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A 16-year-old girl has been charged with starting the blaze that destroyed a historic Maori-language school in Northland.
Fifty firefighters in 12 appliances battled the flames at Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Taumarere in Moerewa, near Kawakawa, on Saturday afternoon.
Most of the school's old wooden buildings were lost.
Detective Constable Chris Fouhy said the teenage girl would appear in Kaikohe Youth Court today charged with arson. Further charges for breaking into the school and property damage done on Friday afternoon might follow, he told Newstalk ZB.
A 13-year-old girl and 12-year-old boy also picked up in connection with the arson had been referred to Youth Aid.
Northland fire safety officer Terry Baylis said earlier it appeared someone had broken into the school's main administration block. "There was a lot of paper and other flammable equipment there and from what we can see it was deliberately lit."
He said there might have been attempts to set another part of the school alight as well.
Northland-based Maori Cabinet minister Shane Jones said yesterday that he was shocked by the arson.
"Agony is what I felt when I surveyed the charred remains of the kura kaupapa school and the sight was made more miserable by the extensive presence of graffiti scrawled across the walls of the school.
"It is disgusting that we have had an arson attack at this school, which the Prime Minister visited last year, but to have it tagged as well is enough for anyone to see red."
Mr Jones said local kaumatua had expressed anguish at the loss of parts of the school, which had stood for up to 97 years. "Given the cruel nature of this arson and the callous disregard the taggers have, I hope the Moerewa community leaders hold the families of these culprits to account."
Mr Jones said he had already spoken to Ministry of Education officials seeking assistance for the school.
"I will be lobbying the Minister of Education to ensure that no effort is spared in getting this school up and running again. Feral acts of this nature must not be allowed to deter the school community."
- NZPA
