WainuiomataCentralPlaceNames.docx WAINUIOMATA CENTRAL PLACE NAME ORIGINS This document is about the origin of the names of various features of Central Wainuiomata on the flat area such as houses, parks and suburb names. It excludes road and street names. Wainuiomata is named after the big water or stream of Mata. Wai means water. Nui means big. O means of. Mata refers to a woman's name Roimata. This is an official version. The origins of the word are disputed and other commonly accepted translations are: - Refers to the women living in the now Hutt Valley who came over the Wainuiomata Hill to evade marauding tribes. These tribes in about 1819 were carrying muskets that came north from the Paremata area. In the battle the local tribes were said to have been destroyed. The Paremata Maoris came across the remaining women who were sitting wailing by the stream after the slaughter of their menfolk. From this we have “faces streaming with water”, “tears” or “weeping water”. - Refers to the large pools of water which lay over the swampy surface of the northern end of the Valley, or the river itself which is known to flood the Coast Road / Wainuiomata Valley. From this it can also mean large river from the swamp. - Refers to the whitebait that are present at the mouth of the river. Mata means whitebait. From this we have big river of whitebait. - Refers to flint or obsidian which is hard rock found in the headwaters of the river. - Refers to the origin and personification of water. The area for the purposes of this document covers is from the head of the Wainuiomata River to the mouth where it enters the sea at the Wainuiomata Coast and its tributaries. It is basically the lowlands of Wainuiomata. It covers the east and west side of the river. That is the watershed of the river. It excludes the following areas: - Bridge Names on the Wainuiomata River. - Buildings and Golf Course names at the Riskend / Wainuiomata Golf Club. - Buildings and Tracks names at the Brookfield Outdoor Recreation Centre (formerly the Brookfield Scout Camp). - Buildings and Tracks names at Camp Wainui (formerly the Boys Brigade Camp) located in the Scholes Creek area, Coast Road. - Rocks and Tracks names in the Baring Head / Orua-Pouanui Park. - Topographical features from the hills that surround Wainuiomata. - Track names in the Waiu Street Mountain Bike Park in Wainuiomata and that also extend to the Hutt Valley. Other documents that relate to the area are: - For information on the high points on the Orongorongo side of the Wainuiomata River watershed area see the Orongorongo Place Name Origins document. - For information on the topographical features such as high points, tracks and streams of Wainuiomata, that is the watershed from the head of the Wainuiomata River to the mouth where it enters the sea at the Wainuiomata Coast and its tributaries, see the Wainuiomata Place Name Origins document - For information on the high points of the Hutt Valley side of Wainuiomata, that is Stokes Valley to Baring Head area see the Hutt Valley Eastern Side Place Name Origins document. - For information on road and street names of Wainuiomata, see the Wainuiomata Street Names Origins document. For more history about the Maori naming and their association with Wainuiomata see the article titled Wainuiomata – Whats in the Name in the book Tales From Wainuiomatas Past – Volume 2 by Gavin Wallace and Dawn Chambers. © Jeremy Foster 2021 Page 1 of 24 WainuiomataCentralPlaceNames.docx See also the Wikipedia page on Wainuiomata and the Wainuiomata River. The parks and reserves are owned by the Hutt City Council unless otherwise stated. The document is laid out in the following style: Locality name for example – Ambleside. Type of geographical feature for example – Farm / House / Hut. Definition for example – Name of a house by the Heathcote family that was located in the Wise Street area. It means summer pasture. Source of the information for example – Wainuiomata Glimpses Of Our Past by Vicky Alexander and Colleen Hira. Meaning of the information for example – Tales From The Swamp by Vicky Alexander. Time frame when the name came into existence for example – 1920s. The Map sources are from various topographical maps as stated in the Bibliography. See the Bibliography for further sources of information. Ambleside Farm / House / Hut Name of a house by the Heathcote family that was located at about 122 Upper Fitzherbert Road. It means summer pasture. The house was in existence from the 1880s to the late 1950s. Source – Wainuiomata Glimpses Of Our Past by Vicky Alexander and Colleen Hira. Information – Tales From The Swamp by Vicky Alexander. Time Frame – 1920s. Antrim Crescent Reserve Park / Reserve Name of a town and county in Northern Ireland. It means lone ridge. The main entrance is located between 21 to 23 Antrim Crescent. There are also other entrances between 6 and 11 Wicklow Grove, and 6 and 8 Bunratty Grove. Source – Map. Information – Valley And Bays – Origins Of Street Names In Lower Hutt, Including Eastbourne, Petone And Wainuiomata by Alison Carey. Time Frame – 1970s. Arakura Settlement Arakura Park Park / Reserve Pathway to learning. Ara means path. Kura means learning. The name was suggested in 1965 by Ihaia Porutu (Paddy) Puketapu (1887 – 1971), an elder of Waiwhetu Marae, when approached for a name for the new school. The surrounding area was then also named Arakura. It is located at the northern end of the main valley. The main entrance to the park is located at 244 Wellington Road. There are also other entrances to the park between 15 and 16 Halifax Street, 14 Matthews Road, 216 Wellington Road, and the Black Creek Reserve. Source – Map. Information – Parks Of Wainuiomata Notes. Time Frame – 1965. Arapito Settlement End of the path. Ara means path. Pito means end, extremity. It is located at about 551 Coast Road. Source – Map. Information – Maori Dictionary. Time Frame – 1800s. © Jeremy Foster 2021 Page 2 of 24 WainuiomataCentralPlaceNames.docx Ashfield Farm / House / Hut Name of a house by the Dick family that was located at about 17 Rowe Parade. It means open country. It was located on Holly Farm. The house was in existence from the 1860s to 1929. Source – Early Education In Wainuiomata by G. P. Blayney. Information – Tales From The Swamp by Vicky Alexander. Time Frame – 1890s. Autumn Lodge Farm / House / Hut Named after the season which is between Summer and Winter. It was located on Jacksons Farm. It was built by Frank George August (1889 – 1966) a possum hunter of Wainuiomata. It was also used by trampers on the way to the Orongorongo River Valley area. The hut was in existence in the 1920s. Source – A Chronology Of The Tararua And Rimutaka Ranges – 6th Edition by Ross Kerr. Information – Internet Search. Time Frame – 1920s. Balloch Farm / House / Hut Name of a house by John McIlvride (1833 – 1906) that was located at 34 Moores Valley Road. It means village or hamlet. It is named after the village Balloch in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The house was in existence from the late 1850s to 1941. Source – Newspaper Article. Information – Internet Search. Time Frame – 1850s. Black Creek / Stream Stream Black Creek / Stream Reserve Park / Reserve Where the stream is black from the swamp / vegetation that used to be located from the head of the main Wainuiomata valley, alongside what is now the Fitzherbert Road area prior to it being drained in the 1880s. It has also been known as Black River. The reserve is located along the main Wainuiomata Valley from Upper Fitzherbert Road to where it meets the Wainuiomata River. Source – Map. Information – Internet Dictionary. Time Frame – 1840s. Boys Brigade Camp Farm / House / Hut It is a international interdenominational Christian youth organisation to combine drill and fun activities with Christian values. This Boys Brigade Organisation have owned the area since the 1940s when they purchased the land from the Scholes family. It later became known as Camp Wainui in the 2010s. The area covered is about 220 hectares. It is located at 203 Coast Road. Source – Map. Information – Internet Search. Time Frame – 1940s. Brendan Manse Farm / House / Hut Name of a house by Francis Bernard (Bronc) Twomey (1891 – 1977) had moved from Petone to 200 Coast Road. Brendan is named after the 6th century Saint Brenda. Manse is a clergy house. The house has been in existence in Wainuiomata from the 1920s to present. Source – Tales From Wainuiomata Past Volume 2 by Gavin Wallace and Dawn Chambers. Information – Tales From Wainuiomata Past Volume 2 by Gavin Wallace and Dawn Chambers. Time Frame – 1920s. Brookfield Farm / House / Hut Name of a farm / house by the Crowther family that was located at 562 Moores Valley Road, Moores Valley. It means that a stream / brook flows through open country. The house was in existence from about 1865 to 1961. The area is now known as the Brookfield Outdoor Recreation Centre which is owned by the Scouting Association. The area covered is about 260 hectares. Source – Early Education In Wainuiomata by G. P. Blayney. Information – Internet Search. Time Frame – 1860s. © Jeremy Foster 2021 Page 3 of 24 WainuiomataCentralPlaceNames.docx Bryan Heath Park Park / Reserve Bryan Hargrave Heath (1891 – 1962) was elected president of the Wainuiomata Cricket Club in 1951. He was also the Hutt County Council Chairman from 1957 to 1958. The main entrance is located at 30 Fitzherbert Road. There is also another entrance at the Black Creek Reserve. Source – Map. Information – Tales From Wainuiomata Past Volume 2 by Gavin Wallace and Dawn Chambers. Time Frame – 1950s. Burden Avenue Riverbank Reserve Park / Reserve Henry Edward Burden (1870 – 1946) was a bond holder and a director with the Wainuiomata Development Company.