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Pakūranga College History

Pakūranga College Beginnings

After World War II Auckland's eastern suburbs grew rapidly and until 1959 were served by Howick District High School (HDHS), founded in 1937 under the control of the Auckland Education Board. HDHS outgrew its campus in the 1950s and in June 1955 the Government approved the establishment of a new post-primary school using plans prepared by the Auckland Education Board. HDHS would eventually reopen as Howick Intermediate in 1965.

A site of approximately 20 acres was acquired for the new school, three-quarters of a mile from HDHS. In November 1957 a tender from T J Farmer Ltd for the sum of 125 pounds, 1 shilling, and 9 pence was accepted for the erection of 17 teaching units, which included an assembly hall and administration facilities.

Opening Pakūranga College

The new school was established on 1 February 1960 but because the buildings were not ready for occupation the new school commenced in the old HDHS buildings. Transfer to the new site was made at the beginning of Term 2 in May 1961, when control was handed to the Pakūranga College Board and then to the Eastern Secondary Schools Board.

The official opening was held on Saturday 7 October 1961 by Minister of Education, the Hon. W Blair Tennent. The foundation principal was Mr K W Rae, MA, and he had a teaching staff of 18. The roll was 428 on 1 March 1961, housed in 16 permanent and three prefabricated classrooms.

The Pakūranga Bell

Did you know the bell in our staff room is a piece of Pakūranga College history dating back to 1881? This bell was ordered even before the original Pakūranga School was built!

The bell began its life at the very first Pakūranga School site, which stood where the current St John Ambulance Station is now located on Pakūranga Road. The original Pakūranga School building has since been moved to Howick Historical Village.

The bell was then moved to the temporary school site of the Howick District High School (the current home of Howick Intermediate School), until it was relocated to the new Pakūranga College campus at the start of Term 2 in 1961, when students walked down the hill with the bell from the old site to the new.

The Meaning Behind Pakūranga

You may notice something a little different about the spelling of Pakūranga College on this website. In 2025 we launched the correct spelling of our name with a tohutō, or macron, added to the letter u. This corrects a long-standing grammatical error and, more importantly, reinforces our commitment to te ao Māori.

The name Pakūranga originates from the words Te Pakūranga Rāhihi, which means 'The Battle of the Sun's Rays'.

Pakūranga comprises two words:

Pakū: to make a sudden sound, to explode. This references the sun's rays causing explosions upon the whenua (land).

Ranga: to raise up from the ground. This references the maunga, or volcanic cones, both seen and not seen in our landscape today, including Ōhuiarangi/Pigeon Mountain.

Expanding Facilities

Year	Facility
1974	Completion of Dowdle Gym
1975	New Music/Drama Block
1998	Pamela Stone English Block opened
1999	McRae Library opened
2001	New administration buildings completed
2003	Jill Sweeny Science Block opened
2016	Completion of Williams Sports Centre
2016	Re-modelling of Visual Arts Building
2021	Completion of the Haque Building