Taieri College .::. History

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History

The Taieri Plain was settled by Scottish Presbyterians under the Otago Free Church scheme. They placed a premium on education and required a public school in every parish. East Taieri established the first School on the Taieri Plain in 1853. The teacher was Mr Alexander Gabbie.

By 1863 a new school and teacher’s house had been created and the head teacher was John Hislop brought out from Scotland. The roll was 94.

By 1870 it was obvious that the site of growth was going to be Mosgiel and the Woollen Factory. Mr Hislop agreed to the establishment of a side school in Mosgiel. In 1874 the school was opened near the factory gates in High Street with Donald McLeod as head teacher, there were 89 students.

However the site was too small and in 1885 a new school was opened on the present site close to the Mosgiel Presbyterian Church. In 1901 the school become Mosgiel District High School with Mr Edward Pinder as head of the secondary school.

In 1951 the school celebrated its 80th anniversary and plans were put in place to establish separate primary schools. In 1956 Mosgiel District High School became The Taieri High School, primary aged students were accommodated in a number of sites across the town.

Mosgiel Intermediate was established in 1973 and in 2004 Mosgiel Intermediate and The Taieri High School were merged to form Taieri College.