Our History brings together two special records of our school’s journey. The first is a timeline of key events, lovingly researched and written by Boyd Becker for our school website. Later, for our centenary reunion, Raewyn McKnight compiled a booklet that captured the stories, milestones, and spirit of our first 100 years.
In 1876 State Education came along and the beginning of Greymouth High School’s history began. The site we are on today is the one we have been located on for 100 years, a site well out of the notorious barber wind and which has had space to expand and develop.
Established as a technical high school in 1923 under Principal James Hutton, Greymouth Technical High School came about as an amalgamation of the post-primary department of the Greymouth District High School and pupils who were attending separate technical classes which were held in town.
The 1930s saw the arrival of two new principals, Robert McLaren (1932-36) and William Stewart (1937-1951). In 1939 a new engineering and woodwork block was completed followed by a domestic science block in 1940.
The 1950s saw the roll increase from 410 in 1950 to around 700 in 1960, causing building and staff numbers to grow rapidly to keep up. In 1951, the school’s fourth principal Earl Coxon arrived. In 1954 Coxon hall was completed with the MacFarlane gymnasium completed in 1957 alongside the swimming pool in 1960.
The 1960s and 1970s were changing times for the school. During the 1960s the traditional environment of the 1950s became increasingly unpopular under Principal John Thomson. He retired in 1975 was followed by the appointment of the school’s longest serving Principal Des Hinch.
The seventies and eighties are still very controversial as they marked the end to many school traditions such as the Tribal system, prefects, and the strict uniform requirements.
The 1990s began unfavourably in 1992 with two scandals which damaged public faith in the school. However, the decade had many great achievements. The science department won a Bayer Chemical grant in 1993, a new logo was introduced, the school’s Asian student exchange program helped fund a swimming pool roof and new computer suites.
The last decade saw the closure of the school hostel (now a subdivision next to the hospital) as patronage had got down to one student. This time also saw the development and upgrade of many new buildings such as the new Tech Block, a new gymnasium and Te Whare Akoranga.
2021 saw Samantha Mortimer take over from Andy England as principal. Samantha joined us from Te Aroha College in Waikato. We continue to work with a number of schools/partners across Mawhera to increase our learning opportunities for all of our students.
Greymouth High School marked its centennial reunion over Easter 2023, bringing together more than 300 former students and staff to celebrate a century of memories.
