User:Johnragla/Te Waitere

Later history
A phone line to Hamilton was built in 1886. Rosamond House was a large Edwardian villa, overlooking the town and built at a time when Kawhia was growing quickly. It was built for government surveyor, Edward Buckeridge, as a guest house in 1901 and protected by a Category 2 listing on 8 May 2009. Trees were planted on the dunes in the 1920s.

In 1937 Kawhia was described as being, "on the edge of primitive New Zealand" and the council chambers as "defunct-looking". It had a store, a drapery shop, a grocer's, a sweet shop, a restaurant, and a boarding-house.

The recent road-making in the Kawhia district has had a retrogressive effect upon the town. In the old days, when the launches were the only means of communication from the south side of the harbour, all the produce and all the supplies for the settlers were landed at Kawhia wharf. Now that there is direct road communication from most points of the harbour to the interior, Kawhia town is being left more and more to itself. In the sixties, with the disastrous Waikato War, the settlement was completely evacuated, and for twenty years the harbour was closed to the white man before it was resettled. The population in 1937 had "permanent white settlers, the Maoris, and the summer cottager, whose baches occupy the most desirable situation in the town— the grassy plateau above the pohutukawas along the shore." The Maori village of Maketu is about a mile nearer the Heads.

5 rivers are navigable for launches, Rakanui River.

In the late 1860s, the Māori population around the harbour was about 2,585, with 47 Pākehā. By the early 1900s a handful of shops lined the main street. Kawhia had a bank, Post Office, courthouse, billiards saloon, boarding houses, newspaper, hotels and a creamery.

The median income is just under $19,000, but jobs are scarce and housing even more so. Drugs like meth have infiltrated the community. In 1951, the Kawhia County population was 1,693. A 1988 study found the population had increased nearly 30% between 1981 to 1986. But since 1996, its population has almost halved, to 350 last year. In 1993 a lot of families were on the benefit, and Kawhia had the third fastest growing population in the area, reaching 660 in 1996. Kawhia Primary School's roll peaked at 130. Now, we've got 50 children. Changes to the social welfare system in 2007 meant that those receiving the benefit had to look for, and accept, any work that was offered to them. People left town if they could not commute. At one stage, we became the third highest transient school. Families can't afford to live in Kawhia. House prices have skyrocketed and rental properties are few, yet in the 2013 Census there were 219 unoccupied dwellings. Airbnb, had 6 houses in Kawhia, and 7 in Aotea. Lonely Planet describes Kawhia as having "avoided large-scale development, retaining its sleepy fishing-village vibe". The Otorohanga District Council describes it as a "holiday resort", whose population increases to more than 2000 at peak holiday periods. The annual kai festival in February was attended by over 3,000 in 2015. 170 are between 15 and 64, more than half of them (91) are on a benefit. Since 1996 Kawhia has lost about 50%. 15 to 39 year olds have decreased from 29% in 1996 to 17% in 2018. Nationwide, over 65s form 15%. In Kawhia, 34% are over 65. 60% are Māori and over 20% speak te reo.

Kawhia is one of 402 rural settlements. Of those, 146 decreased in population between 1996 and 2018, 20 remained the same, and 43 increased by less than 10%, whilst urban population went up 8% and the proportion in rural settlements dropped 25%.

Kawhia's main street now has little more than a general store, a cafe and a motel. Oparau primary school is the base for Kawhia Moana Aotea Whenua, for children to go hunting, fishing, horse trekking, trapping and cleaning Ocean Beach. A new hotel is being built and there's talk of iron sand mining of the forestry land once the trees are felled, but it'll also bring environmental issues.

Biology
Kawhia Harbour is a large estuary with a catchment area for the harbour is 480 km2 and associated rush and reed communities, including locally vulnerable plants. It is rated as an outstanding wildlife habitat, as 3,000 to 4,600 shorebirds have been recorded. There are 9 Scenic Reserves, totalling 420 ha, managed by the Department of Conservation.

Beds of eelgrass Zostera sp. are often present on the tidal sand and mudflats. Where saltmarsh has developed at the upper tide level, common species are Jointed Rush Juncus articulatus, Sea Rush J. maritimus var. australiensis, Saltmarsh Ribbonwood Plagianthus divaricatus and species of Scirpus and Baumea. Saltmarsh is generally present in minor areas only, forming a narrow strip along sheltered shorelines, but more extensive areas occur in bays and inlets subject to freshwater drainage. Away from the tidal influence, saltmarsh often merges into freshwater wetland vegetation, with such species as willows (exotic species of Salix), Manuka Leptospermum scoparium, New Zealand Flax Phormium tenax, Raupo Typha orientalis, Cabbage Tree Cordyline australis and Cyperus sp. Species of Scirpus, Juncus and Carex are also present, as well as exotic grasses. Patches of the aggressive exotic weed Spartina townsendii are present. Developed pasture may extend right to the saltmarsh zone in the estuary, although in places, a band of regenerating native vegetation is present. Small areas of secondary forest occur around the estuary, but are not common.

There is an unusual association of Whau Entelea arborescens in coastal forest. Other significant plants include Scandia rosaefolia and Empodisma minus in the east, and King Fern or Para Marattia salicina, Doodia mollis and Asplenium obtusatum var. northlandicum around the southern inlets and peninsulas. At Motukaraka Island, within the wetland boundary, Scandia rosaefolie is at its southern limit, and the limestone fern Asplenium lyalli is also present. A number of other interesting associations occur within the reserves around the harbour.

The harbour has 3 globally threatened bird species (black stilt, New Zealand dotterel and wrybill), endemic Pomaderris rugosa, Crimson rātā, Hebe obtusata and New Zealand fernbird and 3% of the regional population of South Island oystercatcher s, Double-banded plover s (1%) and Bar-tailed godwit s (1%). Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres, Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus and Far Eastern Curlew N. madagascariensis. Royal Spoonbill Platalea regia, Pied Stilt Himantopus leucocephalus and Banded Dotterel Charadrius bicinctus, Australasian Bittern Botaurus poiciloptilus, Banded Rail Rallus philippensis assimilis and North Island Fernbird Bowdleria punctata vealeae. The Ornithological Society has done regular bird counts in the harbour since 1976, and a full vegetation survey was carried out in the summer of 1991/92 by the Department of Conservation.

Geology
The area is dominated by the Kawhia Regional Syncline, a sedimentary rock structure of the Tertiary and Jurassic Age which is frequently exposed on the west coast and contributes to the hilly nature of the area. In numerous other places, the older rocks of the Kawhia Syncline have been covered by softer Tertiary sandstone, siltstones and limestones, and limestone outcrops are present in the area. The region has also been influenced by volcanism, which has further contributed to the hilly nature of the landscape. A number of caves and cliffs in the southern part of the harbour contain fossils regarded as internationally important for their Jurassic sequence. The harbour itself is a bar-built estuary formed in a drowned valley at a time of relatively low sea level. The coastline to the north of the harbour entrance is dominated by extensive sand hills up to 100 m in height, while to the south of Kawhia are black iron sand beaches and dunes which are mined for the iron ores.

The Kirikiri Group consists dominantly of siltstones, mudstones, and fine to very fine sandstones. Siltstones and mudstones dominate, and medium-coarse sandstones and conglomerates are common in northern exposures of the Ahuahu and Owhiro Groups. Most formations thicken southwards and fine southwards and eastwards. Calcareous concretions are intercalated in mudstones and siltstones throughout the sequence. These units lie within the Heterian, Ohauan, and Puaroan local stages of the Upper Jurassic sequence. From biostratigraphic considerations, an earlier proposed three-fold division of the Heterian is accepted and a tripartite division of the Ohauan Stage is introduced. Bivalves, ammonites, brachiopods, belemnites, and gastropods are dominant faunal elements in the lower part of the Upper Jurassic sequence, whereas the upper part is dominated by belemnites and ammonites with only rare bivalves. The Upper Jurassic sequence at Kawhia is entirely marine and was deposited in submarine fans supplied by turbidity currents including occasional high density flows.

Siltstones, mudstones, and fine to very fine sandstones are the dominant rock types of the Kirikiri Group. Siltstones and mudstones dominate, and medium-coarse sandstones and conglomerates are common in the Ahuahu and Owhiro Groups, which fine southwards and eastwards. The whole Upper Jurassic sequence is made up of some 4000 m of finegrained deposits with interspersed coarser units totalling 800 m in the type section. Calcareous concretions are intercalated in mudstones and siltstones throughout the sequence.

OWHIRO GROUP

WAIHARAKEKE CONGLOMERATE

The formation at its type section is 270 m thick (Fleming & Kear 1960) and consists of massive to thick-bedded sandstones, conglomerates, and siltstones, with some carbonaceous fragments in the lower part of the sequence. Interbedded sandstones, pebbly sandstones, and rare conglomerate constitute the upper part.

On the west flank of the Toe Syncline, the formation extends southwards past Waiharakeke Bridge and through Owhiro Road and consists dominantly of fine-medium sandstones with graded bedding and minor sedimentary structures, and rare conglomerates. The top of the section fines upwards into the overlying Puti Siltstone. This section is c. 200 m thick, thinner than the 300 m of conglomerate and medium-coarse sandstone exposed along Toe Road on the east flank of the syncline.

The sequence along Hauturu Road is a little different from that at the type locality. It is estimated at 100 m thick and consists of grey-brown, centimetric to decimetric, finemedium sandstones, interbedded siltstones and sandstones, and rare mudstones, but lacks conglomerates.

Heterian Stage

The Heterian Stage type section extending from the east side of Totara Peninsula to about the mouth of Waikiekie Creek. recognised three zones within the Heterian, the lowest on the appearance of Retroceramus galoi, the second on the appearance of Malayomaorica malayomaorica, and the third on the appearance of bivalves presently identified as Retroceramus cf. subhaasti, with boundaries marked by the first appearance of the zonal index species. Mollusca and Brachiopoda found in the Lower and Middle Heterian. The Upper Heterian fauna is more restricted and includes only Retroceramus cf. subhaasti, R. galoi, Malayomaorica malayomaorica, Myophorella (Scaphogonia) mcnaughti Fleming, Belemnopsis keari Stevens, B. maccrawi Challinor, and a few others.

Understanding of New Zealand Upper Jurassic retroceramid species is currently in an unsatisfactory state, with the morphologic limits of named taxa (R. galoi, R. haasti) unclear and an informal nomenclature used inconsistently for stratigraphically intermediate forms (e.g., R. aff. galoi, R. cf. subhaasti, R. aff. haasti, and others). Solution to these nomenclatural problems requires detailed analysis of local populations and comparison with type populations of the Indonesian species R. galoi and R. subhaasti. A preliminary statistical study (King 1994) suggests the existence of three or four separate forms stratigraphically intermediate between R. galoi and R. haasti in the North Island Jurassic, but their full morphologic and stratigraphic ranges are not yet clearly understood.

At the Heterian stratotype, the Lower Heterian encompasses the upper 50 m of the Oraka Formation. The Middle Heterian encompasses the Captain King's Shellbed and probably all the Ohineruru Formation and is at least 410 m thick. The Upper Heterian is 300 m thick and extends into the lower part of the Waikiekie Tuffaceous Sandstone, where the first appearance of Retroceramus haasti is observed.

At Whakapirau Road, the Lower and Middle Heterian are similar to the type section; the Lower Heterian is c. 70 m thick and begins c. 20 m above the base of the Oraka Formation, whereas the Middle Heterian is at least 500 m thick. The Upper Heterian, at 650 m, is much thicker than at the type section, and spans the upper 200 m of the Ohineruru Formation up to the lowermost part of the Waikiekie Tuffaceous Sandstone.

The Middle Heterian is 400 m thick along Taumatatotara West Road. The Middle/Upper Heterian boundary is c. 30 m below the base of the Kiwi Sandstone (from the approximate position of the appearance of R. cf. subhaasti). The Upper Heterian extends into the lower portion of the Waikiekie Tuffaceous Sandstone and is 630 m thick.

Along Coutts Road, the Middle Heterian, as shown by the appearance of Malayomaorica malayomaorica, is 600 m thick. The Middle/Upper Heterian boundary is placed 20 m below the base of the Kiwi Sandstone where R. cf. subhaasti is found. The Upper Heterian extends eastwards to the middle of the Waikiekie Tuffaceous Sandstone exposed along Lemon Point Road and is c. 300 m thick.

The presence of Lower and lower Middle Heterian along Te Anga-Awamarino Road is inferred, and only the upper Middle Heterian is identified by fossils. The Upper Heterian is 350 m thick and extends east to the base of the Waikiekie Tuffaceous Sandstone at Te Anga quarry. Correlations suggested by molluscan faunas indicate that the Heterian part of the Oraka Formation ranges from late Callovian to early Kimmeridgian.

The Upper Heterian extends east to the middle of the Waikiekie Tuffaceous Sandstone exposed along Lemon Point Road and is c. 300 m thick.

WAIKIEKIE TUFFACEOUS SANDSTONE

Waikiekie Tuffaceous Sandstone for 12 m of medium-coarse brown sandstone with sugary tuffaceous horizons and siltstone pebbles lying conformably between the Waikutakuta and Kowhai Point Siltstones.

At Whakapirau Road, 20 m of the formation occupy the western limb of a minor syncline and consist of thick-bedded medium-coarse brown pebbly sandstones and fine sandstones, with alternating mudstones particularly in the upper part of the sequence. Carbonaceous material is common throughout, and some highly carbonaceous fine to very fine sandstones are present.

Along Taumatatotara West Road, 25 m of the formation are exposed, consisting of occasional thin-bedded (mm to cm) mudstones, fine-medium sandstones, and rare coarse sandstones.

Along Lemon Point Road, the formation varies from 15 to 30 m thick and consists of fine-coarse massive tuffaceous sandstones with occasional siltstones and thin-bedded (cm) mudstones without the upper or lower contacts exposed.

The formation is better exposed in a quarry 1.5 km along Lemon Point Road from Te Anga, where it is 55 m thick and consists of grey-brown fine to very fine sandstones, rare medium sandstones, blue-grey laminated siltstones, and alternating mudstones. Carbonaceous debris and wood fragments are found in fine sandstones, especially in association with mudstone rip-up clasts. The formation otherwise lacks macrofossils.

KOWHAI POINT SILTSTONE

At the type section, the formation consists of 730 m of bedded and massive siltstones, mudstones with sandstone interbeds up to 200 mm thick, or with concretionary horizons and rare thin (millimetric) sandstones and pale graded ash layers conformably overlying the Waikiekie Tuffaceous Sandstone and underlying the Takatahi Formation. The Kowhai Point Siltstone extends southwards to Whakapirau Road, Lemon Point Road, and Te Anga-Piripiri Road sections where it is, respectively, 800, 680, and 750 m thick.

The Upper Heterian extends eastwards to the middle of the Waikiekie Tuffaceous Sandstone exposed along Lemon Point Road and is c. 300 m thick.

Lower Ohauan includes most Waikiekie Tuffaceous Sandstone and Kowhai Point Siltstone and is c. 740 m thick on the Lemon Point Road section.

Middle Ohauan: This is an interval zone between the last appearance of Retroceramus haasti and the first appearance of Belemnopsis aucklandica trechmanni. Kossmatia and ?Paraboliceras range through this zone and Phylloceras salina is found in the lower portion. The base of the zone is placed 30 m below the base of the Takatahi Formation in the Lemon Point Road section. The zone includes the uppermost 30 m of the Kowhai Point Siltstone and the lower part of the Takatahi Formation and is c. 100 m thick in the Lemon Point Road section. Although rather thin, this zone is introduced because it represents a time-gap between two important and recognisable faunas.

(3) Upper Ohauan: This zone encompasses those strata laid down between the first appearance of Belemnopsis aucklandica trechmanni Stevens and the first appearance of Hibolithes arkelli grantmackiei Challinor. Palaeonucula aff. putiensis, Kossmatia sp., and '/Paraboliceras sp. are present in the zone. This zone covers the middle and upper parts of the Takatahi Formation and most of the Kinohaku Siltstone, and is c. 1100 m thick in the Lemon Point Road section.

The Lower Ohauan, 1050 m thick along Lemon Point Road, includes the Waikiekie Tuffaceous Sandstone and Kowhai Point Siltstone. The base of the stage is placed at the base of the Waikiekie Tuffaceous Sandstone with the incoming of R. haasti. The top of this zone is marked 30 m below the base of the Takatahi Formation by the disappearance of R. haasti. The Middle Ohauan includes the top of the Kowhai Point Siltstone (30 m thick) and the lower portion of the Takatahi Formation, and is estimated to be 120 m thick. The Upper Ohauan is obscured by Tertiary cover.

Kawhia County Council
Kawhia is 140 miles from Onehunga, which has a weekly steamer. Te Awamutu was 39 miles by a tri-weekly coach

Recreation-hall is privately owned. Pictures are shown weekly in a private hall.

Baths. — A small area of the sea is fenced in.

Kawhia Wharf is a wooden structure built by the Government in 1901, and improved by the Board in 1910. It has a frontage of 60 ft., with a depth of 16 ft. low water, spring tides.

Lemon Point Wharf (Te Waitere), which has a frontage of 30 ft., was built in 1913 at a cost of £700.

There are seven launch-landings within the harbour.

Cargo handled at Kawhia during 1923 was 2,843 tons, 2,064 tons inwards and 779 tons outwards on 63 ships, mainly carryng butter, wool, and live-stock being the principal items exported.

In 1880, the New Zealand Government planned the Kawhia township and purchased 40 acres of land without consulting the Maori King Tawhio. Some among the local Maori were aggrieved by this and as a result, 2 years later burned down the newly erected ship's beacons at Te Maika The Government's response was to send a detachment of 120 Armed Constabulary who constructed 2 redoubts at Kawhia,

By 1900 a regular coach service was established between Pirongia and Kawhia, with a stop over at the settlement at Te Raumoa. At that time Te Raumoa supported a small dairy factory, boarding house/ Post Office and later a school and community hall. A year later the Northern Steamship Company began a regular service between Auckland and Kawhia with oil-fired steam launches ferrying passengers, freight and mail between Kawhia and the outlying communities of Oparau, Te Maika, Kinohaku and Hauturu,

By 1915, Kawhia was a fast growing township with its own pub, Post Office, Bank, weekly newspaper, Court House and telephone exchange, A number of shops and businesses serviced both Kawhia and the growing farming community - including a soft drink factory and a bake house. Timber was being logged in nearby forests and milled at Oparau, Coal was mined beneath Pukunui to provide fuel for the steamers servicing Kawhia. A bridge was built at Puti in 1919 in preparation for the road from Oparau to Kawhia which was finally completed in 1925

1883 Armed Constabulary arrive to supervise harbour reopening after end of land wars

1884 61 Kawhia town sections auctioned in Auckland

1885 Major Tuke (Armed Constabulary) becomes Kawhia magistrate

1886 A.R.Langley appointed Kawhia's first postmaster

1895 Kawhia Native School opens

1896 Rutherford' s flax mill operates in Jervois Street

1900 Coach service starts from Pirongia to Oparau; Te Ruruhi built at Maketu Marae

1901 Kawhia wharf opens, Northern Steamship Company service starts

1902 European school opens; Kawhia Settler begins publication, first hotel built in Jervois Street, Mann's chemist shop opens, Tainui Street, John Morgan appointed first Kawhia policeman: Mr Turrell opens first bakery

1903 Hotel Moana burns down, replaced by Hotel Tainui

1904 Congregational Church opens in Pouewe Street

1905 Kawhin County Council formed

1905 Kawhin Town Board begins

1906 D Robinson opens Kawhia's first and only soft drink factory

1908 Courthouse opens, Tainui Street

1910 Five racing whaleboats purchased for harbour competition

1912 Bank of NZ opens, Jervois Street

1914 Kawhia Telephone Exchange opens with 27 subscribers

1915 Congregational Church becomes Anglican Church, consultant Leslie Reynolds recommends developing Kawhia Harbour for large vessels

1916 Kawhia County Council offices open in new building on foreshore

1018 Minister of Health G W. Russell opens Kawhia Cottage Hospital

1919 Bridge built at Puti, ready for road construction to Kawhia

1920 First aircraft visits Kawhia, Ward's windmill pumps town water supply

1923 Oparau supplied with power from local hydroelectric plant

1925 Road from Oparau to Kashia completed.

Kinohaku
In 1937 the road from the south ended at Kinohaku and a launch ran to Kāwhia.

Kinohaku Hall is run by an incorporated society. The original Kawhia South First World War marble memorial for 23 soldiers, unveiled in 1923, was a memorial gate erected at the entrance to the Kinohaku Public Hall. Seven Second World War names were later added. When the road was widened in the 1960s the gate was demolished and the names were transferred to a granite tablet in a limestone wall below the hall.

Kinohaku School is located 11km east of Tahaaroa at the southern end of the Kawhia Harbour. The school caters for children in years 1 to 8. At the time of this ERO review there were 20 students and 16 identify as Māori. Since the January 2017 ERO report, the board have undertaken remodelling of classrooms and a multipurpose room has been added. Changes to local demographics have resulted in a roll decrease. Leadership and staff have remained largely the same with one new appointment of a principal release teacher. The board of trustees has a mix of experienced and new members. The school operates a junior class, Years 1 to 3 and a senior class, Years 4 to 8.

Ōwhiro
Ōwhiro is an official name, gazetted on 21 June 2019. Waiharakeke is an area of historical importance for Ngāti Maniapoto which counted among its residents, the great Ngāti Maniapoto chief Haupōkia te Pakaru, a signatory to the Treaty of Waitangi at Kāwhia. Te Māhoe is a particularly well known old pā situated at Waiharakeke, as is the settlement of Te Pahe several miles up the river. A Pākehā artist painted a wāhi tapu there in 1844.

There are several urupā within the area, not least Te Waihoanga where Tūhoe Pōtiki is buried alongside rangatira of Ngāti Maniapoto and other iwi connected to Kāwhia. Some of these other iwi were expelled from the Kāwhia region by Ngāti Maniapoto and others in the early 1820s.

The fertile fishing grounds in the harbour, the estuary and river, and the abundant surrounds meant Waiharakeke was a well-settled area. The local people had access to great quantities of fish, eels and birdlife and were frequently visited by their relatives from inland on seasonal and trading expeditions. There was a scenery of luxuriant foliage along the banks of the Waiharakeke Stream, and almost every opening revealed a kāinga Māori or settlement. Many waka would beach at the mouth of Waiharakeke Stream. Te Kaharau was the name of one particular waka tauranga.

Waiharakeke was at the centre of early Ngāti Maniapoto trading activity at Kāwhia with Pākehā which began in the 1820s. The region was a scene of industry and a favourite port for trading vessels up until the Waikato wars in 1863. Ngāti Maniapoto traded considerable shipments of wheat, flour, flax, pigs and potatoes from the area in return for clothing, tobacco, guns, ammunition and other items. A wheat flour mill was built by Ngāti Maniapoto and others at Waiharakeke in the 1840s as part of the local industry.

Opportunities for further protection of rimu-tawa podocarp forest in the relatively large areas east and south of Owhiro adjoining Taumatatotara Forest, between Ōwhiro and Piripiri, and an important remnant in the Owhiro Inlet of Kawhia Harbour. It forms part of at least one farm.

Rakaunui
Rakaunui is the name used for a marae, a road, an inlet, a creek and a small settlement. To the north of it there were pā sites at Kopapaihekei Point and Tutaerere.

Te Maika
By 1937 Te Maika was the only settlement still dependent on launch access. It had a little store.

Te Maika is a narrow, hilly peninsula, bordered by rocks on the ocean side and shallow sand on the harbour side, is more than 10km from Taharoa, the nearest settlement, and a rough trip by 4-wheel-drive or horse. In approx 1820, a united force of inland tribes attacked the Ngati Toa at Kawhia, where they were defeated after a number of skirmishes, and eventually forced to evacuate their ancestral homeland after approx 600 years of occupation. Ngati Toa retreated south, eventually to Kapiti Island. However after nearly 200 years there are still remnants of Ngati Toa living in the Kawhia region, that call themselves "Ngati Toa o Kawhia". They still claim an un-broken line of residence and occupation of the Kawhia harbour since the arrival of the Tainui waka nearly 800 years ago. The Maori King is considered the kaitiaki (caretaker) of Te Maika, as it was placed in a previous Maori Kings name nearly a hundred years ago to safe-guard the precious peninsula from been acquired or stolen by the pakeha at that time. According to one of those that placed the land under the kings guardianship (Rawinia King), Te Maika would be given back to future generations, when it was safe to do so, or when the perfect time unfolds.

There is no electricity and access is only by boat. The 30-odd baches at Te Maika range from derelict to to neglected. Most appeared in 1953. Most baches are on leasehold land, although a few are freehold. Two thirds of the baches are quite close together, lining the black beach. A giant fossilised mollusk and fossilised remains of a giant penguin was found close by between Te Maika and Te Waitere.

Author James Mc Neish immortalised Te Maika in his book "As For The Godwits", published in 1977, in which he called the settlement Te Kuaka. He also wrote a sequel, An Albatross too many, published in 1998. For 15 years Mc Neish lived in Te Maika's biggest house.

Te Motu Island
Te Motu has a relatively intact silver tussock/rush wetland with large patches of sea primrose around the island's inlet edge. Other vegetation around the wetland edge includes manuka, mingimingi and flax as well as pines and lots of pampas.

Te Waitere
Te Waitere is a small settlement on the southern shores of Kāwhia Harbour. It was the site of a Wesleyan mission station in the 19th century. Before the missionaries arrived, this area was known as Ahuahu to Māori – Te Waitere is a transliteration of missionary John Whiteley's surname. Early settlers called the locality Lemon Point because Whiteley planted groves of lemon trees, and the top of the point bears this name. The mission site, which is marked by a heritage trail sign and a monument erected by the Historic Places Trust.

A Memorandum of an Agreement between the Rev. W. White, on behalf of the Wesleyan Missionary Society and Haupokia a chief of Waiharakeke, Kawhia, on the West Coast of New Zealand, that is to say, that the said Haupokia does sell and deliver to Wesleyan Mission.the said Rev. W. White a parcel or piece of land known by the name of Ahuahu a bounded on the West side by lands belonging to Wadu and Makahu, and on the Boundaries. [160 acres.]South side by a Bay known by the name of Uhatahi on the East and North by the river Waiharakeke. And that the said Rev. W. White on behalf of the W. M. Society shall hold and keep possession of the said lands for ever. And I the said Haupokia acknowledge to have received in full payment of the above described piece of land, the following articles, viz., 14 Axes, 4 Iron Pots, 4 Blankets, 50 Pipes and 18 lbs. Tobacco. 20th day of November 1834. (Signed) William White, for the Wesleyan Missionary Society. (Signed) Haupokia.

In 1834, the Wesleyan Missionary from Hokianga, William White visited the district and gained the consent of the Maori community at Kawhia for the establishment of a mission station. His transactions were recorded in two deeds later presented before Commissioners Godfrey and Richmond by Reverend John Whiteley (then resident on the station) in 1843. Both deeds were presented to the commissioners only in English. Both deeds were agreements with a single chief. The first, on 20 November 1834 was for a piece of land called ‘Ahuahu’ and was signed by ‘Haupohia a Chief of Waiharakeke Kawhia.’ The second was a few days later on 24 November 1834 with ‘Wadu a Chief of Tawiti on the West Coast of New Zealand’ for land known as ‘Tawiti.’ In both cases a payment of goods was made and these were specified in the deeds. The deeds both stated that the chief ‘does sell and deliver to the said Rev W White [name of the land].’ Rev John Whiteley, arrived at Kawhia to take up the land that White had secured, however he left Kawhia the following year when the Wesleyans pulled out of the district and did not return until early in 1839. It appears that a few months after his return he entered three transactions for further land for the mission station: 12 April 1839: Deed of ‘Te Tauranga’ paid with goods valued at £7.4.0. 24 April 1839: Deed for Tamoe and other places paid with goods valued at £36.3.4 1 August 1839: Deed of ‘Te Tauranga’ paid with goods valued at £6.7.4 Early in 1840, just before the signing of the Treaty at Waitangi he entered a further transaction: 3 January 1840 – about 4 acres – called Tekoteko paid with £2 of cash & £2 in goods.

The Aotearoa was owned and Nepukaneha (Nebuchadnezzar) traded to Onehunga, and they carrying wheat and maize, fruit, pigs, pumpkins, vegetable marrows and dressed flax. By 1845, at Waiharakeke on the south side of Kawhia Harbour, hapu and iwi had engaged a European millwright to erect a flourmill. In 1847 hapu and iwi had a flourmill erected at Aotea. Before 1860, there were also Maori owned mills at Owhiro at the junction of the Waiharakeke and Onunu streams and others at Ohau and Kiwi bays.

The mission station operated from 1835 to 1880 and a plaque marks the graves of John Whitely, aged about 14 months, son of Reverend John Whitely, the other for six-month-old Charles Wesley Woon. Near Te Waitere wharf a lemon tree was once part of an orchard planted by John Whitely and wife Mary. Mr Cleaver's a fisherman, builder and skipper of the game-fishing charter boat Crazy Horse, moored at Te Waitere. About half a dozen permanent families at Te Waitere and another handful of holidaymakers houses. nearby Kinohaku School.

Te Waitere (Ahuahu) has the same name as Great Mercury Island off Whitianga, and for the same reason: a frost free climate and fertile soil that suited cultivation of kumara. It was probably one of the earliest settlements of Tainui at Kawhia but it has little traditional history, perhaps because there were many more formidable pa nearby to attract dramatic incidents. It remained a backwater even during the well planned campaign against Te Rauparaha although the pass at the southern end of Te Waitere peninsula became an early objective, to reach Whakapiro. It was the the home of Haupokia, who settled with Ngati Kinohaku, after Ngati Toa had been driven south, but while there remained a risk of war, his preferred home was in the stronghold on Rangiora, directly opposite. Later, he settled at the head of Kinohaku Inlet, west of Oteke Valley, at Korakora, at Waiharoto. Haupokia was of distinguished descent. Rangituatea, who had taken a leading part in the negotiations that led to Te Rauparaha being assisted in his withdrawal from Te Arawi and his flight from Tirua Point, spent his convalescence here after being wounded in Taranaki.

T by Captain Amos Kent began trading at Kawhia in 1824, bringing kune kune pigs, which were reared for export to Australia. By 1829 several traders lived at Kawhia, often referred to as Ngati Maniopoto or Ngati Mahuta pakeha, to signify to whom they were attached. Most early European activity was on the south of the harbour, mainly between Nathan's Point and the Waiharakeke.

Reverend W. Woon came in 1834 at the invitation of some of the Maori people, but apparently settled on the east of the inlet. Rev William White had made short visits in February and May when he negotiated with Chief Haupokia and Chief Waru to buy land at Waiharakeke for a mission station. He returned in November with Rev William and Mrs Woon who were left at Kawhia and travelled widely. In April 1835 Rev White again returned bringing with him this time Rev John Whiteley, his wife Mary and their 2 little daughters. As a result of Rev Woon's travels, Rev. Whiteley was appointed to Waiharakeke, to establish it as the main Wesleyan Mission Station on the West Coast, probably at the bend opposite the ancient Kaiwhare pā. The Woons moved to Manukau. However, Waiharakeke was a one roomed whare with no floor, fireplace or windows. "Worse still," wrote Whiteley, "It is built in a hole at the foot of a hill, on the southern side of a river which is not frequented by vessels on account of its entrance, and where I can have no supplies but by the natives carrying them, from Brother Woon's perhaps 50 miles." Whiteleys stayed only a few months at Waiharakeke. In 1838 they moved to Ahuahu, or Lemon Point as Rev Whiteley called it, as he planted his lemon groves. There the first Post Office was established, run by the Mission from 1843 until 1855. Since that time, Ahuahu has been variously known as Lemon Point, or Te Waitere, not due to the speed of the tidal ebb, but an alliteration of Whiteley. The mission prospered and grapes, potatoes, kumaras, peaches and cherries were grown, and goats milk and cream, fish, pipis, pigeons and pork in plenty prompted Riemenschneider, the Lutheran missionary, to exclaim, 'Oh Mrs Whiteley, we are libbing on de fat o' de land!' On Saturdays, hundreds of Maoris in canoes converged on the mission, cooked food, listened to the Sunday preaching and teaching and then returned to their homes on the Monday. Whiteley was often called to act as peacemaker between hostile tribes. After the Treaty of Waitangi had been signed on 6 February 1840, Governor Hobson wanted further signatures should be obtained from other parts of the country. On 21 May 1840, Whitely obtained the signatures of Wetere te Rerenga, Taonui and Te Waru of Ngati Maniopoto, and of Haupokia. John Whiteley continued at Te Waitere until 1855, when H H Turton came and then, from 1858 to 1863, C H Schnackenberg. Then, with the invasion of the Waikato. Hence, when Europeans returned about 1900 the land had reverted to fern and scrub but cherry and lemon trees and grapes grew on rocky outcrops around the harbour and the mill stones were still in Ohau Bay and up the Waiharakeke inlet. In the 1900s fruit trees growing near Kinohaku were peaches, plums, grapes, apples, cherries, figs, lemons and gooseberries. John Whiteley was later killed in Taranaki on 13 February 1869. After some years it was found that Te Waitere was no longer the best place for a head station, so it was leased and, more recently, sold, with only a small area retained.

In 1835 Captain Thomas Wing surveyed Kawhia Harbour noting "Rev Woon's mission at Waiharakeke and Wesley's at Te Waitere." Also, "a native village northward of Albatross Point, sheltered from the southwest gales, a cluster of whares, a whata and two Maori figures. On the beach - pig rooting near a high prowed canoe".

After the balloting of land in 1902 the settlers began to arrive. Some of the first were Harry Derecourt and his friend Harry Green, taking several days to travel through dense virgin bush from Waitomo. Later Harry Derecourt's brother Fred arrived via the same arduous route. These young men formed Green and Derecourt and in 1904 bought a new oil launch Kinohaku. Up until this time all supplies and passenger service had been via Morgan's launch from Kawhia. Fred Derecourt ran 3 trips per week to Kawhia, taking mail, passengers and supplies to Kinohaku, Waiharakeke, Te Waitere, Te Maika and Kawhia. Supplies came by steamer to Kawhia and then by launch. In May 1907 the "Kawhia Settler" reported that Fred Derecourt had sold the Kinohaku to Neilson and Wright. Alf and Bertha Wright lived in Kinohaku and continued the service from there. In 1912, with trade increasing, their second launch was built by Neil Neilson at Waiharakeke.

Kinohaku wharf and shed were built in 1910 and the Te Waitere wharf in 1912. Even after the roads were all formed 20 years later it was still quicker and generally cheaper to have supplies delivered by steamer from Auckland to Te Waitere. One could board a steamer at Kawhia in the evening and wake up next morning in Auckland. An array of coastal craft served the district: Heather, Dawn, Rothesay, Kia Ora, Kanieri, Rimu, Maori, Pitoitoi, Muritai, Claymore, Waitangi, Albatross, Kotahi, Aupoura, Ngatiawa, Te Kuia and perhaps others.

Butter from the Marokopa Dairy Factory was shipped via Marokopa when conditions allowed until about 1918. Otherwise it was carted to Kinohaku and taken to Te Waitere or Kawhia to coincide with the arrival of the steamers. Wool, pigs, fat lambs and cattle for the Auckland works were loaded directly onto steamers at Te Waitere. Stock could also be loaded off punts with a ramp onto the steamer.

Incoming goods consisted of grass seed, fertiliser, wire, building supplies and household goods. All other stock was driven via the new Waiharakeke bridge to Ohaupo saleyards. Wool, butter, flax and timber were loaded out when possible from Marokopa, from about 1905. Flax was surfed out from Hari Hari in the early days and wool continued to be transported in this manner up until 1929.

On a rise above the small settlement of Te Waitere stands a heritage trail sign on which are the words “Mission Station”. The sign is barely visible from the road and if one walks to the site it can be seen that at its foot is a fenced area in which stands a New Zealand Historic Places Trust marker consisting of a solid concrete block with two bronze plaques. The first reads:

HERE STOOD THE AHUAHU WESLEYAN MISSION STATION 1835 – 80 HEADQUARTERS OF JOHN WHITELEY 1835 - 36 AND 1839 - 55 AND OF CORT SCHNACKENBERG 1858 – 63

The second reads:

ON THIS SITE ARE THE GRAVES OF CHARLES WESLEY WOON BORN 28TH JUNE 1835 DIED 15TH DECEMBER 1835 AND JOHN JAMES WHITELEY BORN 25TH FEBRUARY 1838 DIED 6TH APRIL 1839

The Lemon Point butter factory opened in 1924. In 1925 Te Waitere wharf was in use for wool exports and the wharf shed was refurbished. It's use was limited to full tide.

By 2019 the lemon trees had been cut down, and the neglected graves on the hillside beneath the pines had inscriptions on the headstones almost obliterated.

Wesleyan Missionaries first arrived in the Kawhia area in 1834 at the invitation of some Maori people. Rev. William White made two visits to the area that year at which time he negotiated with Maori Chiefs Haupokia and Waru to purchase land at Waiharakeke to build a mission station. In November 1834 Rev. William and Mrs Woon arrived to commence their work at Kawhia from where Woon travelled widely.

In April 1835 Rev John and Mary Whiteley and their two daughters arrived at Waiharakeke to establish it as the main West Coast Wesleyan Mission Station. The area and accommodation (a one roomed whare with no floor, windows or fireplace) proved unsuitable. Within a few months a move was made to Ahuahu or Lemon Point as Whiletley had soon after his arrival planted lemon trees on the mission site. (Today the name of the settlement is Te Waitere, the Maori rendition of Whiteley, but still sometimes referred to as Lemon Point. The name Ahuahu appears to have been dropped completely.)

At the time of Whiteley’s move from Waiharakeke a decision was made for the Woons to transfer to Manukau but just before they shifted their six month old son Charles died. He was buried at Te Waitere. It would appear that the success of the Wesleyan Mission Stations at Raglan and Kawhia caused a rift with the Church Mission Society and after consultation between the two missions in England the Wesleyans were withdrawn from their stations in early 1836. The rift was amicably resolved in October 1838 and the Wesleyans returned. Rev. Whiteley, the real pioneer of the Wesleyan work in the area served until 1855. After some further years it was deemed that Te Waitere was no longer the most suitable place for a Headquarters so the site was leased and in more recent times most was sold leaving just the reserve we can visit today.

There is now a boat ramp and boat club. Whaleboat Rowing Piu Beach, the last resting place of the Tainui Canoe, is where William and Jane Woon and William White built a small station at Papakarewa in November 1834. Rev William White, made the journey to Waikato to plan further extension to the Methodist work. He made a second visit on 4 May to buy land from Haupokia and Waru at Waiharakeke, South Kawhia, and from Uira at Waipa. Stations at Whaingaroa and Manukau were planned to open the following year. On 12 November 1834, White engaged a vessel to take himself with the Rev and Mrs Woon to Kawhia, arriving there on 16 November, 4 days from Kokianga: “after a painfully distressing voyage of seasickness”. White returned to Kawhia with the Whiteleys and the Wallises on Sunday 17 April 1835. A native teacher named Simon Peter came with them and proved of great help. Woon repeatedly spoke of his helpfulness, and also of another helper named Noah. At Papakarewa, a District Meeting was held. It was decided that Wallis should take up the appointment at Whaingaroa, and that Whiteley should open the second Kawhia station at Waiharakeke across the harbour as the headquarters of the Kawhia work. Wallis left his wife and child with the Woons, and set off for his new location overland. Whitely went to Waiharakeke on 29 April 1835. At Waiharakeke he described the whare as a rush hut native built, 29 by 39 feet, built in a hole at the foot of a hill, getting all the drainage, and the floor like a mudhole. So he moved to Ahuahu. The South Auckland Methodist Centennial Celebrations were held in 1934 in commemoration of the establishment of the first Methodist Mission in the Kawhia area in 1834. To mark this, building started on the Memorial Church and Parsonage at Kawhia with special gatherings for the laying of the foundation stones by King Koroki. Princess Te Puea Herangi opened the completed church on 14 March 1935. Construction and interior decoration had been done by Turangawaewae workers and carvers. There is a brass plaque over the pulpit, which reads Kawhia Methodist Church - 24 November 1934.

1973. The local boat club were seeking assistance from the government to build a boat ramp and wharf to cater for club members and the local coastal trade in supplies around the harbour and to the then developing Taharoa sand mine. There was also a proposed interest in forestry in the area to try to remove Australian sedge which had infested the sand hills along the southern side of the harbour. reclaiming a small bay next to the wharf in Kawhia harbour provide a site for the Council chambers. The remainder of the reclamation was to be endowed with the Harbour Board. The reclamation commenced in 1914 but was still not complete as at 1985.

Waiharakeke
Waiharakeke

ReferencesPhoto 1957 opening of Te Maika school