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.

Porirua East

Porirua East is part of the Ranui Village (along with Ranui Heights). Porirua East remained largely farmlands for longer than other suburbs in Porirua as the rolling hills which the suburb now covers made residential development difficult. New earthmoving and engineering techniques and breakthroughs in the mid 1950s changed this. Growth of Porirua East in the 1950s and 1960s was almost without parallel in New Zealand.

A huge number of families, many of them migrants, flooded into Porirua mostly into State houses built during various government building projects. By 1965 80% of the houses in East Porirua had been built by the Government. There was some concern about the poor balance between state and private housing, but out of these concerns has grown a sense of community solidarity.

Thompson Gully Scenic Reserve

Thompson Gully Scenic Reserve is a little known green space within Porirua East. It is a Crown Derived Reserve. Regenerating forest and scrub abound around a major tributary of Kenepuru Stream. Pines and willows dominate much of the vegetation but mahoe and a range of native broadleaved species and tree ferns also form the canopy in places.

The grassy track links Mungavin Ave to Champion Street, with a side-link to Cornwall Crescent through the interesting Te Mara gardens. Beginning at Mungavin Ave beside the Holy Family Catholic church, the start of the track is barely noticeable in the trees, but after the short drop it opens out to a wide a firm track (4WD at some time in the past). Parts are a bit overgrown, and there is one small damp/mushy spot near track up to Cornwall Crescent. From Cornwall Crescent the track is signposted as Te Mara gardens.

The Cache

The cache is a small container. Be careful when retrieving and replacing!

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.

Bring your own writing utensil. Online logs that do not match the logbook will be deleted unless previously arranged with the CO. General practice is to log your find online within two weeks of making the find in the field, unless otherwise arranged with the CO.