Hukarere Girls’ College and Te Aute College were well represented at the ordination and installation of Pīhopa Susan Wallace earlier this month. Ten students from Hukarere and three from Te Aute travelled south with the Venerable Zhane Tiopira Tāhau, Archdeacon for Ngā Kura Mihinare, alongside Principals Rachel Kiingi and Evelyn Leef, and Hinauri Tiopira Tāhau, Kaiwhakahaere Wharenoho, to take part in the karakia service.
A personal wish of the new Pīhopa ki Te Hui Amorangi ki Te Waipounamu was to have the kura involved in this historic occasion, connecting it to her own Anglican journey of more than 40 years.
Pīhopa Susan is a former student of Te Waipounamu Māori Girls College, based at the current site of Te Pā Mihinare o Te Waipounamu on Ferry Rd in Christchurch. It college closed in 1990 after 80 years nurturing kōhine Māori in the Anglican faith – the first of three Māori Anglican schools to close.
Some 40 years later, students of the continuing kura Mihinare were on hand to ‘close that circle’. Hukarere Girls College students filled the ChristChurch Transitional Cathedral with their angelic voices singing hīmene, while a handful of boys of Te Aute acted as servers throughout the service, supporting Archdeacon Zhane in leading and running the services’ logistics.
Students, Zion Haimoana (Te Aute), Sunday Te Ahuru and Jaydah Marshall (Hukarere) alongside with Bishop Waitohiariki Quayle (Te Upoko o te Ika) and Bishop Peter Carrell (Christchurch) installed Bishop Susan as the third Bishop of Te Waipounamu.
Other students from Te Aute and Hukarere then offered prayers for Bishop Susan, her whānau, the Archbishops, Te Hui Amorangi ki Te Waipounamu and Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa.
Ngā Kura Mihinare have been prominent in the history of the hāhi, and in particular Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa. The first two Pīhopa Māori – Frederick Bennett and Wiremu Netana Pānapa attended Tīpene, Bishop Manuhuia Bennett and Archbishop Brown Tūrei both attended Te Aute College, while Tūrei and his immediate predecessor, Whakahuihui Vercoe spent some time as chaplains of Te Waipounamu College.
After her installation as Bishop of Te Waipounamu, Bishop Susan fondly recalled attending Sunday services with the Reverend Brown Tūrei as a pivotal moment in her calling with the Church.
“It was at college, under the chaplaincy of Archbishop Brown Tūrei I decided to adopt a program of confirmation. I’m a whakapapa Mihinare, but it was the first time I decided this was the faith I would carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Archdeacon Zhane Tiopira Tāhau said the presence of Hukarere and Te Aute students was a powerful reminder of the enduring place of Ngā Kura Mihinare in forming leaders for the Church.
“Hukarere and Te Aute remain the last cradles of Mihinare excellence and formation. These kura continue to shape our tamariki in whakapono, service and leadership, so that, like Bishop Susan, they may grow to lead and build up the Hāhi for a flourishing world. I encourage our whānau throughout Te Pīhopatanga to send their tamariki to these kura, where they can be nurtured in the faith, identity and whakapapa of Te Hāhi Mihinare.”
Many clergy, lay people and Mihinare whānau have been formed and nurtured in Ngā Kura Mihinare for more than 180 years.
Note: Both kura have Open Days coming up for 2027 enrolments on 25 June — Te Aute College at 10:00am and Hukarere College at 4:00pm.