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 Central Business District

Porirua's Central Business District (CBD) is characterised by a number of high density buildings, although only a couple are taller than 4 stories. The predominant features are the North City Shopping Centre, Cobham Court area (with the Porirua City Council Building), the MegaCentre Shopping District, Pataka Arts Centre, and Whitireia New Zealand (formerly known as Whitireia Community Polytechnic). There have been repeated attempts to revitalise the centre, and these attempts continue into 2020. Porirua Central also is home to the first McDonald's franchise in New Zealand.

North City Shopping Centre

North City Shopping Centre is Porirua's largest indoor shopping complex. The two-level mall first opened in 1990 and was refurbished in 2004. With over 90 stores, the centre includes Wellington's first Kmart Department store which opened in 1992. The Centre also houses one of two movie theatres in Porirua, the large Reading Cinemas, which is now (in 2020) the largest movie complex in the Wellington region after the recent closures of the cinema complexes in Lower Hutt and Wellington due to earthquake risk.

Porirua Megacentre

The Porirua Mega Centre is a 12 hectare outdoor shopping mall, anchored by a number of higher end (and some budget) stores, including Harvey Norman, Smith City, Noel Leeming and The Warehouse. The area includes car dealerships, bakeries, cafes, and covers the area from Pataka to Whitireia.

Pataka

Cobham Court

A smaller shopping area between the Porirua Council Offices and North City Shopping Centre, Cobham Court boasts its own parking area, and was renowned for years by the "sails" or canopies that existed there for 19 years. Originally intended to last only 10, they were removed in 2014 at the end of the fabric's life, and have not been replaced. For two decades they were the outward symbol of Porirua.

Whitireia New Zealand

Whitireia New Zealand, previously called Whitireia Community Polytechnic (Te Kura Matatini o Whitireia) is a government owned and funded tertiary education institute in New Zealand. It has grown since its establishment in 1986 on the shores of Porirua Harbour, to have student numbers in excess of 7,500 with campuses in Auckland, Wellington, Petone and Porirua. Whitireia was founded in 1986 in Porirua and was originally named Parumoana Community College. It was renamed Whitireia Community Polytechnic in 1989 and Whitireia New Zealand in 2010.

The Cache

The cache is a small snaplock container, with a log book only. Please make sure you replace the cache as found.

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.