Te Aute College

Te Ao Hou, December 1968, Page 55

Te Aute College Te Aute College, as its name reveals, is a school, but it is a school of a special sort, in that it is a boarding school controlled by the church. It's an institution erected for the process of increasing the knowledge of Maori youths and introducing to them this new and great tool of the Pakeha called ‘Education’. The history of Te Aute College began in 1852 when Sir George Grey granted 4,000 acres of land. The local Maoris also donated a similar area, the plan being that the land was to be farmed, and out of the proceeds a school was to be built. Samuel Williams was the first man to lease the land and within a short time, in 1852, a school was built. The first school roll was a total of twelve primary pupils. After five years the school closed down because of lack of funds. However, this was not the end. It was reopened in 1872. Once again, those who were eager to learn emerged. In 1906 a Royal Commission was set up to investigate the management of the estate; to divide the estate into 23 blocks to be leased by tender for 21 years. However, in 1918 a disastrous thing occurred, not to the land but the school — the building was engulfed by fire and was reduced to ashes. Nothing could be done about it, except to re-build the whole thing. But nature was not satisfied with the construction and decided to shake it down. This was in 1931 when part of the buildings fell in crumbled bricks and twisted iron. It seemed the real end had come. No. Despite the great destruction and with great expense, the college was rebuilt. Because of its long existence, it has contributed a lot to the Maori people in providing such eminent leaders as Ngata, Peter Buck, Pomare and many others. Te Aute has also provided leaders in other fields such as sports, mainly in rugby. Many people associate Te Aute with its rugby record as well as its academic record. Today it is still continuing to produce leaders for the Maori people, leaders of whom we can be very proud. People like Bill Ngata and Sir Turi Carroll, and the many old boys of Te Aute associated with such professions as law and medicine, and others occupying positions of importance. As we look to the future we look with uncertainty to the continuation of Te Aute's existence. Because of the problems of finance, its numbers may slowly decrease until the college may have to close its doors. Although we hope this doesn't happen, we must be realistic. The future of Te Aute College is very vague. Perhaps as in the past it may survive another phase of destruction. Sydney Melbourne, Upper VI, Ruatoki