History

Patiki is the historical Maori name for this area. Patiki is Maori for flounder, which were abundant in the Whau Creek and upper reaches of the Waitemata Harbour. The pattern on our school stationery and sports unifroms is derived from the Maori design for flounder.
The school has a very special place in the community with many 2nd and 3rd generation families still living in the area and having children attending the school.

In the 1940's the site where the school now stands was in market gardens. The land however was an Education Board Reserve and marked for a future school. With the advent of the WWII the land was taken over by the Public Works Department and designated for a military hospital.
The hospital was built and staffed by the US Navy. The hospital site covered the grounds of both the College and  the Intermediate and was built to house 2000 patients although the maximum number of patients was just over 1000. The school fields plus Eastdale Reserve were covered in military buildings .These included barracks, dining halls the hospital morgue and even a military jail.
Within months of the end of the war the hospital was converted into two schools, the Intermediate and the College. The schools opened in 1945 with the students entering the main building going right to the Intermediate and left to the College.
The schools remained joined until the College was rebuilt after the fire of 1986. The last of the hospital buildings will be demolished in 2008 making way for the final buildings of the new school.