The Ashburton High School and Ashburton Technical College, later known as Hakatere College, combined to form one secondary school, which was known as Ashburton College in January 1965. The factors that created Ashburton College can be found in the changing nature of secondary education in the 20 years that followed the Thomas Report’s publication in 1944. This report placed great emphasis on a broad general education which would spell the death of the country’s Technical High schools.
The name ‘Ashburton College’ was chosen as a type of compromise, as it retained some link with the names of the two old schools.
The choice of the ‘Phoenix’ as the central part of the crest was appropriate as it symbolised the birth of the new from the old, with the intention of retaining all the best aspects and traditions of the former schools. The motto ‘Resurgamus – to rise again’ was in harmony with the Phoenix concept.
For seven years, Ashburton College operated on two sites with a roll of 1173. The Junior Division Forms 3 and 4 (Years 9 and 10) were operating from the Hakatere College site on Cass Street, where the Police station is today, with a roll of 723 students.
The Senior division 5th and 6th form (Year 11, 12 and 13) was operating at the Ashburton Technical College site on Cameron Street where Ashburton Intermediate now stands, with a roll of 450 students.
As you can imagine, the physical division of the two schools did not make it easy for staff to teach between them. They had a Holden and a Vauxhall car, along with a Bedford van to transport staff between the two sites (Ashburton Intermediate and Ashburton College). There were many stories of staff missing the bus, untaught lessons, and classes walking between sites looking for lost teachers!
The foundation stone for the new Ashburton College was unveiled by the Prime Minister, Mr Holyoake, on August 1st, 1969. This foundation stone is now situated at the entrance to the Administration Block.
The move to the Ashburton College site by the Junior school took place on Thursday, 6 May 1971. They had an assembly and then walked across town from the current Police station to the site we are on today. There was a series of teaching blocks connected with walkways, and the library was the focal point. The teaching blocks included lecture theatres, team teaching facilities, an arts and crafts block, a senior studies block, a gymnasium, an administration block, and the boiler house.
The junior students had Ashburton College to themselves till the seniors moved in in June 1972.
When the roll reached 1400 in 1974, the North-South Division was established. Effectively, the school was divided into two with two Principals, two Deputy Principals, Deans, level tutors, family form teachers, and counsellors to ensure the needs of all students were catered for.
In 1971, the House system was restructured to accommodate the physical layout of the school based on House blocks. Orange and Green houses were based in A Block, and Red and Blue in T Block.
In 1973, the college flag was designed by Neroli Lemon, a Fourth Former. The college crest was added to the original design and can be thought of as a sun overseeing the school and creating a balance to the flag. Everything on the flag has a meaning. Its colours, red and blue, are the school colours, and white symbolises the water of purity. The shape of the design is symbolic of a cross section of the South Island. The Ashburton College initials A.C. are clearly recognisable.
With no inside assembly space enough for 1400 students, the chessboard became the assembly area where the whole school was brought together – a tradition that continues today.
By 1986, additional buildings had been completed that included R Block, a physical education suite of specialist rooms, a cafeteria, an observatory, a creche (now Phoenix Preschool), Youth Learning Centre, a heated, covered community pool (formally where Rangitata stands), a music suite, the Holyoake Auditorium and Menorlue.
With the closure of the IHC day programmes in 1990 and the integration of these young people into the public school system necessitated the introduction of Special Programmes to cater for those with intellectual and physical disabilities, and the Student Learning Support Unit, now named Te Whare Manaaki, was born.
In 1997, the Te Whare O Tawhaki, this house of learning at the end of A Block, was opened. This was after five years of planning by kaiako, Board of Trustees, kāumatua Archie Keepa and te whānau. Its story is told in the symbolism portrayed in the structural aspects of the building itself and in the beautiful carvings crafted by Kaiwhahairo Vince Leonard.
On a visual level the carvings give glimpses of the history of Te Waipounamu (South Island); they show two Māori gods (Tā and Rongo); they tell the story of Tawhaki climbing to the heavens and collecting the three kete (bags of knowledge); they tell us of Ranginui and Papatūānuku – sky father and earth mother. Every part of every carving has a significance and meaning.
During 2011 and 2012, a major upgrade of the Administration Block, staff room, and staff resource areas was undertaken.
In 2017, the Prime Minister announced Ashburton College would get a new school – how exciting! Staff, students, and the community were consulted, and the architects were given the brief to start planning the two-stage project. Stage 1 – the Rangitata Block with 21 new classrooms was completed and ready to be taught in at the beginning of 2023. S Block was demolished to give way for Stage 2, which, disappointingly for a number of reasons, has not been built to date.
In 2024, the boiler house was demolished, and classrooms got heat pumps, which makes for a comfortable winter and summer environment to work in. Did you know the clock on top of the boiler house used to control all the clocks in the school, and there are some still attached in classrooms? The main clock stopped working when it was broken in the 2011 earthquake at 12.51 p.m.
Helen Shore-Taylor and Ashburton College Silver Jubilee booklet
Still sheltered by some of its trees as its name implies, Menorlue nestles within Ashburton College on Walnut Avenue. Soundly built from the finest timbers by WH Collins in 1893-1894, this once gracious family home has seen many changes in its time but retains a quiet dignity.
Many will recall W.H. Collins Ltd., the hardware and timber merchant on East and West Streets (and forerunner to Mitre 10), though the story of the man may be less well known.
After taking up an engineering apprenticeship in his native Cornwall, William Henry Collins arrived in New Zealand in 1865 at the age of 19. He worked briefly in Timaru before trying his luck for three years on the West Coast goldfields with his brother. He arrived in Ashburton in 1878, worked for local timber merchant Hayes, then managed McCallum’s Timber.
Despite the depressed times Collins saw the potential of the latter business and, when it came up for sale in 1889, he purchased it, founding the timber, hardware, and joinery business W H Collins & Co. He also purchased 8 acres (3.5ha) of land between the then-North West Town Belt and Middle Road on which he built his family home, Menorlue. This name is Cornish, meaning Manor-in-the-Lea or “sheltered place”, and was the name of the farm on which Collins grew up near Redruth in Cornwall.
Over the years he added to this original site until he owned some 20 acres (approx. 9ha). There would appear to have been several other buildings on this land – stables, barns and up to 3 other dwellings, but none of these remain.
In its heyday Menorlue was a lovely house situated in spacious gardens which boasted many large and beautiful trees. It hosted many garden parties and public functions in keeping with its owner’s civic duties as Borough councillor (1893-99), Mayor (1901-03) and stalwart of Baring Square Methodist Church. Collins also had a great interest in education, both formal and in trade skills. He fought hard, against considerable opposition, for the establishment of the Ashburton Technical School which was achieved in 1912.
After WH Collins’ sudden death from pneumonia in October 1916 at the age of 70, his wife Sarah lived on at Menorlue until her death in 1938. Other members of the family continued to live there until the end of 1950, when it was taken over by the Government under the Public Works Act, 1928.
The land was initially earmarked for an Intermediate School and sports grounds, but in 1953 the Ashburton Hospital Board claimed it to provide accommodation for visiting medical staff.
In discussions through the next decade regarding the future of education in the town this was referred to as “the Middle Road site”, with most interest for new or expanded high schools being on the old Ashburton High School and Hakatere Technical College sites.
In the early 1960’s some land on the Middle Road side was subdivided for residential housing. The rest, with additional land acquired on the Creek Road side, became the site of the new Ashburton College, which opened in 1965. It seems certain Collins would have been pleased with this result!
In the early days of the College, Menorlue was used for extra classroom space, especially for small or specialist classes like art and music, and for a time, provided changing sheds for the swimming pool!
In 1978 Menorlue became the home of a highly successful Community Education programme for Mid Canterbury under the leadership of people like Duncan McMillan, Ian Clunies-Ross and Dianne Moss, until the Government withdrew funding for these programmes nationally. After the demise of this programme the campus property administration operated out of the building for many years.
While a listed building on the Ashburton District Council’s District Plan, this has proved to be small protection for other buildings around the district in recent years. There have been question-marks over Menorlue’s future due in large part to funding issues: though it was owned by the Ministry of Education, unfortunately it did not for many years acknowledge this, nor did it provide funding for its upkeep. Still in sound condition, having survived the earthquakes relatively unscathed, like all buildings of its age it needs constant attention if it is not to deteriorate and the College undertook its maintenance as and when it could.
Menorlue’s future again hung in the balance when Ashburton College was granted funding for a rebuild of its aging classrooms. Disregarded by some as ‘an old building on the site that would be removed or demolished’, local heritage advocates swung into action – such action was protected against in the first instance by the heritage listing on the Council’s District Plan. Also, Government policy for the protection of heritage sites on government land had come into play in 2005, and, when researched, it was discovered that the Ministry of Education had its own policy protecting buildings and sites such as Menorlue.
The result has been the repair and upgrade of the building with great care for its heritage features and its importance to the Ashburton Community. What can be seen now is a revitalised, re-purposed and useful space integrated into the fabric of Ashburton College, there to be used and enjoyed for many years to come.
Maxine Watson
Former Board of Trustees Chair
College librarian
Heritage advocate
March 2024
