Concert helps schoolhouse restoration

Two visiting choristers from England performed as part of a classical concert at Rapaki Marae, to raise money for the restoration of the old Rapaki schoolhouse.

The afternoon included a powhiri, high tea and a performance by The Canterbury Association Oxfords Project.

The vocal quartet consisted of James Parmeter and George Blundell (from Christ Church, Oxford) and Adrian Lowe and Kimberley Wood (from Christchurch).

More than 70 people attended the concert on August 24, raising $2658 for the old school restoration.

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

Said Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Wheke kaumātua Donald Couch: “Our old schoolhouse has served us for 150 years, and with this restoration, it will serve us and the community for another 150 years.”

Attending the concert were Banks Peninsula MP Vanessa Weenink, former Port Hills MP Ruth Dyson, and the Anglican Bishop of Christchurch, Dr Peter Carrell. HMNZS Canterbury Commander Bronwyn Heslop and 12 of her crew and Reserve Forces director Clive Holmes also went along.

The concert was organised by Nuk and Christine Korako, Dr Te Maire Tau, Gabrielle Huria and Haydn Rawstron.

Said Rawstron: “The Canterbury Association endowment at Christ Church, Oxford, pays for the Oxfords Project and in turn produces this vocal quartet.” 

He paid tribute to the late Mary Weston, whose patronage had paid for project visits.