Mountainview High School, began its history in the heart of Timaru township in 1901, as the Timaru Technical School. Over subsequent years the school had a series of name changes, from Timaru Technical College prior to the first World War in 1918, then Timaru Technical High School in 1934 and Timaru College in the 1960’s.
In 1983 a new site was selected for the school and Timaru College became Mountainview High School – Tiri Tiri O Te Moana ( This means the ripples of the waves of the sea, just like looking at the mountains of the Southern Alps), on the current campus site on Pages Road. The development of the school saw it evolve from a technical school focused on manual instruction, to a modern and innovative secondary school preparing students for futures in all sectors of the global community.
Tiri Tiri O Te Moana was the Maori name bequeathed to the school by local iwi and Kaumatua, Bruce Wiki Toa.
