Turakina Maori Girls' College

Turakina Māori Girls' College (1905 to 1996) was a Presbyterian boarding school for young Māori women. The school was founded in Turakina, New Zealand, in 1905, by A. G. Hamilton.[2] It was relocated to Marton in 1927,[3] but retained its previous name. The Hamilton Memorial Library of the college was dedicated to its founder in 1939.[2]

Turakina Māori Girls' College
Address
Henderson's Line Marton 4710 New Zealand
Information
Funding type	State-integrated
Denomination	Presbyterian
Ministry of Education Institution no.	194
Years offered	9–13
Gender	Girls
Socio-economic decile	3I[1]

At the time Māori girls' colleges such as this one were founded, the New Zealand government had no state colleges for Māori girls, but rather funded the education of girls selected as the best from their village schools at denominational schools such as the one at Turakina. At the colleges, they learned domestic skills with the object of turning them into "good women, good wives and good mothers".[4] In 1931, 45 students were in residence at the school.[5]

The school closed in January 2016,[6] having had financial and other problems over the previous ten years and with the roll dropping from 152 in 2003 to 47 in 2015. The minister Hekia Parata said that the college had several problems, and had received nearly $9 million of taxpayer funding in the last five years.[7][8][9][10][11]

References

1. "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
2. "Memorial Library", The Evening Post (New Zealand), 11 March 1939.
3. "Maori Girls' College", The Evening Post (New Zealand), 28 October 1927.
4. "No State College", Auckland Star, 5 March 1909.
5. "General Assembly", The Evening Post (New Zealand), 9 June 1931.
6. "Scholarship for history of Turakina Maori Girls' College". Nick Thomson, Friends of Turakina Maori Girls' College Association. 31 January 2016.
7. "Turakina Maori Girls College closed due to multiple failures minister says". Stuff (Fairfax). 26 November 2015.
8. "Turakina Maori Girls College future at risk". Stuff (Fairfax). 12 August 2015.
9. "Haka at Parliament for Turakina Maori Girls College". Stuff (Fairfax). 10 September 2015.
10. "Turakina Maori Girls College devastated over school closure". Stuff (Fairfax). 25 November 2015.
11. "Students heartbroken at Turakina Maori Girls College closure". Stuff (Fairfax). 26 November 2015.