Gilberthorpe School

The school is situated adjacent to a site where Māori once rested and cooked food in earth ovens, on what was the banks of the Waimakiriri River. In 1860 the Gilberthorpes, from Hull in England, purchased the site for farming.

The original homestead being on the site where Te Puawaitanga ki Otautahi Trust is situated today. The School itself was constructed in 1956 and opened its doors for the first students in 1957. Te Taumutu Rūnanga have named our school “Ara Tū Whakatā”, a stopping place on the pathway for refreshment.