New Zealand - Palmerston North - Awatapu College - 4HL - 1981 Do you have more information about the school or the people in this photo? Please use the comment section below to share. To search for other photos from this school, please type the schools name in to our search engine. Awatapu College - Established 1976 - Awatapu College is located in West End, a suburb of Palmerston North, at the bend of Botanical Road - Like most New Zealand state secondary schools of the 1970s, Awatapu College was built to the S68 standard plan, characterised by single-storey classroom blocks with concrete block walls, low-pitched roofs, protruding clerestory windows, and internal open courtyards - The name "Awatapu" was chosen because the school is located on the site of an ancient lagoon. It was an ancient name which celebrated a forgotten event in the history of the "Tangata whenua" – the Rangitane people, whose ancestors had for many centuries padded along the bush tracks or splashed up the creek from the river to enjoy the bounty of Awatapu. If that name had not been chosen, it would have probably soon been lost - The traditional colours of the school are brown and gold but have now changed to black and gold