Te Pākihi o Maru was formerly established as Oamaru North School. Te Pākihi o Maru has a 149 year

Our kura was established in 1872 as Oamaru North School, and officially became Te Pākihi o Maru in April 2021. We’re proud of our history as one of Oamaru’s first schools and look forward to celebrating our 150th centenary in 2022.

The name Te Pākihi o Maru was gifted to the school by Ngai Tahu and represents our positive way forward.

Te Pākihi refers to the vast open land our school was built on, and Maru is a figure of importance in Ngai Tahu history - a name you might recognise in the towns of Oamaru and Timaru. Together, our name means ‘The wide-open plains of Maru’ - a celebration of the land our school is situated on and an acknowledgement of our local iwi and tikanga.