Whangārei Boys' High School Auditorium

The auditorium at Whangārei Boys' High School, 245 Western Hills Drive, Avenues, is one of the larger indoor performance and conference spaces in Whangārei and is available for external hire.

The venue

The auditorium forms part of the school's rebuilt campus, completed in May 2022. It is designed as a flexible space rather than a fixed theatre: 557 fixed seats sit on the mezzanine floor, while the lower level can be cleared and reconfigured, giving a total capacity of around 1,400 people. That flexibility means the same room can work as a proscenium theatre, a plenary hall, a flat-floor expo or a banquet space depending on the layout chosen.

Technical and support facilities

The auditorium is properly equipped for production work, with:

• A 32 x 16 channel stage box and a Midas M32 console for mixing
• A fully LED lighting rig
• An extendable stage
• Digital projector and projection screen
• In-house sound system
• An in-house technician

Other facilities include air conditioning and heating, accessible access, toilets, internet access and on-site parking. Wifi is available by arrangement.

Hiring

Hire is arranged through the school's Facilities Manager, who prepares a quotation tailored to the specific event. Because the venue is a working school facility, availability will be shaped by the school calendar, so early enquiry is sensible for dated events.

The school

Whangārei Boys' High School has been part of education in Te Tai Tokerau for more than 145 years. In the winter of 1878 local citizens approached Sir Robert Douglas, Member of Parliament for Marsden, seeking support for a secondary school in the township, and Parliament passed the Whangārei High School Act 1878 on 2 November that year. The auditorium is the centre of the school's performing arts programme, hosting assemblies, productions, concerts, prizegivings and guest speakers, and the school takes part in the Festival of Performing Arts, Fideliter Jazz Band concerts, Smokefree Rockquest, the Chamber Music Contest and the Sheila Winn Shakespeare Festival.

Suitability for MICE

For conference organisers working in Northland, this is a genuine large-capacity option. A plenary of well over a thousand delegates is achievable, the professional audio and lighting infrastructure and in-house technician remove a significant chunk of production hire cost, and the reconfigurable lower level supports trade displays, awards dinners or cabaret layouts alongside conference sessions.

The practical limitations are those of any school venue: there is no in-house catering or bar operation, no adjoining hotel accommodation, and no dedicated breakout suite, so caterers, accommodation and secondary meeting rooms need to be sourced separately. Used well, it suits conferences and conventions with large plenary requirements, awards evenings, concerts, graduations, touring productions, public lectures and community expos. Explore more Northland venues.