My name is Wendy Walker (nee Mannering). I attended KHS for Form 1-3 starting in 1977 at the old site on Killarney Street and moving to the new site on Rorrisons Road in 1979.

I enjoyed travelling to school each day on the bus that brought all the students on the Suburban flat into town. Maori language classes with Mere Piripi and practices with the Culture Group (Kapa haka) were lots of fun. I remember the first school fete held on the new site and the excitement of the fundraiser - flying by helicopter from the school field to the top of Mt Fyffe and back.

I completed my schooling at Nelson College for Girls and then spent a year as an exchange student in Japan. This led to jobs in the new Japanese focussed tourism sector as a tour guide based in Christchurch and travelling around the South Island. Then I completed a BA in Japanese at University of Canterbury.
I learned to sail at Evans Bay Yacht Club in Wellington and then in 1994 followed my passion for sailing by taking up an opportunity to become a Trainee Deck Officer on the Interislander. With my new Second Mate Foreign Going qualification I worked on a P&O container ship travelling between NZ and Australia, and then again for the Interisland Line on Cook Strait.

I retired from working at sea to have a family and focussed on community development projects in Havelock, Marlborough.
Family circumstances necessitated a move to Christchurch where I joined the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) to help rebuild post earthquake Christchurch. I then worked in Asset Management at Christchurch City Council which further enabled me to develop skills and experience in project management for local government.

In 2021 I was delighted to return to Kaikoura as Project Manager for the Wakatu Quay Development for Kaikoura District Council. I am enjoying rekindling friendships from my childhood and am pleased to be part of setting up this alumni group for KHS.