| Waitotara School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
Trent Street, Waitotara, New Zealand | |
| Coordinates | 39°48′15″S174°44′06″E / 39.8042°S 174.7351°E Coordinates: 39°48′15″S174°44′06″E / 39.8042°S 174.7351°E |
| Information | |
| Type | State, Primary (Year 0-8) |
| Established | 1874 |
| Ministry of Education Institution no. | 2474 |
| Principal | Ross Harvey |
| School roll | 22 |
| Socio-economic decile | 2 [1] |
| Website | waitotara.school.nz |
Waitotara School is a small state primary school situated in the rural village of Waitotara, located between Wanganui and Hawera, New Zealand on State Highway 3.
Waitotara is a town in South Taranaki, New Zealand. Waverley is 10 km to the north-west, and Wanganui is 34 km to the south-east. State Highway 3 passes through it. The Waitotara River flows past the east side of the town.
Hawera is the second-largest centre in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of 12,150. It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight. The origins of the town lie in a government military base that was established in 1866, and the town of Hawera grew up around a blockhouse in the early 1870s.
New Zealand is a sovereign island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, and the South Island —and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, and plant life. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.
The school sits on the banks of the Waitotara River, 47 km south of Ngamatapouri, and was fully refurbished after devastating floods in 2004. These floods destroyed much of the interior of the school buildings as well as furniture and equipment, while many homes in the small community of Waitotara were also badly damaged.
The Waitotara River in New Zealand's North Island stretches approximately 100 km in length from its headwaters in the Matemateaonga Ranges to its mouth on the South Taranaki Bight. The river takes in significant tributaries such as the Ngutuwera, Makakaho, Pokeka, Omaru and Totara Streams.
Ngamatapouri is a small rural locality in the Waitotara River valley, 47 km north of Waitotara village, in south Taranaki, New Zealand. Wanganui is about 80 km to the southeast. The road is sealed as far as the school.
