Tom Oliphant, Broadhurst’s solicitor, found the site and cabled Broadhurst who was back in England. Broadhurst got on the next available ship.
The school was founded by Arthur Francis Brooks Broadhurst.
The school was designed by American architect Roy Alston Lippincott. It opened on February 22 with more than 800 invited guests.
Reverend James Beaufort was asked by Broadhurst to be joint headmaster. He was also the chaplain.
James Beaufort left the school. Charles Chandler replaced him as chaplain. He stayed until 1946.
68 acres was purchased for the school farm, making it a total of 177 acres.
Broadhurst gifted the school, which he built with entirely his own money, to the St Peter’s School Trust Board.
Colin Riddet joined St Peter’s in 1940 and stayed for three years. He later succeeded his father as a trustee in 1959, became chairman in 1983, and retired in 1987
The farm changed from mixed farming to intensive dairying. It previously had sheep, pigs and poultry.
Sid Newnham was the farm manager from 1947 – 1971. He was also a school manager and board member.
Arthur Broadhurst retired as headmaster at age 70.
The 25th Jubilee was marked with a chapel service, cricket matches and a cocktail party.
Frances Swears joined as a staff member. She was a long-serving teacher of junior classes and a play producer. She left in 1990.
David John Thornton became headmaster of St Peter's School. He was born in Wellington in 1925. He was educated at Wellington College, graduated MA (Honors) in modern languages and attended Auckland Teacher's College in 1952. He had teaching experience at King's School, Kings College and spent two years in English Public Schools. He then went to Christ's College where he was the youngest ever boarding house to be appointed.
The first Urewera expedition took place. Students are still making this annual trip.
Mark Hanna joined the staff roll. He was a long-serving, successful house master of Broadhurst house. He retired in 1994.
Mike Brock came on board as a staff member. He ran the school farm for 12 years, was a housemaster, Head of Prep and Urewera leader. He left in 2004.
The school expanded to include a secondary school.
Rowing was introduced to the school. It is now one of the most popular competitive sports at St Peter's.
Broadhurst House was opened as a boarding house for boys.
Oliphant House opened as a boarding house for boys.
Swimming sports were held in the Cambridge Olympic size pool for the first time.
A rotary shed was built on the farm to make dairying easier.
The school roll doubled to have 286 students.
David Thornton retired as headmaster. He and his wife Grace bought a motel in Waipukurau but he had been ill for some time. He was cared for in hospital in Napier and Wellington.
Peter Parr became the headmaster of St Peter's School. His background was a blending of state and independent education. He began his teaching career at Takapuna Grammar after his year at Auckland Teacher's College. in 1955 he was head of mathematics at Waimate High School. In 1967 he was headmaster of Dilworth School in Auckland.
David Thornton passed away.
Sue Wrigley joined as a staff member. She was a trustee from 1980 – 1983, then again in 1989 – 2000. She was chairperson from 1997.
The Gym was named after Dr John Horton, who had been a trustee since 1968 and chairman since 1971.
Riddet House opened as a boarding house for boys.
Alistair and Jenny Gardner came on board. Alistair was a graphic designer, created the house system and was director of Riddet. Jenny was the matron and co-director of Riddet for more than 20 years.
There was a fire in the auditorium where about 2000 books were destroyed.
The Thornton Auditorium opened, replacing the one that was damaged in the fire.
Reverend Maku Potae joined the school. He was a Urewera leader, was a sportsmaster, and was appointed chaplain from 1989 – 1995. He was also housemaster of Broadhurst House.
The 50th jubilee was held at the school with many former students in attendance.
Arthur Broadhurst passed away in England at age 95.
School house was opened. It is now a boarding house for girls and is situated in the main block.
The school welcomed female students. The first cohort numbered 25.
Peter Parr retired as headmaster. He continued his association with Rotary, taught maths, and helped with careers at St Paul's. He was a locum at Huntley Preparatory School, Marton, between headmasters. He was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for service to the community in 2009.
Richard Bentham Morris became headmaster. He was born in 1942 and attended King's College from 1955 to 1959. He gained a Certificate of Education at Primary Teacher's College and taught at King's from 1967 - 1971. From 1972 - 1975 he taught at Repton School in Derbyshire, England, and in 1976 he completed a post-graduate Certificate of Education at Cambridge University. From 1977 - 1987 he taught at St Paul's Collegiate.
Gwynnelands House was opened for day girls.
Lippincott House was opened - the first boarding house for girls.
Kelly Falconer was appointed as the first ever head girl of the school.
The science block was opened.
The chapel's organ was rebuilt.
Richard Cain joined the school as a staff member. He was a housemaster, an outstanding teacher of history and classics, and was director of Parr House from 1995. He retired in 2017.
Patricia Steel became a staff member of the school. She was a long-serving teacher who established the home economics department. She was appointed senior mistress in 1992 and was assistant principal in charge of prefects and the prefect selection process.
Bruce Richards was appointed Head of Science, was a successful XI hockey coach, technical director and house master.
The first St Peter's News was published. It was re-named The Owl in 2014.
Mike Kilgour joined the school. He worked on the school farm for 12 years, then became Parr House director from 1995 – 2002. He now works as an agriculture/horticulture teacher.
Beaufort House was opened for boarding girls.
School House became a house for day boys and was renamed Parr House.
Tim Macindoe started at the school. He introduced colour houses as a new house competition and was deputy principal from 1996 – 2002.
Richard Morris retired as headmaster. After his tenure at St Peter's he became headmaster of Mvumi School in Tanzania. It was a struggling, poor village school. By the end of 2003, two boarding houses had been built and a dining hall was constructed in 2004. He now lives in Cambridge, England.
Steve Robb became headmaster. He was a fine language teacher with experience of running a department in a school with a high academic reputation. In 1989 he was principal of John Paul College in Rotorua, and he was also HOD languages at Palmerston North Boys High School. He was also a member of the national executive of the Secondary Principals' Association of New Zealand.
Tony and Linda Broadbent joined the school as staff. Linda was a prep teacher, house director, assistant director of boarding. Tony was director of sport and a maths teacher. They left in 2017.
The principal's house was completed onsite.
Brenton Joubert joined the school as a full-time counsellor and has held numerous roles including Director of Boarding and Dean. He is now Deputy Principal, second in charge to the Campus Principal.
The first equestrian competition was held at the school after the cross country jumps were completed.
12 horses and riders were at the school and had instruction 3 times a week from 2 instructors.
The English Block was opened by Prime Minister Helen Clark.
The dining hall was extended to accommodate 750 people.
The site plan for the equestrian centre was developed.
Gwynnelands House was demolished. A house for day girls, next to Parr House for day boys, was later re-named Gwynnelands.
The Art and Technical Block opened.
The Bodle Tennis and Netball Courts were opened by Tim and Karen Bodle, parents of Luke, Christy and Gemma. They celebrated with principal Steve Robb and Chairman of the Board, Sue Wrigley.
The Art and Technical Block opened.
Student centre was opened by Sir Colin Meads. One of the day houses was re-named Gwynnelands.
The social science block was opened by Dame Silvia Cartwright.
Morris House was opened as a boarding house for boys.
Wrigley House was opened by Sue Wrigley as a boarding house for girls.
The maths block was opened.
Jason Speedy was appointed deputy principal and made an immediate impact on the school. He left in 2016.
The sports pavilion was opened by Sir Richard Hadlee.
The Robb Sports Centre was built. It was opened by Dame Susan Devoy.
The 70th anniversary of the school was celebrated.
New gates and entrance way were installed and celebrated.
The open classroom in the Kahikatea Stand was donated by Environment Waikato.
The new AgHort facility was opened.
St Peter's celebrated 20 years of girls at the school. This photo is of students from 1987.
The metal and engineering workshop was opened.
The Golf Academy was opened by Sir Bob Charles.
The Swimming Academy was opened.
Horton Gym moved across the field, next to the Sports Pavilion.
The International Baccalaureate was introduced to the school.
The Brock Pool was opened, one year after Mike Brock's death.
The restoration of the chapel was completed.
The new Library, English and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) block was opened.
Students had their first expedition to Waimarino.
The school celebrated its 75th anniversary.
Bruce and Don Hamilton commissioned to write history book about the school. The publication was called The Owl Spreads Its Wings.
The school had a 100% pass rate for first cohort of IB students.
The school welcomed its first Kaumatua - Reverend Wirihana.
The Perry Pool, St Peter's School's first indoor pool, was opened.
The Home of Cycling, otherwise known as the Avantidrome, was officially opened by Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The new Prep Block was officially opened by the Eyre family.
The demonstration farm was officially launched by Minister of Primary Industries, Nathan Guy.
The Business and Entrepreneurial Centre was opened. It was the former Prep Block.
Steve Robb retired as principal.
Dale Burden became principal of St Peter's. He was headmaster of Auckland's Mount Albert Grammar School for 13 years.
A Wellbeing Services Team was introduced to ensure students’ overall wellbeing is catered for in a wrap-around collaborative model of care.
The Musical Theatre Academy is unique and highly specialised, providing students with intensive vocational training outside of academic classes.
On 24 March the school was placed into Lockdown for seven weeks as a result of the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe.
Facing this unchartered territory didn’t deter St Peter’s students from embracing a new approach to teaching, utilising online platforms such as Google Classroom and Hangouts. Very high engagement with all areas of the curriculum and motivated students made for a highly successful experience.
With the departure of Chaplain Michael Bennett and a roll in excess of 1200 students, the Board decided to appoint two Chaplains, Matt Martyn and Vanessa MacCarthy to meet the needs of both the boys and girls.
With the increased interest hockey at the school and the introduction of a new Junior Hockey Academy, parents and sponsors raised funds to install a state-of-the-art water-based turf.
With the growing need for digital capability, this purpose-built classroom opened in the BEC building.
The St Peter’s, Cambridge Trust board has entered into a joint venture with local developer, 3Ms of Cambridge, that will see 32 of its 170-hectare farm transformed into a residential subdivision over the next four years, creating an intergenerational endowment fund designed to ensure the long term financial independence for the school for the benefit of current and future students.
The new state-of-the-art facility will enable students to receive the very best training and pathways into hospitality, food science, nutrition and more once they leave school.
With the decision to no longer offering boarding placements in Years 7 and 8, the school house boarding facility was decommissioned in December 2022.
Commencing in January 2023, Marcus joined the school from his role at St Peter's College in Adelaide, Australia.