Porirua History

(with thanks to Wikipedia)

The name "Porirua" has a Māori origin: it may represent a variant of pari-rua ("two tides"), a reference to the two arms of the Porirua Harbour. In the 19th century the name designated a land-registration district that stretched from Kaiwharawhara (or Kaiwara) on the north-west shore of Wellington Harbour northwards to and around Porirua Harbour. The road climbing the hill from Kaiwharawhara towards Ngaio and Khandallah still bears the name "Old Porirua Road".

In the late 1940s state planning envisaged Porirua becoming a satellite city of Wellington with state housing. The name Porirua was first applied to a council in 1961 when Makara County, to the west of Wellington, was abolished, the mostly rural western part becoming the Makara Ward of Hutt County and the rapidly growing eastern urban portion (including Titahi Bay) becoming the Borough of Porirua. Four years later the population was officially estimated at over the 20,000 threshold then necessary for Porirua to be declared a city. Since then Porirua has grown to a city population approaching 51,000, with state housing no longer in the majority. Major territorial additions to the city occurred in 1973 and 1988 as part of the reduction and eventual abolition of Hutt County.

Porirua is largely formed around the arms of the Porirua Harbour and the coastline facing out to Cook Strait and the north-eastern parts of the South Island. Most of the populated areas of Porirua are coastal: Camborne, Karehana Bay, Mana, Onepoto, Papakowhai, Paremata, Pauatahanui, Plimmerton, Pukerua Bay, Takapuwahia, Titahi Bay and Whitby all have direct access to coastal parks and recreation reserves. Several suburbs without direct coastal access, including Aotea, Ascot Park and Ranui Heights, have substantial portions with good views over the harbour. Elsdon, formerly known as Prosser Block, lost access to the harbour as a result of reclamation work, especially during the 1960s. Much of the existing city centre, north of Parumoana Street and east of Titahi Bay Road, was built upon this landfill.

Cannons Creek

(with thanks to Porirua City Library)

Cannons Creek takes its name from the stream flowing through the area from Cannons Head. From the earliest times the stream was valued in the area because it is water from a spring rather than formed by collected rain-water which most local streams are. Who the creek was named after is a matter of some debate, some say it was William Cannon a sawmiller in the Tawa area in the 1860s, or perhaps it was a local scrubcutter who worked in the area in the last part of the 19th century. Certainly the name was in place by the time it was mapped in the 1880s.

Some street names for the area come from the old families such as Sievers and those who bordered on Cannons Creek like the Mungavins. Many are old English and Welsh City and County names; Cardiff, Gloucester and Norfolk. Many more are named for colonial ships from the early years of New Zealand; Warspite, Driver, Astrolabe etc.

The two small lakes next to the shopping centre were formed in the 1960s when the landscape was transformed for the growing housing estate. The lakes drain through “fish ladders” which are steps in the river that allow fish to move up and down stream.

Today “The Creek”, as it is commonly called, is the very centre of the vibrant Pacific Island Community that gives Porirua so much of its life and uniqueness.

The Cache

Plenty of parking on Warspite Avenue and nearby, but watch out for a large amount of traffic!

You are looking for a camoflauged container that is well hidden and shouldn't be easy to accidentally stumble upon, although it is likely that youths do occasionally use the area. Make sure you bring your own writing utensil. Make sure you return area to natural state for next finder. Online logs that do not match the logbook will be deleted unless previously arranged with the CO.

Also make sure that you note the code in the logbook, as you will need this for some of the caches later on in the series.