History of Balmoral School
The History of Balmoral School - Te Kura o Te Roto a Rangi
Early Auckland was a very fertile place where different groups of people came together.
He whenua pai, he whenua haumako te taone o Tamaki Makaurau i ngawā o mua, i huihui mai ngā marea ki reira.
At some stage between the late 1600s and mid 1700s Ngati Whatua, from their base on the Kaipara Harbour, began to have frequent excursions into the Auckland isthmus.
I waenganui i te rautau kotahi mano ono rau ki te haurua o te rautau kotahi mano whitu rau i nekeneke haere a Ngāti Whātua mai i te whanga o Kaipara ki te rohe whanui o Tamaki Makaurau.
The local Maori, Waiohua, who had settled near Maungawhau, were involved in a number of conflicts with Ngati Whatua.
Ko Waiohua ngā tāngata whenua ka noho ki Maungawhau. He maha nga tautohetohe i waenganui ia ratou me nga uri on Ngati Whatua.
Oral history tells us that Rangi, a high ranking Waiohua young woman, was captured by a group of Ngati Whatua at a lake where she had come to collect some freshwater food. This lake, we are told, was located where our school field is today. Before European settlers arrived in New Zealand, we believe the lake was known as Te Roto a Rangi or Rangi's Lake in memory of Rangi*.
E ai ki nga kōrero, ko Rangi tētahi wahine rangatira o Waiohua i whakarautia e tētahi rōpu o Ngati Whātua i aia e tiki kai mai i te roto. E ai ki nga korero, kei to matou whira tenei roto.. I mua i te taenga mai o pākeha ki Aotearoa i tapaina te roto nei ko Te Roto a Rangi hei tohu maumahara kia Rangi.
Balmoral School was opened under the name 'Brixton School' in 1926. The first lessons were held on 6 April 1926 with a roll of 158 children. In 1927 the roll had grown to 500 pupils with more than 60 students in each class. By 1937 the school had become a full primary.
I tūwhera a Balmoral School i raro i te ingoa o Brixton School i te tau 1926. I tu nga akoranga tutahi i te 6 o Paenga-whāwhā 1926. Kotahi rau, rima tekau mā waru nga akonga.I te tau 1927, rima rau nga akonga, a i te tau 1937 ka tu te kura tuatahi i runga i tona ake mana.
By 1945 the school had become an intermediate school under the leadership of Mr. T Pemberton. The junior school came under the jurisdiction of Maungawhau School. The next year, Charles Beeby (Director General of Education) visited the school to check on its progress and the manual (technology) block was developed. The junior school was finally moved to Maungawhau School in 1965.
I te tau 1945 i tini te kura mai i te kura tuatahi ki te kura takawaenga i raro i te rangatiratanga o Mita T Pemberton. I takoto te kura tuatahi i raro i te mana o te kura o Maungawhau. I te tau whai muri i tera, i mātoro a Charles Beeby (ko te Rangatira o te Mātauranga) ki te mātaki i te pai o te kura, ā, i hangā ngā akomanga hangarau. I neke rawa atu te kura tuatahi ki te kura o Maungawhau i te tau 1965.
In 1994 after a review of schooling in Maungawhau, it was decided to re-establish a primary school on the Balmoral School site. The first primary classes were opened in 1996. Over the next few years a number of new classrooms were built; 840 students attended our school in 2012.
I te tau 1994 i muri i te aata tirohanga ki te whakaakotanga i Maungawhau, i whakatau ano tētahi kura tuatahi i runga i tēnei wāhi (te wāhi o Balmoral School). Ko ngā akomanga tuatahi i tūwhera i te tau 1996. I aua tau torutoru i hangā ētahi akomanga hou; e 840 nga akonga i haere mai ki tō mātou kura i te tau 2012.
*In consultation with Te Ākitai Waiohua, we would like to add some additional information: For Te Ākitai Waiohua, Rangi is a reference to Rangihuamoa the wife of Huakaiwaka. Huakaiwaka was the paramount chief and eponymous ancestor of the Waiohua confederation of tribes. They both lived on Maungakiekie and Maungawhau, which acted as a home base.
Rangihuamoa is the grandmother of Kiwi Tamaki, who was the paramount chief and founding ancestor of Te Ākitai. He also lived on Maungakiekie like his grandparents.
Multiple sites are named after Rangihuamoa including Te Roto a Rangi, Te Puna a Rangi, a water spring near the junction of Manukau Road and Mt St John Avenue in Epsom, Te Ana a Rangi, a cave near Bycroft’s Windmill on St Andrews Road in Epsom, and Te Hopua a Rangi, the tidal lagoon in Onehunga known as Geddes Basin or Gloucester Park today.
In the early 1900s, the suburbs of Mount Eden, Mount Albert and Mount Roskill were experiencing rapid population growth. The tram from Queen Street ran as far as Wiremu Street (Williams Street) and many of the side roads were just shingle lanes. In 1920, two sections of land were purchased from Mr J. Chapman at a cost of 9,600 pounds to establish a school.
Balmoral School was opened as Brixton School in 1926. Records show that some parents in the area disapproved of the requirement that they had to leave their established schools to attend Brixton School.
The first lessons were held on April 6 1926 with a roll of 158 children. In 1927 the roll had grown to 500 pupils with more than 60 students in each class. In 1934, heating was installed and there was a noticeable improvement in attendance. By 1937, an infant block had been built and the school became a full primary. Early the next year extra land was bought and an entrance was established from Saint Albans Road.
By 1945, the school had become an intermediate school under the leadership of Mr T. Pemberton. The infant school, which was located in the administration block, came under the jurisdiction of Maungawhau School. The next year, Charles Beeby visited the school to check on its progress and the manual block was developed. The infant school was finally moved to Maugawhau in 1965.
In 1994, after a review of schooling in Mount Eden, it was decided to re-establish a primary school on the Balmoral School site. Over the next few years, a number of new classrooms were built. By 2011, the roll of the school had grown to about 815 students.
In 2019 the school began a complete rebuild costing $34 million. It now has modern state-of-the-art facilities including a pool, gymnasium, auditorium and a beautiful library. The grounds have been extensively planted with native flora and a number of public art works.
Currently, the school is run as two separate entities with an Deputy Principal responsible for each school. There is a primary school catering to children from the ages of 5 to 10. There is also an intermediate school catering specifically to the needs of the emerging adolescent.
