KCOCA Reunion Weekend - Celebrating 100 years at Ōtāhuhu
Thursday, 30 June 2022

Our big KCOCA event for autumn was the KCOCA Reunion Weekend on 17, 18 and 19 of June. This included our KCOCA Centennial cocktail party on the Friday night with a special rugby jersey presentation for our King’s 1st XV team by Old Collegian, Pita Alatini (Marsden, 1989-94), in preparation for the King’s vs Auckland Grammar game the next day. The jersey presentation was a welcome addition to the Cocktail Party celebrations as it gave our Old Collegian community a chance to connect with the 1st XV team before the big game.
On the Saturday, we held a chapel service, which was presided over by Old Collegian and Executive Committee member Rev Onosai Auva’a (Peart, 1998-2002), prior to the KCOCA pre-match rugby luncheon kicking off in the student Dining Hall. After lunch, we flowed out onto the field to take our places on the sidelines for the legendary King’s vs Grammar 1st XV match. The KCOCA seating for the Grammar match couldn’t have been better and our Old Collegians were treated to a great view of the incredible full school haka and our King’s College 1st XV team triumphing 15-3. At the end of the afternoon all were in good spirits despite the weather, which by then had really closed in on us. The KCOCA Committee were delighted to finally be able to host and welcome back to the College a large gathering of our KCOCA community after all the upheavals and cancellations of the past two years.
Following the lunch and rugby at the College a wide range of our Old Collegians, from 30-Years-On to 70-Years-On celebrated their decade reunions across Auckland on either the Saturday evening or at Sunday lunch. I was privileged to pop in and visit a number of the reunion groups over the course of the weekend, the last of which was the 70-Year-On reunion at the Cornwall Park Bistro where I was treated to a performance of ‘O Floreat Semper’ much to the enjoyment of the other diners.
 The KCOCA would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to all the King’s College staff who assisted in helping us create a memorable experience for our KCOCA community at the events held at the College over the weekend. We would also like to thank all our KCOCA members who came to take part and especially those who helped to cheerlead the events and round up their peer years for the reunions.