The story begins with the Chief Kawarau transforming into the maunga (Remarkable mountain range) and watching over Te Kura Whakatipu o Kawarau, bestowing his mana onto the Kawarau awa (river).
This forms our identity and is a crucial part of the school carrying its scared name gifted to our Kura by the Aparima Runaka.
The area was widely used as a mahinga kai, abundant in a wide range of foods as well as bountiful supplies of harakeke and other vital plants. The people would gather and collect the kai and supplies and then, in locally built rafts, travel both the lake and the awa that shares the Kawarau name. This river also signified a definite boundary line between hapū gathering places.
Significant to this particular site is where the people would gather to learn and grow skills, including crafts, reading the stars, and gaining knowledge around flora and fauna.
One of the various meanings of Whakatipu is to provide growth, gathering, learning and knowledge.
