Napier Boys' High School is a secondary boys' school in

Napier, New Zealand Napier ( ; ) is a city on the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Hawke's Bay region. It is a beachside city with a seaport, known for its sunny climate, esplanade lined with Norfolk pines, and extensive Art D ...

. It currently has a school roll of approximately pupils. The school provides education from Year 9 to Year 13.

Headmasters

The following is an incomplete list of Napier Boys High School's Headmasters * William Allan Armour 1916–1928 * William Foster 1928–1952 * Hugh Henderson 1953–1964 * Darcy Caird 1965–1976 * Bruce Davie 1977–1993 * Mark Hensman 1993–1997 * Ross Brown 1997–2015 * Matt Bertram 2016–2021 * Jarred Williams 2021–2024 * Simon Coe 2024-Present

Sport

The school is Super 8 school and has an exchange program with Wairarapa College. It also has a rugby exchange with Palmerston North Boys' High School, the Polson Banner.

History

Napier Boys' High School was founded in 1872 and originally amalgamated with Napier Girls' High School on the 29 January 1884. Established 16 years after

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand, a feat achieved in part thanks to its original inception as a private school. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it r ...

, Napier Boys' High School remains one of the oldest schools in New Zealand. The school was previously located on Bluff hill. In 1927, Napier Boys' High School relocated to Te Awa for expansion space. In July 1915, William Allan Armour became the new headmaster. Armour revolutionized Napier Boys' High School's academic and sporting aspects. He established the school's credibility and public reputation. In 1928, Armour helped to redevelop the school's campus and to honour his commitment, 'A' block was named after him. After the Napier 1931 earthquake, Napier Technical College was disestablished by the minister of education and almalgamated into Napier Boys' High School and Napier Girls' High School. Much of the campus was also redeveloped in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style. On the 20 November 1998, the Hawkes Bay aroldHolt Planetarium was built. On the 19 April 2002, chemistry teacher Reuben John Martin was arrested and charged for manufacturing Class A MDA, Class B

MDMA 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as ecstasy (tablet form), and molly (crystal form), is an empathogen–entactogenic drug with stimulant and minor Psychedelic drug, psychedelic properties. In studies, it has been used ...

, commonly known as ecstasy, and Class C TMAs. Martin pleaded guilty to drug manufacturing charges on the 11 August 2003 and was released in 2012.

Campus

The school occupies a site of approximately 30 hectares. The school's grounds accommodate four rugby and two soccer pitches in winter and eight grass cricket wickets in summer. The school has a swimming complex, a gymnasium, and home to the Hawkes Bay Holt Planetarium. The boarding house (Scinde House) is located on-site, and accommodates 185 pupils.

Notable alumni

Business

Rod Drury Rodney Kenneth Drury (born 1966) is a New Zealand technology entrepreneur, predominately known for his association with accounting software company, Xero. Drury was CEO of Xero until 2018, after founding the company in 2006. Drury made his ini ...

– chief executive officer of Xero, accounting software * Chris Tremain (born 1966) – real estate investor and entrepreneur

Arts

John Psathas John Psathas, (born Ioannis Psathas, ; 1966) is a New Zealand Greek composer. He has works in the repertoire of such high-profile musicians as Evelyn Glennie, Michael Houstoun, Michael Brecker, Joshua Redman and the New Juilliard Ensemble, a ...

– internationally-acclaimed music composer

Public service

* Oscar Alpers (1867–1927) – Supreme Court judge * Frank Corner (born 1920) – diplomat *

Cyril Harker Cyril Geoffrey Edmund Harker (17 November 1890 – 4 November 1970) was a New Zealand soldier, lawyer and politician of the National Party. Biography Harker was born at Havelock North and attended Napier Boys' High School. He gradua ...

(1899–1970) – National MP for Waipawa and Hawke's Bay (1940–1963) * Sydney Jones (1894–1982) – National MP for Hastings (1949–1954) * Arnold Reedy (1903–1971) – Māori leader * Percy Storkey (1891–1969) – Victoria Cross recipient in an Australian unit * Chris Tremain (born 1966) – MP for Napier (2005–2014) * Stuart Nash – MP for Napier (2014–2023) and Minister of Police (2017–2023)

Religion

* Ralph Vernon Matthews – Bishop of Waiapu from 1979 to 1983 * John Bluck – Dean of

ChristChurch Cathedral Christ Church Cathedral, also called ChristChurch Cathedral and (rarely) Cathedral Church of Christ, is a deconsecration, deconsecrated Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was built between 1864 ...

from 1990 to 2002, Bishop of Waiapu from 2002 to 2008

Sport

* Aidan Daly – basketball player in the NBL * Chris Jackson – former New Zealand

All Whites The New Zealand men's national football team () represents New Zealand in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Football (NZF), which is currently a memb ...

soccer captain * Sam Jenkins – former New Zealand

soccer player and New Zealand Olympian number 1050 *

Mark Paston Mark Nelson Paston (born 13 December 1976) is a New Zealand former professional football goalkeeper. He played for the Wellington Phoenix in the A-League from 2007 to 2013 before he retired from professional football. Paston represented New Ze ...

– former

goalkeeper * Puke Lenden – former basketball player in the NBL *

Jesse Ryder Jesse Daniel Ryder (born 6 August 1984) is a former international New Zealand cricketer, who played all forms of the game. He was a middle-order batsman for Tests and an opening batsman in ODIs. Ryder also bowled useful medium-pace. Ryder previ ...

– Black Caps opener and amateur boxer *

Shayne O'Connor Shayne Barry O'Connor (born 15 November 1973) is a former New Zealand international cricketer, who played in 19 Test matches and 38 One Day Internationals between 1997 and 2001.Black Caps fast bowler * Jason Stewart – Olympic athlete (800m) *

Hubert McLean Hubert Foster McLean (18 July 1907 – 24 April 1997), known as Hugh McLean, was a New Zealand rugby union player who played for the All Blacks between 1930 and 1936. He was educated at Hastings Boys' High School and Napier Boys' High School w ...

– All Black *

Greg Somerville Greg Mardon Somerville is a New Zealand rugby union player. He is a former All Black and a specialised tighthead prop who can also play loosehead. Somerville made his All Black debut in 2000 against Tonga, a match in which the All Blacks won 102 ...

– former All Black No. 991 *

Zac Guildford Zachary Robert Guildford (born 8 February 1989) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player who played as a wing most notably for National Provincial Championship club Hawke's Bay and the New Zealand national team. Early life ...

–

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

and

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

winger * Richard Turner – former All Black and rugby commentator * Daniel Kirkpatrick –

Wellington Lions The Wellington Rugby Football Union (known as the Wellington Lions for competition reasons) are a New Zealand governing body of rugby union in the New Zealand province of Wellington Region. The main stadium is Sky Stadium (formerly named Wes ...

and

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

player * Bryn Evans –

(#1090) * Gareth Evans –

(#1179) and

(number 8) *

Brad Weber Brad McCormick Weber (born 17 January 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a halfback for Stade Français in the French Top 14. He previously played for in the National Provincial Championship and the in Super Ru ...

–

(#1140) and Māori All Black and Captain Chiefs Halfback and Captain * Tyrone Thompson – Maori All Black and Chiefs Hooker * Jonty Elmes - New Zealand Black Sticks Forward * Joe Ward –

Wasps RFC Wasps Rugby Football Club was a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby, until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022, the club entered administration, resulting in ...

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emerg ...

Hooker

Other

* Phil Lamason – WWII RNZAF bomber pilotAnzac Day: From teen ratbag to hero
(April 25, 2012). ''Hawkes Bay Today''. Retrieved 2012-05-02 * Garth McVicar – founder and chairman of the

Sensible Sentencing Trust The Sensible Sentencing Trust was a political advocacy group based in Napier, New Zealand. The Trust's stated goal is "to educate both the public and victims of serious violent and/or sexual crime and homicide" It focuses on advocating for the ri ...

in 2001

Notable teachers

* Kirstin Daly-Taylor – Former Olympic athlete in basketball and Head Coach for the

Hawke's Bay Hawks The Hawke's Bay Hawks are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Napier. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Pettigrew Green Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as th ...

* Joe Schmidt – Former coach of the Irish International Rugby Union Team

References

Sources

External links

School WebsiteStatisticsHolt Planetarium
{{Authority control Boarding schools in New Zealand Boys' schools in New Zealand Educational institutions established in 1872 Secondary schools in Hawke's Bay Schools in Napier, New Zealand 1872 establishments in New Zealand