New Zealand - Thames - Thames High School - Form 5 - 1977 Thames High School - Established 1880 - It is the second oldest secondary school in the former Auckland Province Notes on Thames - Thames is a town at the southwestern end of the Coromandel Peninsula. - Thames at its peak, was the second-largest city in New Zealand. - Thames was formed from two historic towns, Grahamstown and Shortland, of which many original buildings still stand. - The town was initially built during a gold rush, with the first major discovery of gold being made on 10 August 1867 by William Hunt, in the Kuranui Stream at the north end of Thames. (Reference: Wikipedia)