Prior to the passing of the 1907 Ōtaki & Porirua Empowering Act, land in Porirua was vested in the Porirua College Trust and Ōtaki lands were vested in the New Zealand Mission Trust.

The Church Mission Trust had conducted a school on the land in Ōtaki and also held, in a separate Crown grant, adjacent land for Mission purposes. These lands included the lands that both Rangiatea Church and the present-day Te Wānanga o Raukawa campus are situated on.

ART tūpuna gifted the Mission lands and the educational lands in Porirua and Ōtaki. These gifts were practically simultaneous.

The 1907 Ōtaki & Porirua Empowering Act vested both the Porirua and Ōtaki lands in the Porirua College Trust Board until the creation of the Ōtaki & Porirua Trust Act 1943.

Under the Act, the Board has 10 Trustees; these trustees represent Raukawa Marae Trustees (4), Anglican Diocese of Wellington (5) and the Minister of Education (1).

BUILDINGS

In 1852 a Māori college and boarding hostel were built by the Church Mission. Although the hostel was closed in 1868, the school continued as a day school.

In 1903, the original hostel and school were burnt down. In 1907 the administration of the endowment was transferred from the Church Mission to the Trust. The Ōtaki and Porirua Empowering Act 1907 enabled the Trust to build a new hostel and school. This was also made possible because of the education endowment, set up in 1848 by ART tūpuna who gifted the land, and the then Governor, Sir George Grey and Anglican Bishop, George Selwyn.

The plans for the new facilities were drawn up by architect Ernest Coleridge, and the buildings were built by James Craig. The new facilities were opened by the Governor, General Lord Plunket on 4 October 1909. When built, the school building was described as having accommodation for 100 students in two large classrooms and an assembly hall. The hostel accommodation was designed to accommodate 20 staff and boarders of the school. The school operated for a further 30 years before being closed in 1939.