In its 150-year history, Hukarere Girls’ College has been hit by a fire, an earthquake, temporary closure and now destructive flooding.
But the Esk Valley boarding school is vowing to open again - no one is more determined to make that happen than the woman who evacuated 48 girls before the area was submerged.
Currently, the kura is full of silt that's meters deep. Classrooms, dormitories and the school's orchard are buried.
Hostel manager Amelia Kaui is keeping an eye on the cleanup to make sure everything is safe.
When the cyclone first hit, she checked and rechecked Esk Valley’s river, pre-warning students they’d likely have to evacuate.
“We are going to be absolutely on to it, and we will stay focused, and that became the meme of the night as well,” she said.
When she saw the slash coming around the riverbend, she started to evacuate the students - making two trips to Napier.
“It's never risen that fast ... in that time, and as I've pulled off the bridge, a pile of slash has come around the corner, and that was enough to say right we're out.”
“Deep in my heart, I knew we were in an emergency evacuation, but it was important to keep the girls focused and calm.”
Zsana Dimitro, the school’s head girl, told 1News about the evacuation saying: “everything about it was really scary.”
“All our girls worked together, and we kept each other safe and happy through such a tragic time.”
They were among the first to escape the valley which Gabrielle ravaged.
“I took a moment to let that sink in, like what if we didn't...Glad we did at the time,” Kaui said.
The next night, when all the students were safe, exhaustion began to set in, which is when she asked the head girl for help.
Kaui’s actions are being praised by the students, who say she saved their lives.
“There were heaps of emotions, heaps of stuff going on, and Whaea Amelia was honestly the best. She kept us safe and happy and did what was best for the girls. No matter what it was,” Dimitro said.
Arrangements were made to get the girls back to their whānau.
The Trust board wants to rebuild hopefully within four years. It's unclear where at the moment; in the meantime, work is underway to find a temporary home.
SHARE ME