The Taruna homestead was built after the previous house was destroyed in the Great Earthquake of 1931. At the time of the quake, the women of the house were fortunate to be working in the garden and were unharmed.
For many years, Taruna became a gathering place for summer conferences of the Anthroposophical Society and a centre for ongoing study groups. Ruth and Edna later bequeathed their home, now known as the Taruna homestead, to serve as a centre for anthroposophical adult education and learning, founded on the work of Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925).
Since 1982, this unique place has hosted a range of full-time training programmes, including:
Waldorf education teacher training
Biodynamic and organic agriculture courses
Kindergarten and early childhood education programmes
Artistic therapy trainings
Anthroposophical nursing and health studies
The Art of Wellbeing (formerly The Art of Health), a foundational course in anthroposophical learning
Alongside these long-form trainings, Taruna has also been a vital place for short courses and adult learning across many fields of applied anthroposophy and human development.
Who we are
Taruna College is the home of holistic adult education, offering opportunities for both professional and personal development. It is a unique place of learning that stands on the legacy of two remarkable Hawke’s Bay women - Ruth Nelson and Edna Burbury.
Life-long friends and partners, Ruth and Edna were dedicated to creating practical yet inspired ways to contribute to the future of Aotearoa New Zealand. Their shared passion was education - education that serves the whole human being and, through that, the wider community.
As early pioneers of Rudolf Steiner Education in New Zealand, their dream was for Taruna to become a place of inspiration for generations of educators to come. Today, that vision lives on. Taruna remains a centre for Steiner/Waldorf teacher education and development and has grown into a vibrant hub for adult learning - for anyone seeking ways of learning that connect, nourish, and sustain.
At the heart of this work lies a shared striving - to become more conscious of ourselves, to nurture our inner development, and in doing so, to strengthen our connection with others.
Taruna continues to hold in-person courses each year, and a new addition to Taruna is our online offering - Taruna Online Parenting Pathways. These online offerings are for parents and educators who are wanting to develop their skills and awareness as parents and teachers, with the intention that we are striving to become the best versions of ourselves, therefore raising and teaching children to become the best versions of themselves.
Through Parenting Pathways and all of Taruna’s programmes, we seek to connect with ourselves, our children, and our communities; to nourish both body and soul through meaningful learning and reflection; and to sustain our inner life so that we can meet the world - and one another - with steadiness, clarity, and care.
True to its name, Taruna - meaning a meeting place of friends in Te Reo Māori - continues to offer a warm and welcoming home for learning, reflection, and renewal.
Our Principles
Connect
Taruna is a place of connection - to others, to what matters, and between the threads of the spiritual, social, and practical.
Nourish
Taruna is a place of nourishment - a place to explore what it means to be nourished ourselves, to nourish others, and to grow through learning nourishing all parts of us.
Sustain
Taruna is a place of sustenance - supporting people to serve the world around them and to work in ways that care for and sustain the Earth.