Tuapeka Mouth School, set in the grounds of the Tuapeka Mouth Domain, was built in 1879 by the Otago Education Board. The school served the small South Otago town until 1949, and since that time has continued as a centre for the community as a camp ground.
Tuapeka Mouth grew up around the confluence of the Tuapeka and Clutha/ Mataau Rivers. Tuapeka Mouth was for many years the inland port of call for the river steamers that plied the turbulent waters of the Clutha/Mataau. With the population explosion in the early 1860s a town sprung up. With the growing settled population came families, and with families the need for education, the first school opening in 1870. The Education Act 1877 provided for free, secular, and compulsory education for all children aged between seven and thirteen, and soon afterwards Tuapeka Mouth had a new school designed by the Otago Education Board and built by Lawrence contractor Samuel Miller, opening in 1879. Tuapeka Mouth School’s roll grew steadily through the 1880s and 1890s. Around 1908 there were alterations when a new classroom was built. This ‘bright, airy room’ was used to house the junior school. Otago Education Board Records indicate that the school at that time had two classrooms, one 26 by 20 feet, the other 30 by 20 feet (7.9 by 6m, and 9.1 by 6m).
The school’s Diamond Jubilee was celebrated in 1930, and memorial gates erected to celebrate the occasion and commemorate the heroism of the local men who had served King and Country and to those who had lost their lives in the Great War and also to celebrate the jubilee. From this time on there was a decline reflecting the depopulation of the surrounding district. The School was closed on 31 January 1949, with pupils transferred to the Clutha Valley Primary School.
The site was used as a church camp in the late 1950s, and from that date until 1994, was run as a camp site. A concrete block addition was made to the west elevation of the school building in 1959 to provide service facilities for the camp ground. A meeting in October 2006 led by the Lawrence-Tuapeka Community Board canvassed views on the future of the school building, and a Trust was formed to facilitate future plans for the building.
In 2010 the Domain is available for large functions, and is used for the cavalcade, motor home rallies, vintage car rallies and visits from secondary school children. The Memorial Gates are still the site for Anzac Day services for the Tuapeka Mouth community.
The Tuapeka Mouth School is a single storey timber building. The building is T-shaped in plan, with two transecting gables. It is timber framed, with weatherboard cladding, and a corrugated iron roof. Metal ventilators are mounted on the peak of the gables. The majority of the windows are paired six light double hung sashes. The windows on the gable end is a paired four light double hung sash window flanked by paired two light single width windows. Entry is through a lean-to porch on the north elevation. On the west elevation there is a single storey concrete block addition which provided kitchen and laundry facilities when the building was used as a camp. The majority of the interior wall and ceiling claddings are timber match lining, some horizontal and some vertical. The ceiling lining runs the length of the building. In some parts the wall below Dado level has been relined with Pinex and other modern materials. The floors are tongue and groove timber.
The Tuapeka Mouth School has architectural, historical and social significance. The building has architectural significance as a representative example of a ‘No.1 School Plan’ designed by the Otago Education Board in the mid 1870s. This standard plan, used for small schools, was found throughout Otago. Historically the building is a representative example of a nineteenth century school, and was the centre of many community activities. . The subsequent history of the school’s closure and reuse as a community facility demonstrates the building’s continued importance to the local community. The Memorial Gates are a significant reminder of the sacrifices this small rural community made during World War One, and also recall the significance of the school to the Tuapeka Mouth people.
Tuapeka Mouth grew up around the confluence of the Tuapeka and Clutha/ Mataau Rivers. Tuapeka Mouth was for many years the inland port of call for the river steamers that plied the turbulent waters of the Clutha/Mataau. With the population explosion in the early 1860s a town sprung up. With the growing settled population came families, and with families the need for education, the first school opening in 1870. The Education Act 1877 provided for free, secular, and compulsory education for all children aged between seven and thirteen, and soon afterwards Tuapeka Mouth had a new school designed by the Otago Education Board and built by Lawrence contractor Samuel Miller, opening in 1879. Tuapeka Mouth School’s roll grew steadily through the 1880s and 1890s. Around 1908 there were alterations when a new classroom was built. This ‘bright, airy room’ was used to house the junior school. Otago Education Board Records indicate that the school at that time had two classrooms, one 26 by 20 feet, the other 30 by 20 feet (7.9 by 6m, and 9.1 by 6m).
The school’s Diamond Jubilee was celebrated in 1930, and memorial gates erected to celebrate the occasion and commemorate the heroism of the local men who had served King and Country and to those who had lost their lives in the Great War and also to celebrate the jubilee. From this time on there was a decline reflecting the depopulation of the surrounding district. The School was closed on 31 January 1949, with pupils transferred to the Clutha Valley Primary School.
The site was used as a church camp in the late 1950s, and from that date until 1994, was run as a camp site. A concrete block addition was made to the west elevation of the school building in 1959 to provide service facilities for the camp ground. A meeting in October 2006 led by the Lawrence-Tuapeka Community Board canvassed views on the future of the school building, and a Trust was formed to facilitate future plans for the building.
In 2010 the Domain is available for large functions, and is used for the cavalcade, motor home rallies, vintage car rallies and visits from secondary school children. The Memorial Gates are still the site for Anzac Day services for the Tuapeka Mouth community.
The Tuapeka Mouth School is a single storey timber building. The building is T-shaped in plan, with two transecting gables. It is timber framed, with weatherboard cladding, and a corrugated iron roof. Metal ventilators are mounted on the peak of the gables. The majority of the windows are paired six light double hung sashes. The windows on the gable end is a paired four light double hung sash window flanked by paired two light single width windows. Entry is through a lean-to porch on the north elevation. On the west elevation there is a single storey concrete block addition which provided kitchen and laundry facilities when the building was used as a camp. The majority of the interior wall and ceiling claddings are timber match lining, some horizontal and some vertical. The ceiling lining runs the length of the building. In some parts the wall below Dado level has been relined with Pinex and other modern materials. The floors are tongue and groove timber.
The Tuapeka Mouth School has architectural, historical and social significance. The building has architectural significance as a representative example of a ‘No.1 School Plan’ designed by the Otago Education Board in the mid 1870s. This standard plan, used for small schools, was found throughout Otago. Historically the building is a representative example of a nineteenth century school, and was the centre of many community activities. . The subsequent history of the school’s closure and reuse as a community facility demonstrates the building’s continued importance to the local community. The Memorial Gates are a significant reminder of the sacrifices this small rural community made during World War One, and also recall the significance of the school to the Tuapeka Mouth people.
