History
Local History:
The Kaikarae (Kaikorai) stream and lagoon was for local Kāi Tahu a traditional site of mahinga kai (food gathering), particularly for tuna (eel) and pātiki (flounder). Kaikorai is a corruption of ‘kai karae’ (‘eating petrels’) referring to the Māori explorer Rākaihautū whose party is said to have eaten these seabirds while camping at the mouth of the stream. Māori used the valley and ridgeline of the western hills as trails, Ara Kaikorai, and both converged on the site of the current Kaikorai School, before running down Māori Hill to Ōtepoti (Dunedin) and the main harbour site at the mouth of the Toitū stream or to join modern-day North East Valley to exit the area to the north.
Kaikorai Primary School has had many changes over the years.
The following information highlights some of the ways that our school has changed and developed over the years.
- Old Linden School opened in 1869. Linden was the original name for the area where Kaikorai School is located. Wright Street was originally Linden Street and is now the main entrance to the Kaikorai School. The old main entrance was from Tyne Street.
- New Kaikorai School opened in 1884.
- Kaikorai School stone buildings were demolished in 1969.
- The arches over the Tyne St entrance were removed in 1981.
- The War Memorial Plaques were relocated to the Wright Street entrance to go with the new memorial in 2003
- 2021 The start of the rebuild.
