Te Aute College (Māori: Te Kura o Te Aute) is a school in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. It opened in 1854 with twelve pupils under Samuel Williams, an Anglican missionary, and nephew and son-in-law of Bishop William Williams. It has a strong Māori character. It was built on land provided by Ngai Te Whatuiapiti, a hapū of the Ngāti Kahungunu iwi. In 1857, a Deed of Gift transferred the land from Te Whatuiapiti to the Crown, with a request that it be granted to the Bishop of New Zealand and his successors. History Establishment Te Aute is situated within a valley of significant strategic importance to local hapū. The nearby Roto-a-Tara pā had been the key stronghold for Te Whatuiapiti during the Musket Wars, and was still a key settlement during the 1850s. From as early as 1840 the Anglican Bishop William Williams had established a mission station at Gisborne and was proselytizing actively among the East Coast tribes, and William Colenso had established a mission in Napier. Plans to establish a school for the local hapū were in motion from as early as 1851, when large blocks of Māori land in the region were acquired by the Crown. Then, when Colenso was dismissed from his mission in 1851, Williams' nephew Samuel Williams took up residence in the region, and began advancing the plan to establish a school. He met with Te Whatuiapiti representatives at Roto-a-Tara pā on 17 April 1853, accompanied by the Governor Sir George Grey, who provided the Crown's backing for the plan. An agreement was made at that meeting for a school to be established at Te Aute, with the crown supplying 4000 acres of land and Te Whatuiapiti hapū gifting an additional 3397 acres. In recent decades, the original acquisition of the Crown's portion of land gifted for the school has been the subject of a Waitangi Tribunal claim, which is presently in the settlement process. Early history After only five years in operation, a fire destroyed much of the college and forced its closure in 1859. Samuel Williams began fundraising for the reconstruction of the college, accumulating £700 by 1870 – in part thanks to financial assistance from an aunt, Catherine Heathcote. Rebuilding began in 1871 and was completed in 1872. The college was reopened in 1872 under John Reynolds as headmaster. It began to grow steadily, with 24 Māori and