Celebrating 125 Years of Learning at Coroglen School by Gillian O’Neill
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Issue 951 - 25 May 2021 Phone (07) 866 2090 Circulation 8,000 Celebrating 125 years of learning at Coroglen School By Gillian O’Neill Families, staff and students came together on Thursday last week to mark 125 years to the day since the opening of Coroglen School. Principal, Jean Saunders, said the afternoon was about connecting the past and present, with multiple generations of families who have been part of the story joining in to share their memories. “We shared stories and pictures from the past, including recreating some photos which the Mercury Bay Museum shared from their archives with the children practising some very serious 1896 faces,” Jean said. “Unfortunately, many of our children were still away with a nasty cold that is going through the school, but those who were here helped celebrate with cake, games and ‘old-school’ lessons. We will also be having a Jubilee celebration over Labour Weekend when our new classroom renovations will be completed and ready to be unveiled to the community.” The first school in Coroglen, then known as Gumtown, started in 1896 in an outbuilding on the Peebles family farm. As the population of Gumtown grew through the 1880s and 1890s, the number of families with children had increased and, with the nearest permanent school located in Whitianga, the community petitioned the Auckland Education Board for a school and a teacher. With the teacher arriving in May, the school opened with 19 students from local Māori and Pākeha families. Although the Education Board initially deferred requests for a purpose-built school, following notice from the farmer that he would begin charging the school rent, they authorised construction of a school building in 1898 on the provision that the community secured a suitable site. Shortly after, Kate Norris agreed to sell the board two acres of her land which had previously been owned by Thomas Carina, a settler and the proprietor of the first hotel in Whitianga in the 1860s. Carina had acquired the land from Repiu Tokata of Ngāti Hei who claimed ownership by descent and occupation. Classes moved in 1899 to the new single-room school, which remains on-site today and was recently classified a Heritage Listed building. The original school was also regularly used by the wider community, particularly for church services and Sunday school. Despite the changing economic landscape, the school remained, as it does today, an integral part of the social fabric of the community. By 1921, the gum diggers were all but gone and the new farming community changed the town’s name, and by association the school name, to Coroglen. Over the years, the original school building, still referred to as the Gumtown Room, was adapted to meet changing needs. A new classroom and administration block were built in 1951/1952 and electricity arrived for the first time in 1960. In 1978, the 1950s block was extended and the old Gumtown School was no longer needed for a classroom. However, the now protected structure still stands boldly at the heart of the school, a reminder to all Then and now - students at Coroglen School recreating a photo of their of the proud 125-year history of learning at Coroglen. predecessors who attended the school 125 years ago. Distributed throughout the Coromandel Peninsula, coast to coast from Thames to north of Colville - www.theinformer.co.nz Hahei Explorer team thrilled to “Borrow the All Blacks” By Gillian O’Neill Having the New Zealand All Blacks in their and the business through this tough time. Despite the challenges they have faced, “Shane was a big loss, he was the heart of the corner to help steer their business through the “Thanks to our awesome team, it’s business Jess, Robyn and the team remain relentlessly business, but we have a great team of people effects of COVID-19 has been a major boost as usual with trips going out daily year-round, positive, a trait Shane was known for. “His cup around us who do an awesome job. After we for the Hahei Explorer team. weather dependent, and we know Shane would was always half full, and he was enthusiastic came out of lockdown last year, the response As one of a hundred small and medium be proud as this was a true passion for him. and optimistic and convinced everything would we had from the New Zealand public was businesses across New Zealand to benefit from Every day brings something different and it’s work out just fine,” a family friend described amazing. We had such a busy summer, Hahei ASB’s “Borrow the All Blacks” promotional really rewarding to see how much people enjoy in the eulogy delivered at Shane’s memorial was so busy. The support we had from Kiwis campaign, the local tourism operator which our tours.” service. “Robyn reckons he had mindfulness was incredible.” provides boat tours to Cathedral Cove and the Jess says Shane had also been stoked with sussed before it was ever in fashion. He had a There was excitement onboard in recent surrounding area, won a tailored advertising having the All Blacks back their business. unique ability to live in the moment and saw no weeks as the first few Australians started package, including a video and a giant “Shane was probably the biggest rugby fan of point in dwelling on the past or worrying about to show up via the trans-Tasman bubble. billboard. The massive image is located on us all and enjoyed watching games at the Hahei the future.” “We haven’t seen a huge number just yet, State Highway 25 at the turnoff to Pauanui, Fire Brigade. He was particularly proud of the As the Hahei Explorer team looks to the but it feels like a positive sign of things to featuring All Blacks Anton Lienert-Brown, billboard at the Pauanui turn-off.” future, Jess says the outlook remains bright. come,” says Jess. Aaron Smith and Sam Whitelock. “We’ve had a great, positive reaction from customers and other local business in regards to the campaign, lots of questions on how we managed to get marketing backing from the All Blacks,” says Jess Harnett, who helps manage the family-run business. “It was such an awesome opportunity for us to be part of.” The roll-out of the campaign coincided with a very difficult time for the Harnett family and their wider Hahei Explorer whānau with the sudden loss of Shane, Jess’s dad, who passed away in an accident on 15 April. Shane and wife, Robyn, purchased the business 15 years ago, investing a lot of time and energy in the venture and becoming an integral and much- loved part of the Hahei community. Jess, after completing university, returned to Hahei with partner, Tom Bromhead, both joining the Hahei Explorer team. Overall, the business has been running for almost 30 years. “Tom and I both love the job and lifestyle, being in the outdoors and on the water every day, and meeting a huge range of people,” says Jess. She credited their amazing staff and the local community for helping both their family Jess Harnett and partner, Tom Bromhead, say there’s a great team working hard to continue the Hahei Explorer story. What’s happening in the night sky? Night sky information provided and sponsored by Week of Wednesday, 26 May to Wednesday, 2 June - The Moon is the star of the show as there will be a total eclipse of the Moon visible on Wednesday, 26 May. The eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow, at first only through the edge, then gradually moving into the darkest part of the shadow which can often give it a distinctly reddish colour. Each eclipse is different with the redness depending on many things, including the amount of volcanic dust in the atmosphere at the time and how much cloud there is around the edge of the Earth as seen from the Moon that night. Wednesday, 26 May - The lunar eclipse occurs tonight starting from about 9:45pm with best viewing during totality from 11:11pm to 11:27pm. Saturday, 29 May - The Moon sits high above Saturn with brighter Jupiter below in the late evening. Astronomy Tours and B&B Sunday, 30 May - The Moon is now just above and to the right of Saturn with Jupiter below after midnight. Monday, 31 May - The Moon now Phone (07) 866 5343 sits just between bright Jupiter and fainter Saturn after midnight. Tuesday, 1 June - The Moon lies just to the right of bright Jupiter in the evening after midnight. www.stargazersbb.com Whitianga and Hot Water Beach tides Tides data sponsored by nzwindows.co.nz 4 Dakota Drive Whitianga Tel 07 869 5990 Page 2 The Mercury Bay Informer - www.theinformer.co.nz Issue 951 - 25 May 2021 People urged to stay away from beaches for rest of the week Prevention measures to limit further damage was the main brief for crews of Thames-Coromandel District Council staff and contractors at the Peninsula’s east coast beaches on Monday this week. The entire coastline took a battering in last Sunday’s storm which saw massive swells pound beaches and overwhelm defences, causing flooding in several areas. While the swells have eased, Civil Defence controller, Garry Towler, warned the danger had not passed and urged people to continue to stay away from beaches for the rest of this week, particularly around high tide. He said crews were working to build up sand, remove debris and ensure structures were secure, with the king tides due from Wednesday to Friday causing particular concern and likely to bring more inundation.