New Zealand - Masterton - Makoura College - Form 4 RS - 1984 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. Makoura College - The school opened in 1968 as the town's second state secondary school, alongside Wairarapa College - The college was sited on the eastern side of Masterton, close to several primary schools - In early April 2008, a private meeting was held between the Ministry of Education, the Makoura College Board of Trustees chairperson and the Wairarapa College board chairperson. Since the meeting, the Makoura College Board has disclosed that it feels that the college should be merged with nearby Wairarapa College or closed. The board blamed the closure on a declining roll, which it suggested was the result of a declining population and "the socio-economic, racist and snobbish attitudes that have developed in Masterton around the so-called East/West divide". A public meeting was held to discuss the consultation, and submissions were invited to the Board of Trustees, with approximately 225 being received. College students initiated a petition in support of the school, which received approximately 7,512 signatures. Local Member of Parliament John Hayes came out in support of the school and suggested the replacement of the school's management - Former pupil Jemaine Clement and Flight of the Conchords partner Bret McKenzie played a concert to an audience of 2,000 on 31 March 2009, raising 70,000 dollars for the school.[