter and cricket during the summer months. The
students enjoyed taking part in various sports, which included swimming,
Towards the end of 1926, the brick additions to the Standard Block were athletics and physical education. Some ex-pupils can still remember doing
finally completed and the opening ceremony was held on the 10m March exercises out on the football field and marching into school to 'Colonel
1927. Because of a great increase in pupil numbers, the tenth room was Bogey's March' played on the gramophone.
added a year later.
Sport always played an integral part in school
During the next twenty or so years, the class room floors were oiled, the
free-milk-in-schools scheme was introduced, cocoa was supplied in the activities and learning to play fairly and Over the
winter, apples were distributed to the pupils (when they were in season),
and health nurses made annual visits. accept the wins and losses was considered years, the Otahuhu

The motto of the school was 'SERVICE', not just to the school, but to the an important part of sportsmanship and School pupils were
town as well. Pride in one's own achievements and those of the school,
was also encouraged. competitive integrity. Over the years, the particularly successful

In the early 1900s the Manual Training Block was built. The 'household Otahuhu School pupils were particularly at basketball and
management' room was added in about 1909. It was here, that Standard 5
and 6 boys were taught woodwork and the girls were taught to cook. Other successful at basketball and rugby. They rugby
schools from Manurewa, Panmure and Papatoetoe sent their standard 5
and 6 students to the school for half-day lessons. Mr Bill MORTON taught also won the Primary Schools' Athletic Shield
the woodwork classes and Miss PORTER, followed by Mrs HERBISON
taught the cooking classes. (This block is now called the Otahuhu Primary three years running. When Teddy HEDGE, Dave
Technology Centre, and sewing has been added to the curriculum.) This
practice continued even after the introduction of decapitation, which COCHRANE and Dorothy REEVES were star performers in the 1927
meant that Otahuhu Standard 5 and 6 students were no longer taught at
the primary school. Primary School Tennis Association competitions, the school was extremely

proud of their success and their photo is still hanging in the school.

In 1936, six Otahuhu students won the Junior Relay Championship at
the Auckland Primary Schools Amateur Athletic Association meeting.
Another great coup for the school!

There were also school Sports Houses - Arawa (Blue), Aotea (Green),
Tainui (Yellow) and Takitimu (Red) - named after four of the Maori
canoes and illustrated on a chart on Miss KIDD's Standard 4 room wall.

The Auckland War Memorial Museum was always a source of information

The School akjdkfajdf

The aviary was stocked with budgerigars, canaries, zebra finches, java

for all ages and visits were arranged for the pupils. The museum also sparrows, African Love birds and Rosella parrots. A propagating house

loaned some of their display cases of butterflies and insects to the school was also built, and the plants grown were used for the school gardens.

and these were used in classrooms, where cases were changed regularly The fernery was constructed of rocks, and both of these buildings were

for variety. In the corridor near the headmaster's study were shelves with used in a teaching capacity.

glass doors, where science equipment was stored. The senior teachers and

the headmaster were able to demonstrate simple experiments for classroom During the 1920s, pupil absences were quite significant, partly due to

study and participation. contagious diseases such as diphtheria, typhoid and impetigo. To help

reduce the spread of germs from pupils drinking from communal school

Many ex-students will recall the shelter sheds, the furnace room, the taps, bubble fountains were constructed by the caretaker, Mr WEIR and

Samuel Luke Memorial, (now in Otahuhu town centre), the cairn at the the headmaster, Bert MURDOCH.

Station Road gates and of course the Dental Clinic, or 'murder house', built

in 1929. No doubt Nurses TOLLERTON followed by Nurse WAIN would In 1930, the Education Board decided to introduce ‘decapitation', which

not have appreciated the description. involved transferring Standards Five and Six away from the Otahuhu

Primary School in order to start the Otahuhu Junior High School on

Some of the pupils were taken to Mount Richmond for a history lesson and Mangere Road, Otahuhu. (Some time later the junior school became

shown where the Maori pa and terraces had once been. Both the TamakMi r. adfakdnfoswadnfdas Otahuhu Technical High School and then Otahuhu College).

Estuary and the Manukau Harbour were pointed out and the children

were shown where the Tainui Canoe had been dragged, from east to west As the town grew, the main street was lined with businesses and several

hundreds of years before. (Some years later, a stone with an inscription industries, such as the Railway Workshops, Challenge Phosphate and

to mark the portage of the Tainui Canoe, was erected on the corner of Kempthorne Prosser, were established close to the Otahuhu Railway

Atkinson Avenue and Portage Road). Station. Progress meant the Otahuhu residents went from walking or

travelling in a horse drawn buggy, to using bicycles, trains and buses.

A sandpit and sun dial were erected and, during the 1930s depression, men Very few working people owned a car. All these new industries brought

on the No.13 Relief Scheme built a concrete relief map of New Zealand and more working class families into the district and consequently more

Australia, in front of the aviary. children were enrolled in the school.

This work was under the jurisdiction of the caretaker Mr Harry WEIR. The Otahuhu Primary School was one of the first schools to have school
Otahuhu School map provided the opportunity for some geography lessons banking, introduced by the Auckland Savings Bank and Bible in Schools
and the sandpit kept the primer children occupied in the lunchtime breaks.

by local ministers was also held. apart in later years.

Ex-pupil, Mr Rae RANKIN, remembers that in 1935, at the end of the Great Around 1944, a swimming pool was constructed in the north-west corner
Depression, the Chairman of the School Committee was Mr Charles PETRIE of the playing field by Mr HANCOCK. Swimming lessons proved very
and opportunities were being sought to improve the school grounds. popular with the children and gave them confidence in the water. When
the American Military Base at Mangere was closed after World War Two
Then in 1936, in anticipation of the coronation of King Edward VIII, it was ended, the School Committee had the opportunity to purchase a building,
decided that Otahuhu School would hold its own Coronation, for which suitable for use as a hall. As the hall was dismantled, its parts were carefully
five Princesses were chosen. Claire FULLER was the Primer princess, numbered and over the following two years, was rebuilt behind the Infant
Peggy McANULTY was Standard 1 princess, Dorothy BEST was Standard Department by voluntary labour, under the direction of Mr Maurie SEEL.
2 princess, Maureen RICKARDS was Standard 3 princess and Enid NEILD The hall is no longer in existence.
Standard 4 princess.
In 1944, towards the end of World War Two, the Otahuhu District &
The fund-raising committees for each princess held cake stalls, dance Returned Services Association (RSA) decided to have a Queen Carnival,
evenings, raffles and household socials and at the end of the fundraising, for which four Queens were selected. Those chosen were Kath BAILEY
Maureen RICKARDS became Queen of the Carnival. The parents were representing the Armed Forces, Mary EWAN representing the RSA,
mainly responsible for making the costumes and accessories. This event Vivienne KIRKHAM representing Sports and Sheila MURDOCH
taught the students about the protocols and high-ranking individuals representing the schools. It was the combined efforts of teachers, parents
involved, such as an Archbishop, the Knights, the Ladies and High and pupils that made the Schools' Queen victorious. This was at a time
Chancellor. when war rationing was still being felt, so, when the huge sum of £6,000
was raised for the RSA, it was seen as reflecting a strong school spirit and
Rae said, "I was one of the four Peers of the Realm and I presented the the intense loyalty of the school community.
Orb at the ceremony."
Sometime between 1951 and 1954, the 8 majestic phoenix palms that were
After World War One, the Memorial Gates were installed at the Station
Road entrance to the school. These consisted of two stone pillars with a
bronze plaque on each, suitably inscribed to commemorate the Otahuhu
School ex-pupils, who gave their lives during the 1914-1918 war. The pillars
were originally covered in a climbing fig, until they were moved further

lining the driveway, were moved and replaced with pohutukawa trees, which 55 years kept lawns and gardens. He believed in the integrity
later are a rare feature of a 21st century primary school. Some of the other native trees of the individual. By the time he retired, the children
have since died or been removed. One was a rimu tree, which had been planted to mark of former pupils were being taught at the school. His
the occasion of Jean BATTEN, a New Zealand aviatrix, who made the first direct solo influence spanned the generations, Mr MURDOCH
flight from England to New Zealand in 1936. retired in May 1946 and Mr A.E. KEMBLE took over
as headmaster.
Bert MURDOCH served as headmaster for 25 years, from 1921-1946. He has been the
longest serving headmaster at the Otahuhu School. He had a vision. It involved devotion Mr KEMBLE and his family lived in the schoolhouse
to education and the well-being and health of children. He was a great believer in the for the next fifteen years until he retired. At the time
education of all children, no matter what colour, race or creed. He once said, "It should of the school's centenary in 1958, he congratulated
always be remembered that the nation of tomorrow is dependent on the children of the members of the Parent Teacher's Association and
today". His viewpoint is still relevant today. He also said "A teacher could have all the School Committees on their outstanding efforts, "In
ability and knowledge in the world, but if she or he could not impart that knowledge to providing additional educational aids and improving
a pupil, so they could understand it, then they should not be teaching". One observer, the environment of the school and the grounds". This
in 1938, wrote "Mr MURDOCH has never forgotten that his chief and paramount duly gratitude also extended to "The fine body of parents,
is Education'', who for the last ten years operated the School Lunch

He was instrumental in the beautification of the grounds, from rat's tail grass to neatly

William BROWN Roll of Honour
William CARSON
William CORIN Claude LIPPIATT
Samuel J. DIXON Eric LIPPIATT
Walter FROST James MCANULTY
Bernard FARRELLY John MUIR
William PATTERSON
George SCURRAH

where previously children who failed were "In November 1976, I had just been advised
held back, this now saw the child moving by the Auckland Education Board of my
forward with their age group. Mr KEMBLE said, appointment to the principal's position at the
"Instead of following a rigid pattern, today, we Otahuhu Primary School, so made an excited
endeavour to have all children working to their phone call to the retiring principal and book a
fullest capacity. It is our aim to develop fully drive up the Great South Road to view the school
the potentialities of every child, intellectually, and meet the staff.
socially, morally and physically and to give him
a feeling of security". The entrance from Station Road, through the
old gates and the driveway, in the shadow
Mr KEMBLE expected a good standard of of the lovely old trees. was most welcoming.
arithmetic and also placed strong emphasis on However, it was what lay beyond this lovely
cultural subjects. Junior and senior choirs were and welcoming facade that took me by surprise.
formed and during the centennial celebrations
sang unaccompanied items. Despite Otahuhu Primary's 100 years of history,
what greeted me was one permanent block of 4
The school always participated in Arbour Day classrooms and approximately 17 prefabricated
by planting trees in Sturges Park. One such buildings! The main buildings had been
occasion was held in August 1958 at the time condemned and demolished for safety reasons
of the school's 100th birthday. The children and had been replaced with these temporary
helped plant 300 native trees, including kauri, monstrosities!
totara, pohutukawa, kowhai and rimu. The
trees had been donated by old pupils and The school office and principal's den were in
residents and each tree carried a small plaque to one half of a double prefab, with the staff room
commemorate a past pupil of Otahuhu School. in the other half. Apart from those teachers and
students accommodated in the one remaining
Mr KEMBLE retired in 1961 and the pupils historic building, all others were taught in
collected money to purchase a television set as these temporary classrooms. Nevertheless, staff
a retirement gift. He was followed by Messrs accepted the challenges and made their working
J.J.CASKIE (1962-68), E.H. D'AthWESTON environments most attractive .for their young
(1968-76) and R.A.GOLDSTONE (1977-80). charges and were always professional. The
library and resource rooms were also in prefab
In 1974, the Auckland Regional Authority buildings, while the Dental and Speech Therapy
decided to place a sewage pipe right through clinics were housed in the best buildings on
the school grounds and, in the process of the site.
constructing the tunnel, caused irreversible
damage to the concrete Standard Block. The prefab buildings had been placed on

lovely little Scottish teacher, who was only in to the new building. It brought the whole
5- feet-2-inches tall and always immaculately staff together as a very strong supportive body,
attired, brought her gumboots and umbrella of professionals. Despite the frustrations, they
to school, and slushed through the mud and were always able to laugh at themselves and
puddles. She retained her sense of humour, as were a group who had a great deal of .fun. After
did all the staff. all, that is what life and education is all about
—meeting challenges." Roger GOLDSTONE.
Despite the challenges, many excellent (1977-1980).
achievements were made at Otahuhu Primary
School during this period. We were one of five At the end of Mr GOLDSTONE's term of office,
pilot schools that worked with Dr Marie CLAY and for the first time in the school's history,
in trialing her Reading Recovery Programme. two women took over the position as principals,
Mrs Dorothy A. McMILLAN (1981-82), then
During this time, the responsibility for the Miss Wallis J.WALKER (1982-1987). Miss
tuck shop was passed from the principal to a WALKER arrived at the school in 1982 and was
group of parent volunteers. This change to the the principal at the time of the school's 125th
principal's morning schedule, allowed staff Jubilee in 1983.
greater access to my time before 9 am, than had
previously been the case. Several members of She took over the helm, at the time in New
that team moved on to well-earned principal

years, from being an institution of rote learning raising, hard work and determination, by
and mass instruction, in classes of 50 to 60 students, parents and school committee
pupils, where the aim was to have everyone members, to accumulate $100,000 towards
achieve proficiency and those that didn't, failed. its construction. The Lottery Grants Board
Today, we have children from every continent contributed $50,000 and the ASB Trusts gave
of the world at our school, many whose cultural $30,000. The hall was four years in the making
heritage is different from ours and some and the result of all their efforts provided a
whose first language is not English. They have building, which has proved to be an enormous
abilities in social, physical, cultural, academic asset for the school. A Maori blessing was
and emotional spheres that we do not yet fully performed and the Otahuhu Primary School
appreciate. These children and the staff are Hall was officially opened in June 1993.
contributing towards the fixture of our school
and society. The present principal is Mr Tamati HOWARD,
who took over in 1997. Tamati HOWARD is the
I pay tribute to the thousands of people who 22nd principal to serve Otahuhu Primary during
have influenced the development of this school. its 150 years. One of the changes initiated by
To those who are continuing to do so at present, Tamati HOWARD was to change the school
and, to those among us who will be leading motto to make it more in keeping with the
Otahuhu Primary School into the future". cultural changes in the school.

Miss WALKER left the school in 1987 and her During the late 1800s and early 1890s nearly
position was taken over by Mr Dave McDONALD all the Otahuhu School pupils had been born of
(1988-1996). Irish or English parents although a few Maori
and Chinese children were also enrolled. In
After winning a clean-up campaign, organized
to collect rubbish and plant twenty-one trees in
five separate locations, a print titled Depicting
Land and Sea was awarded to the school.

Another great entertainer was adfdfd

immigrants. New Zealand in the 1970s had The new school motto of "He wahi tutaki mo nga
full employment and its immigration policies tamariki o to ao" is translated as, "A meeting
opened up for the Pacific Island people. Again place for the children of the world" and one
in the 1980s and 1990s because of their military has only to visit the playground at playtime to
coups, Fijian families also emigrated to New realize just how appropriate the motto is.
Zealand. More recently, immigrants from the
Middle East, India, China and Hong Kong chose A second initiative of Tamati HOWARD
New Zealand as their adopted country.

Consequently the present day school roll
includes children from at least 25 ethnic groups.
As a consequence it was felt the school
motto needed to reflect that change

The buildings visible are (from left
to right) the erstwhile Secondary
Section built in 1954 (now the
Primary Section), another
building of the Secondary
section built in 1957 (now the
Convent premises), and the old

Some Sisters at prayer in
the new chapel

also flew on other important occasions. In more the menu.
recent years, it was deemed necessary to extend
the present school buildings and the flagpole One hundred and fifty years ago there were barely
disappeared. When the 140th Otahuhu Primary enough fee-paying pupils to afford one teacher's
School Jubilee was held, a new flagpole was salary. At this present time, in 2008, the staff
erected near the entrance to the present Office numbers 55 and the roll fluctuates around 500
Buildings with a suitably inscribed plaque. students. One cannot help but wonder what
changes will have evolved by the time the next
Also during Mr TAMATI's tenure, greater anniversary of the Otahuhu Primary School is
emphasis has been given to catering for the celebrated.
special needs of individual children. In the
early days of education, little consideration was
given to meeting the needs of disabled children
within the mainstream system. Teachers did
not always understand and were certainly not
qualified. Fortunately, the school now provides
such tuition and resources are available to cater
for their needs.

Otahuhu Primary School has seen many
changes in its 150-year history. From slates,
chalk and blackboards, to whiteboards and
marker pens; from roughly hewn benches to
bulky dual desks to modern multi-functional
work-stations; from lessons via radio broadcast,
to overhead projectors

as well as boiled gram kept in huge aluminium containers