WHNP - European settlement

European settlement

According to the accounts of the Ngati Wairere hapu, the first European to have passed through the area was Korehako, sometime during the late 1820s. It is believed that he was captured by Ngati Koura at Aotea Harbour and brought inland to live at Kirikiriroa Pa.

Throughout the 1830s land located south of the Waitemata Harbour in Auckland was relatively unknown to European settlers. Cohabitation of the north of the North Island between Maori and Europeans was relatively peaceful but to the south, and including Kirikiriroa and its surrounds, the Maori ruled supreme.

An example of early European bush clearance in the Waikato for farming purposes

In the 1830s Mr Edward Meurant arrived. He was a trader in flaxes and Kauri gum to Europeans. He married a local Ngati Koura woman named Te Rangikauwau and established a settlement on the banks of the Waipa River near the Te Ohote Stream. Kauri gum collections by local Maori occurred right up until the 1920s. The gum was found to be a superior resin and ingredient for varnish and was exported to London from New Zealand. This trade provided an introduction to European industry for local Maori.

Another noted visitor who passed Waiwhakareke on route to Kirikiriroa was Taupiri based CMS missionary Potaenui otherwise known as Reverend Ashwell. Ashwell orchestrated some of the huge land clearances that many Christian missionaries in the greater area undertook. Ancient forest reserves were burnt to the ground to make way for agriculture. This damaged the natural resource based commercial trade that Maori undertook prior to 1860.

It was the work of missionaries and the extension of industry in the form of gum digging and farming practices that helped to integrate the two cultures in the Waikato Region. By 1843 missionaries such as Reverend Ashwell had set up permanent mission stations at locations throughout the Waipa area. Many Maori were converted to Christianity and continued the clearing of the forests to make way for European type farms. They were introduced to agricultural practices such as wheat production and harvesting.

The 1850s saw Maori operating their own flax and flour mills in the area, expanding the variety of new industry introduced by Europeans.

Taking milk to the factory by tractor, an example of early farming practice in the Waikato

In the 1860s, with the European population firmly established in the Waikato, groups of Maori were employed by European farmers to assist in the drainage of peat land in the area surrounding Waiwhakareke. This allowed the peat land to be utilised for pastoral farming purposes.

The urbanisation trends and population growth in New Zealand throughout the 20th Century resulting from European settlement has led to the boundaries of Hamilton City expanding. The area containing Waiwhakareke came into the City as part of the 10th city extension in November 1989.