This English oak has been the focal point of Hunua School for over 100 years. It is thought to have been planted between 1893 and 1899 by Headmaster F. Elmsley. A report from the time reads - "The first of August being Arbor Day, the school children, some 50, and residents to the number of a bakers dozen attended at the school ground with spades, trees and flowers. The trees, oaks and various native plants, and a very neat flower bed of good size, were dug and planted and fenced in with a wattle fence, after which the children had their lunch, with tea, some games and a stroll in the bush ended a very pleasant day's enjoyment, as also instruction to the children" [1]. The telegraph pole was placed on the lowest branch in the late 1970s, allowing pupils to climb the tree (Barton, S. G., 2022).
Reference:
Barton, Ian L. 2001 'Hunua, The Place and Its People: A View From 2000' 146 Pages, Privately Published, Papakura
[1] Hunua - The place and its people: A view from 2000. By Ian Barton 2001