Cyclone Gabrielle: Nūhaka School - when flooding subsided, mould, asbestos found

Nūhaka School principal Raelene McFarlane already had big shoes to fill after taking over from former principal Nick Chapman in 2022 - then Cyclone Gabrielle hit just six months into her new role.

The school grounds have seen generations of northern Hawke’s Bay families pass through but in February the classrooms were completely flooded, with not a single blade of green grass to be seen.

Cyclone Gabrielle left Nūhaka School grounds completely flooded and, a year on, students suffer rain anxiety when the weather turns.

Upon further inspection after the floodwaters subsided, the school buildings were found to have structural issues as well as black mould and asbestos.

“There was a huge state of fear and panic initially. It was unknown where we would go and what we would do,” McFarlane said.

She searched everywhere to find the children a place of learning.

The students aged between 5 and 12 at the school on State Highway 2 between Wairoa and Gisborne were split between St Joseph’s School and the Wairoa Community Centre who welcomed them with open arms.

McFarlane said it was important to her to keep the students together so when they were granted permission to use the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nūhaka she was thrilled.

“We needed our students to be learning back here at Nūhaka.”

With renewed hope and less travel time, they moved back to Nūhaka until another storm hit the area in November and the church was flooded.

Once again they had to move, this time to Tane-nui-a-Rangi Marae, where they settled into their even smaller learning space.

“They have just bounced from location to location, but they have been happy, vibrant and they have kept learning.”

Nūhaka School will be demolished and rebuilt after damage from the cyclone revealed hidden issues.

McFarlane said “rain anxiety” had become an issue for her students, and she has monitored fatigue and burnout within her staff.

“That’s real in our adults, our families and our kids. At first I thought it was a throw-away term but it’s a real thing that happens to our kids when the weather turns.”

Some Nūhaka School students with new playground equipment given to them by an Auckland school for their space at the church.

She said that the future of Nūhaka looked exciting, and the Ministry of Education hoped to have the old school demolished and a new one built by the beginning of 2025.

McFarlane said there was never any talk of the closure of the school, rather the conversations had been around the rebuild.

“Last year threw everything it could at us and as a result of that is a team and a culture that I fully believe can get through anything.”

McFarlane said the rebuild would happen all at once and it was the best and quickest outcome and would eventually ensure fewer disruptions.

“Our kura will be here and it will be better than ever - brand new and state of the art.”

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.