TIMES’ EXCLUSIVE: The man who led Elim Christian College and its community through its darkest hours is standing down as principal after 22 years.
Murray Burton faced a tragic situation that no school or community leader – or anyone – would ever want to when the devastating news came through in April 2008 that six students and a teacher from the college had drowned in a flash flood in the Mangatepopo Gorge at Tongariro National Park.
The seven who died were members of a group of about 40 students on a school camp at the then named Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre (OPC).
When the Times met with Burton to hear he’s standing aside as principal, to take up a part-time mentoring role of Elim principals, he said of the Mangatepopo Gorge tragedy: “I get to speak about it still. It’s a very confronting message/story for many people, as it would be.
“I look at it this way. You wouldn’t ordinarily plan for it, or want it. Nobody wants the tragedies that happen around the world.
“Everyone has to live with a loss at some point, whatever it is.
“I feel humbled that in the grand scheme of things the school had to stand up and look after seven families. And to cope with that thing,” Burton says.
“We grew as people. We never lost sight that even today those families still live with loss.
“And they have to live with that and deal with the grief in the media spotlight.
“Hopefully, as we go through our life and we look back and say, we didn’t stop and camp there. Getting lost back there. We’ve continued.
“It’s still sad, but too, you’ve also got to look for silver linings. What’s happened in the families since. The way they’ve navigated life.
“And the fact that it’s a good way to remind children that no one knows what’s coming.
“Life is 10 per cent what happens, and 90 per cent how you respond to what happens.”
Burton was recognised for his outstanding leadership of the school and its east Auckland community through the traumatic experience, receiving Membership to the New Zealand Order of Merit, and being named New Zealander of the Year by North and South magazine, honours described as “very humbling”.
He’s meeting this week with the chief executive of Hillary Outdoors – the new name for the OPC.
“So even today, we’re still trying to keep good relationships and build good futures for kids who want to engage. And for the ongoing care of the families. That’s pretty special.”
The Times asks Burton: Did you go through a feeling of questioning your faith, and yet the strength that you drew through that period was your faith sustaining you?
“All of the above, because life is full of mysteries. Even faith has got a mystery about it.
“How do you answer the questions of – was it designed? Or did the Creator just ask us to help where possible? I don’t know all the answers.
“The challenge to our faith was, what does it really mean in the hardest of times?
“Yes, it’s there, and people have got all different degrees of faith and commitment and so on.
“I think it tested us to say if it’s going to be real, it’s got to be real now.
“It’s got to be authentic. People have got to see it. You’ve got to walk it, rather than just talk it.
“And hopefully, under scrutiny, we didn’t give up on God. I think as Christians we asked him to come and help unify, bring things together and we saw that happen.”
Burton is originally from Palmerston North and studied at nearby Massey University, starting his 43-year teaching career in 1981 at Elm Park School in Pakuranga. He’s been a principal for 35 years.
“I’ve been around most of the North Island in various principal roles. It was my first time coming into a state-integrated Christian school. I had no notion of what that was going to be like.”
His new part-time role from next year will be supplemented by other work for organisations he’s worked with – “mainly leadership”.
“With the emergence of three Elim schools across the city, a pioneering position has been created across Elim Education Office. We’ve copied ideas from the Catholic Education Office – how you oversee more than one school.
“Just to make sure the fundamentals stay in place and then we can grow our young principals. That’s what I’m looking forward to. The intention is to inspire the next generation.”
When the Times asks Burton how old he is – “66” – being the reply, we mention he’s in retirement zone.
“It’s interesting. Conceivably, people nowadays are going on longer [working]. I’d rather go now and handover to a younger guy.
“The thing that excites me the most is that over my career, at some point, an older person stepped aside to make way for me. Gave me an opportunity.
“There’s a really neat younger guy coming, Julian Adamson. He comes with really good credentials.
“Looking back, I didn’t know it at the time, it was the beginning of a lengthy process of growing into a multi-campus school.
“We were just here on this site. Our Golflands campus was built in 2011 and then the Mt Albert campus came after that. It’s been pretty amazing.”
The story of Elim Christian Centre, on Botany Road, down in the dip where the stormwater stream and parks run next door, is nothing short of miraculous.
It started in a school hall in Pakuranga in the mid-1980s, led ably by “a visionary”, Luke Brough, says Burton.
“Luke wanted the church to be a 24/7 church for the community. They got this piece of land here – raised the money.
“His vision then included a Christian school. How do we do that? Over the years as the church and school has grown, we’ve had to talk – as two entities – how do we do that.
“It was always about looking forward and not back. Momentum. That’s been good for this community.
“On these two campuses we’ve got a 1000 students. People come from all over this city.
“When we handed over our Mt Albert campus to be its own Elim School, we had grown it from 175 students to 400.
“The Ministry [of Education] was particularly happy about that because people weren’t having to go all over the city which minimised traffic movement. We’re doing the same in Henderson now.
“I just want to say to you, Phil, and the wider community of east Auckland, thanks for the opportunity to serve this community.
“I would do it all over again. It’s an amazing community of really good schools.
“The relationships out east – with the council, media people like yourselves, community groups – you’ve always been really positively good.
“And long may it last. We’re privileged to be a part of the community.”
As we finished our interview chat, we stopped and paid our respects to the pictures of the Elim Christian College seven: Antony McClean, Natasha Bray, Portia McPhail, Huan (Tom) Hsu, Anthony Mulder, Floyd Fernandes, and Tara Gregory.
- The story of Elim Christian Centre and Luke Brough is at: https://howick175.co.nz/miraculous-journey-for-elim/
