Taradale Executive office: Lithograph Don Binney 1986 Swoop of the Kotare, Wainamu.

This year marks EIT’s 40th anniversary – a significant milestone to be celebrated with events held in October and November.

On Friday, 30 October, an amply illustrated book researched and written by EIT research professor Kay Morris Matthews and EIT Tairāwhiti senior researcher Jean Johnston will be launched in Hawke’s Bay.

Tracing EIT’s history, the starting point for the 175-year chronology is the 1840s when the Hawke’s Bay campus site adjoined the Ōtātara pā.

The history covers EIT’s first incarnation as the Hawke’s Bay Community College, opened in 1975, and its evolution as a tertiary educator reflected in its changes of name to the Hawke’s Bay Polytechnic in 1986 and the Eastern Institute of Technology in 1996.

Toihoukura entrance foyer wooden ceiling panels.

An open day at EIT Hawke’s Bay on Sunday, 1 November, will include garden and art trails. Check out the schedule of events here. On Wednesday, 11 November EIT Tairāwhiti will celebrate the 40th anniversary and the official launch of the book. Order book here.

An Art at EIT research committee has recorded 98 works held by the Hawke’s Bay campus and 52 for Tairāwhiti. Encompassing painting, weaving, sculpture, carving, limited edition prints and art installations, they include works by ideaschool and Toihoukura graduates, people who have worked at EIT and nationally acclaimed artists such as Don Binney, Stanley Palmer and Claudia Pond Eyley.