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.
Whitby
Whitby is a large suburb of Porirua City, New Zealand, located along much of the southern shore of the Pauatahanui Inlet of Porirua Harbour. It was comprehensively planned in the 1960s (when still in Hutt County) and it has been continuously developed since, with current landscaping and expansion in the hills behind the eastern part of Whitby to facilitate the future growth of the suburb.
The name of the suburb itself, as well as the nautical theme of neighbourhood and street names, are drawn from the life and career of the Pacific explorer James Cook. The bicentennial of his first (1769) visit to New Zealand occurred when the development of Whitby started.
The original area was part of the Horokiri riding of Hutt County, and some of the later land was in Porirua City. In 1988 the Local Government Commission decided that all of Whitby should come under the Porirua City Council.
The suburb is commercially centred on the Whitby Shopping Centre, containing almost all the retail businesses in Whitby.
Depending on the statistic viewed, Whiutby has between 10,000 and 13,000 people living in it, thereby comprising roughly 20% of Porirua's population.
Whitby Collegiate
Whitby Collegiate is a co-educational private secondary school for Year 7 to 13 students, with a roll of 231 as of February 2024.
Whitby Independent College was foundeded in January 2004 by David Bradford, CEO and owner of Whitby Coastal Estates Ltd. The company had recently closed the Duck Creek Golf Course that it owned. It was decided to redesign and convert the clubhouse and proshop for the first 4 classrooms and administration. The project was designed by Gina Jones of Accent Architects.
Whitby Independent was the Wellington region's first new independent secondary school in 100 years. The college was initially managed by Anita Baker, a senior executive of Whitby Coastal Estates Ltd. Anita later became Mayor of Porirua City.
3 years later the school was purchased by Samuel Marsden Collegiate School and renamed Samuel Marsden Collegiate Whitby. A new classroom block was completed in mid-2007 which includes a large art room.
On 1 July 2019 Samuel Marsden Collegiate School Trust Board announced it had made the decision to close Marsden School Whitby at the end of the 2019 school year. On 9 August 2019 Fiso Group Ltd announced plans to acquire the school. The sale of Marsden Whitby to Fiso Investment Group Ltd was finalised on 10 December 2019. The school became Whitby Collegiate at the start of the 2020 academic year.
Whitby Walkway
For over 30 years, this popular wide sealed pathway has been a favourite for Whitby residents. The walkway travels through parkland settings, areas of native bush and exotic deciduous trees, alongside a stream, past a playground, and around the rear of properties and Discovery School.
Stretching from Postgate Park to Samuel Marsden Collegiate School near the former Duck Creek Golf Course, it's an easy walk with underpasses for crossing all major roads, making it safe for all users. This is a great one for wheelchairs/mobility scooters, prams, bikes and buggies and children on trikes, as well as for walkers and joggers. Take a picnic and enjoy the children's playground at the Discovery Drive end, or head up to the Whitby Lake and Shopping Centre and feed the ducks. There are many alternative paths leading onto or off the walkway, so you can vary your route as you wish.
The Cache
Plenty of parking nearby, but watch out for a constant flow of traffic and the associated eyes of muggles.
You are looking for a hidden container in a place with a lot of traffic, but not where most people would ever walk. 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.