King's School, Auckland

The first Chairman of the Board of Governors was Professor H S Dettman and the first Headmaster was A Clifton-Smith, who arrived from The Hutchins School. In 1927 Lt-Col T H Dawson, took over as Board Chairman and J G T Castle succeeded Clifton-Smith as Headmaster. The original stables were converted into a school chapel dedicated in 1928 by A W Averill, Archbishop of New Zealand and officially named The Chapel of the Holy Child.[2]

In 1931 J M Beaufort was appointed Headmaster and the school roll had dropped to 141 with 34 boarders. 1934 saw Colonel Charles Major take control of the school,after the resignation of Beaufort, pending the arrival of his son-in-law, John Morris in 1936. During these difficult times the school was run in conjunction with King's College. Bishop Averill was appointed as Chairman of the Board of Governors in 1935. In 1936 Colonel Major took over the Chairman position, the new Hanna Block was built and John Morris became headmaster. In 1938 S J Hanna became Chairman of the Board of Governors. Charles Major died in London in November.[2]

During the war years the school roll continued to rise reaching 260 with 76 boarders in 1943. The same year saw the return of the Headmaster from war service. In 1949 a new, enlarged swimming pool was opened and the school roll was now at 275 including 87 boarders. The construction of the War Memorial Hall commenced in 1954 and was completed in 1955, dedicated by the Bishop of Auckland, Bishop Simkin. In 1959 the roll was at 317 with 104 boarders.[2]

In 1961 Dr D L Richwhite began his 13-year term as Chairman of the Board of Governors. The following year saw the creation of 'The Friends of King’s School', originally called 'The King’s School Association'. The resignation of John Morris as Headmaster after 30 years service and the appointment of R J Pengelly as his successor occurred in 1965. In 1967 the first major development appeal was launched to fund the construction of the Kerridge Block. In 1974 Dr D L Richwhite retired as Board Chairman. The new 25-metre swimming pool was also completed and dedicated. The first year of weekly boarding was 1979.[2]

The King’s School Foundation was formed in 1984. In 1986 a Friends’ Gala Day raised $66,000 towards the construction of the pavilion to be later known as the Arthur Lennan Pavilion situated above No. 2 Field. Pengelly retired after 22 years as Headmaster in 1987 and was replaced by B M Butler the long-standing Headmaster of Huntley School. The Greening of King’s Appeal launched to fund the construction of an Astro Turf playing field on the site of the No 1 field. The school roll was now 575.[2]

Pengelly was dismissed in 1987.[4]

1992 was the last year of boarding. The boarding house closed and the two remaining dormitories on the top floor of the Hanna Block were converted into classrooms. In 1993 further extensions to the Chapel included a new south annex with the nave being extended and the addition of a choir changing room. The dedication of the new extensions was performed by Old Boy, Bishop Bruce Gilberd on 13 June. The new technology centre was opened in 1994 occupying the area of the former assembly hall/gymnasium. 1997 was the 75th anniversary of the opening of the school, and the JR Fletcher Performing Arts Centre was dedicated by the Bishop of Auckland and Board Member, John Paterson. The King’s School Old Boys’ Association was launched with Simon Moore the Inaugural President. As the school moved into the 21st century Bret Butler retired after 12 years as Headmaster. At the commencement of Term 2 Neil McWhannell took over as Headmaster. The Aquadome was officially opened by Sir Edmund Hillary on Friday 20 July 2001. At the end of the year Neil McWhannell retired and returned to Australia. In 2002 Harvey Rees-Thomas was appointed headmaster for a year to allow the Board of Governors to carry out a search for the new headmaster. Tony Sissons took over as the 10th Headmaster of King’s School in 2003. Construction of the Light House Project was started at the beginning of 2006 and was officially opened in August 2007. Work began on the Sportsdome in February 2008 and was completed in Term 3 2008. A new project called the Centennial Building will replace the old Hanna block. Work is scheduled to finish in 2017[2]