This building was constructed in 1877 as the original Albert Road School. However, the school was initially only open for a short period, when a falling roll, and a number of incidents involving a short-tempered teacher named Mr Crean saw it closed by the Education Board in September 1878. Reported incidents involving Mr Crean include throwing the fire shovel at a boy to frighten him, and throwing tea leaves and slops over some of the children!
The closure, however, was short-lived, and with a growing population in the area, the school was re-opened in mid-1879.
In 1940, Tikorangi School was suffering from a severe shortage of classroom space, and to help alleviate the situation, the then unused building was transported to Tikorangi School for use as an extra classroom. It has since been shifted to the rear of Tikorangi School, and has at various points been used as the G. P. room, projector room, and has housed the Tikorangi Playcentre.
In December 2017, the Playcentre announced it was looking for a new home, however as of 2024, it appears the building is still being used by Playcentre.
It is one of the oldest surviving school buildings in Taranaki (it has a Category 2 Heritage Listing with Heritage NZ), and likely the only surviving school building clad in vertical board and batten.
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