6. Kohitere Boys’ Training Centre (Kohitere Centre) began as Weraroa State Farm in 1906 just outside of Taitoko Levin. It provided farm training for orphans, boys referred from the court, and those from “unsatisfactory homes”.[5] A 1936 State investigation found that physical discipline was excessively violent.[6] In 1969, Weraroa State Farm changed its name to Kohitere Boys’ Training Centre.[7]

7. Kohitere Centre housed boys from throughout the country mostly from 14 to 17 years old.[8] Its purpose was described as ‘rehabilitative’, with a focus on training for trades, and, for some children and young people, secondary schooling. A wide variety of recreation and sport choices was offered, but they depended on the skills and abilities of those organising the activities.[9] Kohitere Centre had an on-site farm, a workshop and a forestry block where children and young people worked.[10] The Residential Staff Training School opened on the grounds in 1970,[11] training residential staff from around Aotearoa New Zealand.

8. During the 1950s, Kohitere Centre housed a maximum of 55 children and young people, increasing to 110 by the 1970s.[12] Staff generally lived on site and by the 1960s there were approximately 18 staff residences.[13] Kohitere Centre experienced staff shortages, particularly during the 1970s. It officially closed in September 1990.

9. Hokio Beach School (Hokio School) initially began as a retreat for staff and children and young people from Kohitere Centre in the 1920s[14] but became a long-stay residential institution in 1945. Hokio School was located approximately 9km from Kohitere Centre, on the coast.[15] It was very isolated and surrounded by sand dunes and rough scrub.[16] It closed in December 1989.

10. Hokio School was described by the Department of Social Welfare as being concerned with the “social re-education of delinquent boys”,[17] with many of the children and young people seen as ‘unsuitable’ for other social welfare homes.[18] Hokio School was seen as a feeder school for Kohitere Centre. Sometimes boys were transferred there to make space at Hokio School for new children.[19]

11. Before 1964, Hokio School housed up to 36 boys and was often at capacity. After an expansion in 1964, Hokio School had 61 beds with two in a secure facility, and accommodation for nine male staff was built in 1969.[20] An audit in 1988 found the residence had always been at or over capacity.[21] Overcrowding coupled with understaffing often meant staff were responsible for many boys. A report prepared for Ministry of Social Development’s historical claims unit described Hokio School as having “long periods when vacancies were unable to be filled”.[22] This was particularly a problem for the school, which faced staff shortages and large class numbers.[23]

12. Although it was only a small town, Taitoko Levin was also home to the State‑run Kimberley Centre (1945 to 2006). The Inquiry has also received evidence from survivors of abuse and neglect at the Kimberley Centre and it is discussed in a separate case study. Te Iwi Muaūpoko are the mana whenua of the rohe that includes Hokio School and Kohitere Centre.

Hokio School and Kohitere Centre Timeline

• 1906 Kohitere Boys’ Training Centre, first Weraroa State Farm, was established.
• 1920s Hokio Beach School initially began as a retreat for staff and children and young people from Kohitere Centre.
• 1936 A State investigation found that physical discipline was excessively violent at Weraroa State Farm.
• 1945 Kohitere Centre became a long-stay residential institution.
• 1950s Rising public concerns over ‘juvenile delinquency’.
• 1950 to March 1990 4,138 boys were admitted to Kohitere Centre, from January 1950 to March 1990
• 1956 to 1988 1,326 boys were admitted to Hokio School from December 1956 to July 1988.
• 1957 The Child Welfare Division Field Officer’s Manual set out an array of provisions that needed to be complied with when a State ward was placed in a secure unit, including that it should be regarded as an emergency procedure.
• 1960s A report was published that tried to explain the high numbers of tamariki and rangatahi Māori in Kohitere Centre, suggesting that urbanisation and an ‘inability’ to integrate could be to blame.
• 1964 Hokio School was expanded to have 61 beds, with two in a secure facility. Hokio was intended to be for boys aged 10 to 14 years old, but housed boys as young as 8 years old and up to 15 years old.
• Mid-1960s From the mid-1960s onwards, the children and young people were predominantly tamariki and rangatahi Māori. The percentage of tamariki and rangatahi Māori admitted to Hokio School rose steadily throughout the 1970s, peaking at 80 percent in 1978.
• 1968 A letter from the head teacher at Hokio School identified multiple issues with the school environment, in particular the inability to provide boys with the remedial one-to-one teaching they needed.
• 1969 Weraroa State Farm changed its name to Kohitere Boys’ Training Centre.
• 1969 A report into staff rostering at Kohitere Centre found that housemasters, who were considered ‘father figure’, only spent around 8.4 percent of their time counselling children and young people.
• 1969 Accommodation for nine male staff was built at Hokio School.
• 1970s A new system was introduced at Kohitere Centre, where boys were expected to complete at least three months of school before moving on to work training.
• 1971 A report into long-term institutional care of boys illustrates a negative view held by much of the public, and many of the Hokio School and Kohitere Boys’ Training Centre staff.
• 1973 A study by the Department of Justice recognised the impact of targeting and discrimination. It reported that Auckland police youth aid officers “discriminated against Māori boys by sending a disproportionate number of them to court”.
• 1983 Social Welfare introduced specific guidelines to ensure better monitoring of secure placements.
• November 1983 A report noted that from January to October 1983, 43 boys at Kohitere Centre were in secure for more than 14 days, with only nine of these placements complying with the guidelines.
• 1986 Corporal punishment was banned.
• 1986 The Children and Young Persons (Residential Care) Regulations did not provide for punishment as grounds for admission to secure.
• 1987 There were 58 admissions to secure at Hokio School and Kohitere Centre that were incorrectly documented, with the reason for placement not in compliance with regulations.
• 1988 An internal audit found that Hokio School had always been at or over capacity.
• December 1989 Hokio School officially closed.
• September 1990 Kohitere Centre officially closed.