How the School came by its Badge and Motto

Mr W. Fraser
Principal 1924 - 1949

It has to be remembered in the first place that the School was located within an important Maori area. Consequently when the House System was inaugurated it was perhaps natural that the various Houses should be endowed with the names of Maori Canoes. For some time too I had been toying with the idea of some Maori emblem that would be suitable for the School Badge.

Then a possible source of help came to mind in the person of Mr W.H. Wills who at the time was Principal of Otaki Maori College which, though now non-existent, was the earliest secondary College in New Zealand, having been established in 1840. Some 20 years before, Mr Wills and I had both played football together for Auckland University and were also housemasters together at St.John’s Collegiate School, now incorporated with King’s College. Mr Wills had early connections with Te Aute College and indeed on the demise of Otaki College was later to return to Te Aute as a member of the Staff.

His response was prompt and to the point. His story was that in the early days on every bend of the Waikato there was a Maori Chief and hence the area was known as the land of many chiefs - Waikato Taniwharau - Taniwha designating the Chief - rau, a hundred signifying the large number. He also said that the expression Waikato Taniwha-rau was well known and respected throughout Maoridom.

He suggested too that it might be possible to adopt the Taniwha as the School Badge and at the same time make use of the accompanying term as the School Motto.

Older Schools and Colleges in New Zealand being of a classical foundation sported Latin mottoes of an excelsior type. Founded as a Technical High School we had no clams in that direction, but here was something to live up to, and in New Zealand’s own native tongue: Taniwharau - The School of the Many Chiefs - and believe me in its varied and unusual product the School has already gone far in achieving something of the ambition contained in its school motto - Taniwharau - The School of the Many Chiefs.

The next step in the task was not so difficult as on the Staff as Art Master at the time was an Old Boy Mr W.E.W. Lewis (Ted) AR CA. To him was assigned the work of designing the badge. He made a trip to Ngaruawahia and studied the figure, a Taniwha, as depicted on some pedestal or other and finally produced the design of the many headed monster, the Taniwha as it appeared on the original together with the wavy lines to symbolize the Waikato River. I have been informed that from a heraldic point of view the design is sound.

I must admit to being somewhat inclined to favour the smaller copies of the original design. The School Song with its well known refrain of Taniwharau was written by Miss Ethel Madeley, a Senior Mistress, and set to music in a somewhat unusual key by our Music Mistress Miss Margaret Roe. So you have the story of the School Badge and the School Motto

Taniwharau    The School of the Many Chiefs.