Classical music at Rāpaki Marae

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Wheke is hosting an afternoon of classical music at Rāpaki Marae to raise funds for the restoration of its heritage schoolhouse.

The concert is taking place on August 24 from 2pm inside the marae.

The Rāpaki schoolhouse is a rare example of a 19th-century building within a Ngāi Tahu settlement. Built in the 1870s, it was part of a network of village primary schools established by the Native School Department to provide education for children in Ngāi Tahu communities.

The Rāpaki Schoolhouse is undergoing an extensive restoration

For 70 years, Rāpaki School served as a vital educational and cultural centre for children growing up at Rāpaki. Even after its closure following WW2 due to falling rolls, the building remained a hub for hapū meetings, a preschool for local children and a base for Tangata Tiaki (guardians of local marine environment).

“Our old schoolhouse has served us for 150 years, and with this restoration, it will serve us and the community for another 150 years,” says Kaumātua Donald Couch.

“It will not only represent an important time in our history but will provide a supplementary informal space to do things separately from the marae.”

Very few former Native School buildings remain.

The restoration of the building has involved significant repairs, maintenance, seismic strengthening, and moving the building to a more stable, less erosion-prone site on the same section. 

Rāpaki School is used in the recently released film We Were Dangerous, which is about a fiery trio of “delinquent” schoolgirls railing against the colonial system in 1950s New Zealand.

Event details: 24 August, 2pm. Click here to buy tickets.