Our Area

Ascot Park was developed in the late 1960s as a further extension of the Porirua East housing developments. The names of the streets that make up this suburb come from famous racehorses. North of Ascot Park is Whitby and northwest is Papakowhai. The top most section of this suburb, which is named Doncaster Heights, has stunning views over Porirua Harbour, Pauatahanui Inlet, Plimmerton Heads and Mana Island.

Elsdon is named after one of New Zealand’s early historians Elsdon Best. He was born in Tawa and spent many years living in the bush learning the history of the land from local Maori all over the North Island.

He was a frequent visitor to Takapuwahia and it is fitting that this area commemorates one of the regions great scholars. Elsdon includes the area at the corner of Titahi Bay Road and Prosser Street where the Ngati Toa Pa Urukahika stood until about 1889 when the people moved to Takapuwahia.

Papakowhai is situated between Ascot Park and Porirua Harbour and is 5 minutes drive from Porirua Central. Located within this suburb is the New Zealand Police Museum and Aotea Lagoon. The suburb itself overlooks the Porirua harbour towards Titahi Bay and Elsdon.

Paremata is one of the oldest areas of continuous human occupation in New Zealand. The evidence of people living there dates back to at least 1450 AD. It has a wonderful central location being placed where the two arms of the harbour meet the open sea. This meant good access to kai moana as well as to the forests, flax swamps and inland waterways. Nowadays Paremata is a nice area for walks by the sea, swimming, sports and many other outdoor activities. Many areas on the shoreline are excellent for fishing and the area between the road and railway bridge is an ideal place to launch a boat.

According to traditional histories Pauatahanui was occupied by several tribes from the 1600s on. Two Ngati Ira pa existed; one at Motu-karaka and the other at Te Ewe O Whanake now known as Ration Point. When the land wars broke out in the area in 1846 the Ngati Toa chief Te Rangihaeata built a Pa where today St Albans church stands. The Pauatahanui Inlet is home for a wide range of native and introduced species of birds such as the Eastern Bartailed Godwit and the Canadian Goose. Many more native birds and plants can be found at a recreational area known as Battle Hill found just 5 minutes out of this township.

Today Plimmerton is a lively little community with cafes, restaurants, fast food outlets, great beaches and is a favourite summertime suburb. Grab an ice cream or bite to eat and take a wander through the village and around the bays. Check out the rock pools and great places to relax. The main beach is great for windsurfing or a swim in the waves. Old Plimmerton used to be known as Taupo when it was the chief residence of the Ngati Toa chief Te Rauparaha in the 1840s. From the beaches of Plimmerton many beautiful sunsets can be seen as it sets behind Mana Island. It was said that many years ago, farmers could move their cattle to Mana Island using a sand bar that existed before an earthquake. The suburb has expanded greatly since the 1870's, many houses now dot the hills and valleys set in the bush and along the waterfront. Plimmerton is a great area for a walk or a swim along the sandy shoreline. The entrance to Plimmerton is situated just past Mana heading north on State Highway 1.

Porirua is made up of a collection of three smaller suburbs including Porirua Central, Cannons Creek and Waitangirua.

By the early 1900s Porirua boasted three churches, a hotel, a railway station and at least one general store. The mudflats at the head of the harbour provided a course for occasional race days and for training horses from Prosser's stables. The railway provided connections with Wellington to the south and Manawatu to the north. Although modern Porirua was planned as a dormitory city for Wellington, it was recognised that a regional shopping centre in Porirua was needed. The development provided an exciting new centre for retail in Porirua. This was complemented in 1995 by the covered walkways over the 1960s shopping area. As the turn of the century new commercial developments were pressed forward, most notably the Mega-Centre stores, which began opening in November 1999.

 

Cannon's Creek takes its name from the stream flowing through the area from Cannon's Head. From the earliest times the stream was valued in the area because it is water from a spring rather than formed by collected rainwater which most local streams are. The street names for the area come from the old families such as Sievers and those who bordered on Cannon's Creek like the Mungavin's. Many are old English and Welsh County names; Hereford, Gloucester and Norfolk. Many more are named for colonial ships from the early years of New Zealand; Warspite, Driver, Astrolabe etc. The two small lakes next to the shopping centre were formed in the 1960s when the landscape was transformed for the growing housing estate. Nowadays, the Creek, as it is commonly called, is the very centre of the vibrant Pacific Island Community that gives Porirua so much of its life and uniqueness.

 

Waitangirua is named for the musical sound that the meeting of two streams makes. Cameron’s Creek and the Waitangi stream are the two streams that produce this sound for this area. The street names of this suburb commemorate various ships. These include the World War Two cruiser Leander, the Union Steam Ship Company ships Penguin (lost in the Cook Strait in 1909, and the tug Natone that operated in the Wellington Harbour from 1900 until 1947.

Up until the advent of the Railway Line in the 1880s, access into Pukerua Bay was literally along a Maori track from Plimmerton ‘Taua Tapu’. A 1921 Railway report described Pukerua as a village of about three or four permanent dwellings, several Railway cottages, and about thirty huts (some built of driftwood), which were used by the ‘weekenders’. The beach continued to attract visitors but by the end of the 1930s, once the Highway had been pushed through, Pukerua Bay had changed from an isolated village into the suburb it is today.

Ranui Heights is a distinctly different area from its surrounding neighbours. In many ways it is the last major part left of the old Porirua Village. The traces of the Village can be seen in the many villas, which still stand, many overlooking the modern motorway that cut Ranui off from the old Village centre. Today Ranui Heights is experiencing a new lease of life as the villas are refurbished and new houses are built with an expansion of the suburb to the south, and it is located just 5 minutes drive back from Central Porirua.

Titahi Bay is one of the largest and oldest suburbs in Porirua City. It began as a series of fishing villages and pa for Ngati Ira and later Ngati Toa. The peninsula of Whitireia was the site of extensive gardening, which contributed to the wealth of food already available from nearby forests. Another unique feature of the Bay is its contribution to New Zealand’s architectural heritage the ‘Austrian state houses’. Designed in New Zealand, the houses are unusual in being pre-cut and manufactured in Austria. They were made of Austrian timber, and assembled in Titahi Bay by Austrian tradesmen. A total of 194 Austrians arrived in 1952 and 1953. Speaking little or no English, the Austrians comprised a sizeable community in their own right.

In general, the men were accepted, particularly by the local Maori community. Dance and music provided a common link and many concerts were held on the Takapuwahia Marae or at the camp.

Tawa is extremely popular and only 10 minutes to the Capital City! Impressive schools, quality housing. Tawa's facilities are plentiful including... shops, public transport, parks, sports clubs and of course a swimming pool. A must see area.

Whitby was based on the towns of Columbia, (U.S.A.), and Canberra in Australia. These residential communities with a wide range of housing are based on a village concept of family life and neighbourly friendship. Whitby is different. From the beginning point, the village was planned as a total community. Each area within Whitby was to have its own school, kindergarten, parks, and shops, all of which were, considered essential services. Whitby is one of the most planned suburbs in the world. It was constructed a few streets at a time but with a finished plan in mind. It is situated between Pauatahanui, Paremata and Ascot Park/Waitangirua and only 5 minutes from the city centre.