Porirua
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Porirua, ( mi, Pari-ā-Rua) a
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in the
Wellington Region Greater Wellington, also known as the Wellington Region (Māori: ''Te Upoko o te Ika''), is a non-unitary region of New Zealand that occupies the southernmost part of the North Island. The region covers an area of , and has a population of T ...
of the
North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Porirua' is a corruption of 'Pari-rua', meaning "the tide sweeping up both reaches". It almost completely surrounds
Porirua Harbour Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour, commonly known as Porirua Harbour, is a natural inlet in the south-western coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The harbour is within the main urban area of the Wellington Region, and is surrounded by the city of ...
at the southern end of the
Kapiti Coast The Kapiti Coast District is a local government district of the Wellington Region in the lower North Island of New Zealand, 50 km north of Wellington City. The district is named after Kapiti Island, a prominent island offshore. The pop ...
. As of Porirua had a population of .


Name

The name "Porirua" has a
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
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 Kaiwharawhara is an urban seaside suburb of Wellington in New Zealand's North Island. It is located north of the centre of the city on the western shore of Wellington Harbour, where the Kaiwharawhara Stream reaches the sea from its headwaters ...
(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 Khandallah is a suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It is located northeast of the city centre, on hills overlooking Wellington Harbour. Description The northeastern part of the suburb is dominated by a large area of park ...
still bears the name "Old Porirua Road".


History

Tradition holds that, prior to habitation,
Kupe Kupe ( ~1180-1320) was a legendary Polynesian explorer, navigator and great rangatira of Hawaiki, who is said to have been the first human to discover New Zealand. Whether Kupe existed historically is likely but difficult to confirm. He is g ...
was the first visitor to the area, and that he bestowed names of significant sites such as Te Mana o Kupe ki Aotearoa ( Mana Island). In addition, it is said that Kupe left his anchor stone, Te Punga o Matahouroa at Whitireia, which is now held at
Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...
. There is evidence of human habitation in Porirua since 1450 at the latest, during the "moa hunter" period of
Māori history The history of the Māori began with the arrival of Polynesian settlers in New Zealand (''Aotearoa'' in Māori), in a series of ocean migrations in canoes starting from the late 13th or early 14th centuries. Over several centuries of isolation, ...
. The forests, sea, esturies and swamps provided abundant food and materials. The Porirua area came to be occupied by a succession of tribes, including
Ngāti Tara Taranaki (Tuturu) is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. Taranaki iwi were an important part of the First and Second Taranaki Wars. At least 13 members of Taranaki died during the First Taranaki War, mostly defending Waireka on 28 March 1860, includ ...
and
Ngāti Ira Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...
.
Ngāti Toa Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and in the northern South Island of New Zealand. Its ''rohe'' (tribal area) extends from Whanganui in the north, Palmerston N ...
people migrated south from
Kawhia Kawhia Harbour (Maori: ''Kāwhia'') is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southw ...
, and took control of the Porirua coast in the 1820s. By the 1840s they had established 12 , with Takapūwāhia and
Hongoeka Hongoeka is a community in the city of Porirua in New Zealand. It is northwest of Plimmerton and adjacent to Hongoeka Bay. It extends from an urupā (cemetery) boundary at the end of Moana Road, to Haukōpua (commonly known as Big Bay). A resid ...
still occupied by
marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...
today.Pat Stodart, “Pā in Porirua: social settlements”, ''Tuhinga'' 26: 1–19, https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/sites/default/files/tuhinga.26.2015.pt1_.p1-19.stodart.lowres.pdf From the late 1830s, European settlers began to express interest in the Porirua region, culminating in the controversial sale of most of the region in 1847. In 1839, the
New Zealand Company The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model focused on the systematic colonisation of New Zealand. The company was formed to carry out the principl ...
signed an agreement with
Ngāti Toa Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and in the northern South Island of New Zealand. Its ''rohe'' (tribal area) extends from Whanganui in the north, Palmerston N ...
from which it claimed to have acquired the entire southern part of the North Island. Following the signing of the
Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...
, an inquiry by Land Claims Commissioner William Spain found that most of the alleged purchase, including Porirua, was invalid. However, rising tensions with European settlers led to
Ngāti Toa Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and in the northern South Island of New Zealand. Its ''rohe'' (tribal area) extends from Whanganui in the north, Palmerston N ...
chief
Te Rauparaha Te Rauparaha (c.1768 – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira (chief) and war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe who took a leading part in the Musket Wars, receiving the nickname "the Napoleon of the South". He was influential in the original ...
being captured by 200 British troops and police in July 1846. Shortly afterwards, the Hutt Valley campaign led to chief
Te Rangihaeata Te Rangihaeata ( 1780s – 18 November 1855), was a Ngāti Toa chief, nephew of Te Rauparaha. He had a leading part in the Wairau Affray and the Hutt Valley Campaign. Early life A member of the Ngāti Toa, he was born at Kawhia around 1780. Hi ...
's retreat to
Poroutawhao Poroutawhao is a small rural settlement in the Horowhenua District of New Zealand's North Island. It is located just north-west of Levin on State Highway 1. The settlement has a school and a community hall, which due to its old age has been expe ...
in the
Horowhenua Horowhenua District is a territorial authority district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand, administered by Horowhenua District Council. Located north of Wellington and Kapiti, it stretches from slightly north of the town of ...
. In April 1847, eight remaining chiefs, including Tamihana Te Rauparaha, Matene Te Whiwhi and Rawiri Puaha, signed a deed for the sale of 69,000 acres for £2,000, comprising almost the entire area from
Mākara Mākara is a locality located at the western edge of Wellington, New Zealand, close to the shore of the Tasman Sea. The suburb is named after the Mākara Stream (''mā'' is Māori for white, ''kara'' is a kind of greywacke stone). The Wellingt ...
in the south to Paekākāriki in the north. Three reserves totalling 10,000 acres were left aside for Ngāti Toa. Ngāti Toa hold that the deed was coerced by the holding of
Te Rauparaha Te Rauparaha (c.1768 – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira (chief) and war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe who took a leading part in the Musket Wars, receiving the nickname "the Napoleon of the South". He was influential in the original ...
and that the chiefs signing sought his release. In the 19th century, a small European settlement grew up, partly because of the need for a ferry across the harbour. The 1880s and 1890s saw the establishment of the Porirua Lunatic Asylum on the hill south-west of Porirua village. Following the Mental Defectives Act of 1911, the Asylum became Porirua Mental Hospital. In the late 1940s state planning envisaged Porirua becoming a satellite city of Wellington with
state housing State housing is a system of public housing in New Zealand, offering low-cost rental housing to residents on low to moderate incomes. Some 69,000 state houses are managed by Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, most of which are owned by the ...
. This required improved rail and road links with Wellington and rail and road development has contributed much to the growth of the Porirua area by reducing travel times, making it possible to live in the Porirua area and work in Wellington, and by making day-trips from Wellington to the beaches at
Paremata Paremata is a suburb of Porirua, on the Tasman Sea coast to the north of Wellington, New Zealand. History Early history The modern suburb, just south of Plimmerton, derives its name from the "Paremata Barracks", erected on the north shore of P ...
, and Plimmerton relatively easy. Since the 1940s, Porirua has grown to a city population approaching 57,000, 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. On 7 June 1976, New Zealand's first
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
restaurant opened in Porirua, on the corner of Cobham Court and Hagley Street. The original restaurant closed on 24 April 2009, and the store relocated to Kenepuru Drive.


Industry

Substantial industrial areas, generally west of the city centre, have evolved. During the 1960s
Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...
, UEB Industries and many small businesses opened at Elsdon. During the following decade, Ashley Wallpapers developed the former UEB property and after favourable negotiations with the government, Todd Motors (later Mitsubishi) moved from Petone to Porirua. Todd Motors was a vehicle assembly company which moved from Petone and opened a large factory in Porirua in 1975. The factory covered on a site known as Todd Park. At its peak there were 1500 employees building 22,000 vehicles per year. The company was sold to Mitsubishi in 1987 and the factory closed in 1998. Hills Hats (established in 1875) set up premises in Porirua in the 1950s. By 1996 it employed 80 people at Porirua and was exporting 75% of its production to 23 countries. The company was sold to overseas investors in 1997, then went into receivership and was bought by Wellington investors in 1998. In 2003 the company shifted from Porirua to Petone. Bonds Hosiery (later Hilton Bonds, then Sara Lee Apparel, part of Pacific Dunlop) was established in Porirua in the 1960s or early 1970s. In 2001 the factory closed with the loss of 55 jobs, the result of declining hosiery sales worldwide.
Whittaker's J.H. Whittaker & Sons, Ltd (Whittaker's) is a confectionery manufacturer specialising in palm oil-free chocolate and based in Porirua, New Zealand. Whittaker's is the largest chocolate brand in New Zealand. Approximately 30% of their productio ...
confectionery manufacturers moved their business from Wellington to Porirua in 1969 and as of 2022 have around 160 employees at the Porirua factory.


Rail

The development of the rail through Porirua, part of the
Kapiti Line Metlink's Kapiti Line is the electrified southern portion of the North Island Main Trunk railway between New Zealand's capital city, Wellington, and Waikanae on the Kapiti Coast, operated by Transdev Wellington on behalf of Greater Wellington R ...
, has contributed significantly to the development of Porirua as a satellite city of Wellington. The
Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company The Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (WMR or W&MR) was a private railway company that built, owned and operated the Wellington-Manawatu railway line between Thorndon in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, and Longburn, near Palmers ...
opened a railway line through Johnsonville from Wellington to Porirua in 1885. The railway reached
Longburn Longburn (or Karere) is a rural settlement just outside Palmerston North in the Manawatū-Whanganui area of New Zealand. Made up of large dairy processing plants Longburn is often mistaken to be a small township and not seen as a large satellite t ...
(south of Palmerston North) in 1886 to connect with the Government's lines to Taranaki and Napier. With the acquisition of the company by the government in 1908, the line to Porirua and northward to Longburn became part of the
North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...
railway. The railway provided regular passenger services between Wellington and Porirua and linked Porirua to other North Island centres. A shunting service from Wellington delivered goods wagons to sidings at Porirua, Paremata, Plimmerton, and Pukerua Bay and brought timber for the construction of houses in the area. The Tawa Flat railway deviation providing
double-track railway A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most li ...
with
double line automatic signalling Double Line Automatic Signalling is a form of railway signalling used on the majority of Double track, double line sections in New Zealand. Double Line Automatic Signalling uses track circuits to detect the presence of trains in sections broken up ...
as far as Tawa opened to passenger services on 19 June 1937, reducing travel time for passenger trains from Wellington to Porirua by 15 minutes, to 27 minutes rather than 43 to 48 minutes.Murray, Bruce; Parsons, David (2008). Rails through the Valley: The story of the construction and use of the railway lines through Tawa. Wellington: Tawa Historical Society. . During 1940, Centralised Train Control (CTC), which allowed direct control of signals and train movements by Train Control in Wellington, was progressively installed on the single line sections of track north of Tawa, replacing tablet working and allowing more efficient, flexible, and rapid control of train movements. CTC between Plimmerton and Paekākāriki applied from 25 February 1940, Paremata to Plimmerton from 30 June, and Tawa to Porirua from 4 December 1940. On 24 July 1940, the line through Porirua, from Wellington to Paekākāriki, was electrified and double track completed from Plimmerton to South Junction, just north of Muri railway station. Electrification allowed the introduction of electric ED class locomotives, first introduced in 1938 for use on this line, to haul passenger and goods trains. Electric locomotives eliminated the smoke nuisance in the tunnels on the line and allowed longer trains to run. DM/D
electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...
s first ran to Porirua on 5 September 1949 and replaced the majority of locomotive-hauled passenger trains and allowed a more frequent and faster train service. The duplication of the line from Plimmerton to South Junction allowed a more frequent train service between Porirua and Paekākāriki Duplication of the track from Tawa to Porirua station opened on 15 December 1957. This completed double line automatic signalling from Wellington distant junction, just south of
Kaiwharawhara Kaiwharawhara is an urban seaside suburb of Wellington in New Zealand's North Island. It is located north of the centre of the city on the western shore of Wellington Harbour, where the Kaiwharawhara Stream reaches the sea from its headwaters ...
, to Porirua, and eliminated CTC between Tawa and Porirua. This work, and the provision of additional signals between Kaiwharawhara and Tawa allowed close following of trains and more frequent and faster train services between Wellington and Porirua. During peak periods many multiple unit trains were now terminated at Porirua and returned to Wellington to provide a more frequent service between Wellington and Porirua than was provided for stations north of Porirua. Extension of the double track and automatic signalling continued with the Porirua to Mana section opened on 7 November 1960. The work involved harbour reclamation to construct straight tack from Porirua to
Papakōwhai Papakōwhai is a suburb of Porirua City. It lies approximately north of Wellington in New Zealand. The name "Papakōwhai" () in the Māori language means "yellow earth". As well as being the name of the suburb it is the name of the main r ...
, just south of Paremata, eliminating the tight curves as the former railway followed the coastline, and creating three lagoons on the eastern side of the harbour. The central lagoon, now known as
Aotea Lagoon Aotea Lagoon is an artificial lagoon surrounded by a public park in the Papakowhai suburb of Porirua, North Island, New Zealand. Aotea and two nearby lagoons were created when major arterial transport links were realigned from the natural coas ...
, remains but is reduced in size. From Paremata to Mana the track was realigned to the West of the original track and a new double-track bridge was built across the entrance to the Pauatahanui Inlet. The original single-track railway bridge, built in 1885, was removed allowing room for the construction of a second road bridge in 2004. The railway stations at Porirua, Paremata, and Dolly Varden were replaced with new stations with Dolly Varden station renamed Mana. Mana to Plimmerton double track and automatic signalling were completed on 16 October 1961, completing the double track and automatic signalling from Wellington to South Junction, and allowing more frequent train services north of Porirua station. Crossovers at Plimmerton allowed some trains to terminate at Plimmerton and return to Wellington during peak periods. By 2016, the introduction of electric multiple units with more rapid acceleration, EM/ET class from 1982 and Matangi FP class from 2010, had reduced rail travel time for stopping trains between Wellington and Porirua by another 6 minutes to 21 minutes, despite extra stops at Redwood, Linden, and Kenepuru which each add 48 seconds to the travel time. For non-stopping trains, the time had reduced to 17 minutes. Off-peak passenger services between Wellington and Porirua stations ran every thirty minutes with more frequent services during peak periods and a less frequent during the night. From 15 July 2018, off-peak day services were increased to one every twenty minutes.


Road

Wellington and Porirua are linked by the
Johnsonville–Porirua Motorway The Johnsonville–Porirua Motorway is a motorway in Wellington, New Zealand. The majority of the motorway forms part of State Highway 1, the main route of traffic in and out of the city, with the northernmost , formerly part of SH 1 until 7 Dec ...
, part of State Highway 59 within Porirua and
State Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbere ...
beyond Porirua. Road improvements have progressively reduced travel times between Wellington and Porirua and increased the demand for housing development in Porirua. In 1940, the Centennial Highway developments saw the opening of a four-lane high-speed highway in
Ngauranga Gorge The Ngauranga Gorge is in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. State Highway 1 runs through the gorge, a vital link between central Wellington City and its northern suburbs and Porirua City and the Kapiti Coast; it is the main route north out of ...
bypassing the slower routes through Ngaio and Khandallah. During the 1950s, the high-speed
Johnsonville–Porirua Motorway The Johnsonville–Porirua Motorway is a motorway in Wellington, New Zealand. The majority of the motorway forms part of State Highway 1, the main route of traffic in and out of the city, with the northernmost , formerly part of SH 1 until 7 Dec ...
was built through Tawa on the eastern side of the valley. The first section from Johnsonville to the Tawa turnoff at Takapu Road at the southern entrance to Tawa opened on 15 December 1951, broadly following the line of the old North Island Main Trunk railway. It reduced road travel times and considerably improved access between Wellington and Porirua by eliminating the need to use the narrow winding road through the bottom of the Tawa valley in the Glenside area. The second section, from Takapu Road to Porirua, opened about 1956 and allowed through traffic to bypass the lower speed road through Tawa. The Johnsonville bypass connecting the south end of the motorway to the top of Ngauranga Gorge opened about 1958 completing the four-lane road link between Wellington and Porirua. On 3 October 1936, a road bridge was opened across the entrance to the Pauatahanui Inlet connecting Paremata to Dolly Varden, known as Mana from 1960, eliminating a 22-kilometre journey around Pauatahanui Inlet to Plimmerton. The bridge became part of SH 1 when centennial highway developments saw the completion of a highway from Pukerua Bay to Paekākāriki. A second bridge was built in 2004 allowing two lanes of traffic in each direction. In the late 1960s, reclamation work began to the east of the 1960 rail reclamation from Porirua to Paremata allowing the construction of a four-lane expressway alongside the railway. The expressway opened in the early 1970s with room allowed for a future interchange at Whitford Brown Avenue. The reclamation work largely eliminated the north and south lagoons created by the rail reclamation on the east side of the harbour and reduced the size of the central lagoon, known as Aotea Lagoon. An intersection between SH 1 and Mungavin Avenue remained at Porirua until 1989 when the intersection was replaced with a grade-separated roundabout interchange with State Highway 1 passing under the interchange. The
Transmission Gully Motorway The Transmission Gully Motorway () is a , four-lane motorway north of Wellington, New Zealand; it is part of the State Highway 1 route. Construction began on 8 September 2014 and completion was originally scheduled for April 2020, but contractu ...
was constructed between 2014 and 2021, providing an eastern bypass of Porirua. On 7 December 2021, shortly before its opening, SH 1 was shifted to the Transmission Gully Motorway and the former SH 1 route through Porirua was renumbered SH 59.


Demographics

Porirua City covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Porirua City had a population of 56,559 at the
2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...
, an increase of 4,842 people (9.4%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 8,013 people (16.5%) since the
2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
. There were 17,838 households. There were 27,585 males and 28,974 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female. The median age was 35.1 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 13,443 people (23.8%) aged under 15 years, 11,127 (19.7%) aged 15 to 29, 25,419 (44.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 6,570 (11.6%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 61.9% European/Pākehā, 22.3% Māori, 26.3% Pacific peoples, 8.7% Asian, and 2.6% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 24.5, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 43.8% had no religion, 43.5% were Christian, 1.3% were Hindu, 1.2% were Muslim, 1.0% were Buddhist and 2.8% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 9,783 (22.7%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 7,170 (16.6%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $34,400, compared with $31,800 nationally. 8,934 people (20.7%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 22,524 (52.2%) people were employed full-time, 5,703 (13.2%) were part-time, and 2,379 (5.5%) were unemployed.


Local government

The city is administered by Porirua City Council. The wider
Wellington Region Greater Wellington, also known as the Wellington Region (Māori: ''Te Upoko o te Ika''), is a non-unitary region of New Zealand that occupies the southernmost part of the North Island. The region covers an area of , and has a population of T ...
is administered by the Greater Wellington Regional Council. When New Zealand became a separate Colony from
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
in 1841, the Royal Charter established three
provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
. The Porirua area became part of New Munster which included that part of the North Island south of the Patea River and the whole of the South Island. The British Parliament passed the first New Zealand Constitution Act in 1846 which reformed the provinces and the Porirua area became part of
New Ulster New Ulster was a province of the Colony of New Zealand that existed between 1841 and 1853. It was named after the Irish province of Ulster. Creation Between 1841 and 1846, the province included all the North Island. With the passing of the New ...
which now included all of the North Island. The provinces were reformed again when the New Zealand Constitution Act of 1852 established six provinces with Porirua included in the Wellington Province. In 1876, Provincial Government was abolished and replaced with 36 borough councils and 63 county councils and the Porirua area became the Porirua Riding of the Hutt County, formed in 1877. The Hutt County covered all the area south of the
Waikanae River Waikanae River is located on the Kapiti Coast in the North Island of New Zealand. The river drains the western flanks of the Tararua Ranges around Reikorangi and the Akatarawa Valley, then passes to the south of the town of Waikanae to the ...
and West of the
Remutaka Range The Remutaka Range (spelled Rimutaka Range before 2017) is the southernmost range of a mountain chain in the lower North Island of New Zealand. The chain continues north into the Tararua, then Ruahine Ranges, running parallel with the east ...
s that lay outside of Wellington City. As the population of local areas grew, a number of local boroughs were split off from the Hutt County. In 1908, a smaller Makara County with offices in Porirua was formed from the Mākara and Porirua Ridings or the south-western part of the Hutt County. The new Makara County included Porirua, Titahi Bay, Tawa Flat, and all of the area to the south lying to the west of Wellington City and outside the areas covered by Wellington City and the new and independent boroughs of Miramar, Karori, Onslow, and Johnsonville. In 1939, northern Tawa valley residents seeking a separate name for the northern part of the Tawa district met and chose " Linden", from "Linden Vale", the name of the home of Mr Stuart Duncan and the name "Linden" was adopted in 1940. In 1948, the Tawa Flat and Linden Progressive Associations and Porirua interests, led by
Arthur Carman Arthur Herbert Carman (2 August 1902 – 28 November 1982) was a New Zealand sports journalist and writer, bookseller, publisher, pacifist, local politician, and local historian. Life and career Carman was born and died in Wellington, New Zeal ...
and
Percy Clark Percy Hamilton Clark (August 7, 1873 – August 12, 1965) was an American cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler. He began playing cricket in 1885 and soon found himself at the top of the game in the USA duri ...
, made a representation to the Local Government Commission asking for a single borough covering the whole of the Porirua Basin. The Commission did not accept this proposal but responded by giving the Tawa Flat-Linden area the status of a Town District with the first Tawa Flat Town Board elected on 16 May 1951. With continued urbanisation and population growth in the Tawa valley, the population reached 3,900 in 1953 and the upgrade of the Town District to a borough was approved in October 1953. Rapid urbanisation and population growth was now occurring in the Porirua Basin with the development of state housing in Titahi Bay, Elsdon, and to the East of State Highway 59, and in 1961 the first municipality to have "Porirua" in its name, the Borough of Porirua, was formed when Makara County was abolished, with 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. On 1 April 1973 large areas to the north-east (and a few elsewhere) were transferred to the city from Hutt County by popular vote. Mana Island was added to the city at the same time. In 1988 a further addition was the Horokiri riding of the about-to-be-abolished county, containing most of the new Whitby suburb and substantial rural areas. The city and its council have remained (with changes of personnel and ward boundaries) into the 21st century despite proposals to change the name to "Mana" and several small movements for amalgamation with Wellington.


Coat of arms


Suburbs

Porirua is largely formed around the arms of the
Porirua Harbour Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour, commonly known as Porirua Harbour, is a natural inlet in the south-western coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The harbour is within the main urban area of the Wellington Region, and is surrounded by the city of ...
, and the coastline facing out to
Cook Strait Cook Strait ( mi, Te Moana-o-Raukawa) separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, A H, ...
and the north-eastern parts of the
South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
. Most of the populated areas of Porirua are coastal: Camborne, Karehana Bay, Mana, Onepoto, Papakōwhai, Paremata, Pāuatahanui, Plimmerton, Pukerua Bay, Takapūwāhia, Tītahi 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. The suburbs include the following, grouped by council ward:


Onepoto


Pāuatahanui


Shopping and retail

North City Shopping Centre (originally Kmart Plaza and then North City Plaza) is Porirua's largest indoor shopping complex. The two-level mall first opened in 1990, was extended in 1996 and was refurbished in 2004. With over 80 stores, the centre includes Wellington's first
Kmart Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was inc ...
Department store which opened in the mall as an anchor tenant in 1990. The second Kmart in the Wellington area was opened in
Petone Petone (Māori: ''Pito-one''), a large suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, stands at the southern end of the Hutt Valley, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. The Māori name means "end of the sand beach". Europeans first settled in Pe ...
, Lower Hutt, in 2017. The Megacentre shopping complex in Porirua opened in November 1999. Before North City and the Megacentre were built, shopping centred around the Cobham Court area of central Porirua. In 1996 large white canopies were erected over Cobham Court, Serlby Place and Harham Place to freshen up the area and provide protection from weather. The project cost $4.2 million and won three architectural awards. Judges for the awards described the canopies as "spare, crisp, potent and elegant" with "rich cultural and architectural relevance." The canopies were removed in 2015 as part of a major revitalisation project by Porirua City Council. A report to the Council in 2017 stated that crime in the area had decreased by 25% after the canopies were removed.


Transport

State Highway 59 is the main route through Porirua itself, passes north–south through the middle of the city, linking Porirua southwards to
Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
and northwards to the Kapiti Coast and the bulk of the
North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
. Porirua is the northern terminus of the Johnsonville–Porirua motorway (opened progressively from 1950), with the section of motorway within Porirua being part of the SH 59 route. Until 7 December 2021, the SH 59 route was part of
State Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbere ...
.
State Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbere ...
, the most significant route in the
New Zealand state highway network The New Zealand state highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Nearly 100 roads in the North and South Islands are state highways. All state highways are administered by the NZ Transport Agency. The highways were ...
, forms an eastern bypass of Porirua as the
Transmission Gully Motorway The Transmission Gully Motorway () is a , four-lane motorway north of Wellington, New Zealand; it is part of the State Highway 1 route. Construction began on 8 September 2014 and completion was originally scheduled for April 2020, but contractu ...
. There are link roads between the Transmission Gully Motorway and
Kenepuru Kenepuru is a primarily industrial suburb of the city of Porirua in New Zealand. It lies immediately southwest of the Porirua city centre. Kenepuru Hospital, the main hospital complex for Porirua, is located here. Education Wellington Seventh-d ...
,
Waitangirua Waitangirua is a suburb of Porirua City approximately 22km north of Wellington in New Zealand. Waitangirua was established during the 1960s, almost exclusively as a Government housing development for New Zealand's burgeoning working class immig ...
and
Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
. State Highway 58 links Paremata via Whitby and Pāuatahanui (where an interchange with the Transmission Gully Motorway is located) with
Haywards Haywards is a small hillside suburb in the Hutt Valley near Wellington, New Zealand. It is notable for its large electrical substation, which is the main switching point for the Wellington region, and the home of the North Island converter sta ...
in the
Hutt Valley The Hutt Valley (or 'The Hutt') is the large area of fairly flat land in the Hutt River valley in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Like the river that flows through it, it takes its name from Sir William Hutt, a director of the New Zeala ...
to the east. The Ara Harakeke is a pathway that runs alongside SH 59 and the Taupō Swamp, north of Plimmerton. The first section was opened in 2002. Porirua City Council won a Cycle Friendly Award for this project from the Cycling Advocates' Network in 2003. The
North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...
railway line passes through Porirua, mostly close to State Highway 59, with six stations including the main Porirua Railway Station inside the city and one on the Wellington City border. The railway stations from south to north are
Kenepuru Kenepuru is a primarily industrial suburb of the city of Porirua in New Zealand. It lies immediately southwest of the Porirua city centre. Kenepuru Hospital, the main hospital complex for Porirua, is located here. Education Wellington Seventh-d ...
, Porirua,
Paremata Paremata is a suburb of Porirua, on the Tasman Sea coast to the north of Wellington, New Zealand. History Early history The modern suburb, just south of Plimmerton, derives its name from the "Paremata Barracks", erected on the north shore of P ...
,
Mana According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being a ...
(known as Dolly Varden before 1960), Plimmerton, Pukerua Bay, and Muri (closed 30 April 2011).
Kapiti Line Metlink's Kapiti Line is the electrified southern portion of the North Island Main Trunk railway between New Zealand's capital city, Wellington, and Waikanae on the Kapiti Coast, operated by Transdev Wellington on behalf of Greater Wellington R ...
suburban passenger trains run between Wellington and
Waikanae Waikanae (, ) is a town on the Kapiti Coast, 60 kilometres north of the Wellington CBD. The name is a Māori word meaning "waters" (''wai'') "of the grey mullet". The town lies between Paraparaumu, eight kilometres to the southwest, and Ōtak ...
(generally half-hourly during the day before 15 July 2018 and every twenty minutes during the day after that date, more frequently during peak periods, and less frequently at night). The
Northern Explorer The ''Northern Explorer'' is a long-distance passenger train operated by The Great Journeys of New Zealand division of KiwiRail between Auckland and Wellington in the North Island of New Zealand, along the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT). Three ...
long-distance passenger train between Auckland and Wellington passes through Porirua. This train was known as the Overlander before 25 June 2012 which stopped southbound but not northbound. The nearest airports are
Wellington Airport Wellington International Airport (formerly known as Rongotai Airport) is an international airport located in the suburb of Rongotai in Wellington. It lies 3 NM or 5.5 km south-east from the city centre. It is a hub for Air New Zealand an ...
to the south (the closest), and
Paraparaumu Airport Kapiti Coast Airport ( IATA: PPQ, ICAO: NZPP), earlier called Paraparaumu Airport, is on the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand's North Island, between the Wellington dormitory suburbs of Paraparaumu Beach (to the west and north), Paraparaumu to the ...
to the north. Ferry services ran between Paremata and Picton for short periods but appeared unable to compete with Wellington-based services despite the shorter distance.


Education

The
Royal New Zealand Police College The Royal New Zealand Police College (RNZPC) is the central training institution for police recruits and police officers in New Zealand. It is located at Papakowhai, approximately 2 km north of Porirua City. Recruits at the college under ...
, where all the country's police recruits receive some 19 weeks' training, is at
Papakōwhai Papakōwhai is a suburb of Porirua City. It lies approximately north of Wellington in New Zealand. The name "Papakōwhai" () in the Māori language means "yellow earth". As well as being the name of the suburb it is the name of the main r ...
. Just up the road from
Aotea Lagoon Aotea Lagoon is an artificial lagoon surrounded by a public park in the Papakowhai suburb of Porirua, North Island, New Zealand. Aotea and two nearby lagoons were created when major arterial transport links were realigned from the natural coas ...
is
Aotea College Aotea College is a state co-educational secondary school located in Porirua, New Zealand. Founded in 1978, the school serves students for Year 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18) across the northern suburbs of Porirua. Demographics At the September 2013 Ed ...
, the secondary school closest to the northern suburbs. Other colleges include
Mana College Mana College is a decile two secondary school in Porirua, Wellington, New Zealand. Mana College celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2007. History In recent years, the college has introduced Pathways a system to help students achieve in areas they ...
and Bishop Viard College near the city centre and to the east, Porirua College. Tertiary education is provided by Whitireia Polytechnic, which has its main campus north of the city centre.


Arts and culture

The local culture, history and artists are represented at the Pātaka Museum of Arts & Cultures located conveniently next to the public library. The
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
radio station
andHow.FM andHow.FM is a non-profit, independent radio station which broadcasts at 107.5 FM in Mangaroa, New Zealand.Papakōwhai Papakōwhai is a suburb of Porirua City. It lies approximately north of Wellington in New Zealand. The name "Papakōwhai" () in the Māori language means "yellow earth". As well as being the name of the suburb it is the name of the main r ...
.


Sport and recreation

As early as 1883, Porirua began to hold regular horse racing events on the harbour's Southern beach. Towards the end of a meeting, competing riders would also have to combat the incoming tide. The Porirua Jockey Club was quickly established with Mr W. Jillett the first secretary and local butcher,
John Rod In 1876, John William Rod (1856–1920) migrated from England to New Zealand and embarked upon a successful business career. He became a well-respected New Zealander, noted for his contributions to industry, sport and local government. Migrati ...
, the treasurer. Joshua Prosser built stables on his nearby property 'Prosser Block' (now Elsdon) and became a notable trainer of Dominion race-horses. The beach now lies beneath Porirua city centre. Porirua is home to the powerful Northern United RFC, the current Wellington regional champions, and the smaller Paremata-Plimmerton RFC. Both clubs play in the
Wellington Rugby Football Union The Wellington Rugby Football Union (known as the Wellington Lions for competition reasons) are a New Zealand governing body of rugby union in the New Zealand province of Wellington Region. The main stadium is Sky Stadium (formerly named West ...
club rugby competition. Porirua is also home to the three-time
Chatham Cup The Chatham Cup is New Zealand's premier knockout tournament in men's association football. It is held annually, with the final contested in September. The current champions of the Chatham Cup are 2022 winners Auckland City, who defeated Eastern ...
winning Capital Football team
Western Suburbs FC Western Suburbs Football Club is an association football club in Porirua, New Zealand. They play their home matches at Endeavour Park in the Porirua suburb of Whitby and compete in the Central Premier League. Western Suburbs is in partnership ...
. Well known as a dominant force in New Zealand club football, and for producing many former and current
All Whites The New Zealand men's national football team ( mi, Tīma hoka a-motu o Aotearoa) represents New Zealand in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Footbal ...
, they were officially recognised as Porirua City's 2006 Team of the Year for their Chatham Cup Grand Final triumph over Auckland's Eastern Suburbs. Watersports, fishing and other boating activities are popular in the area, well served by a large
marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
in Mana and
Sea Scouts Sea Scouts are a part of the Scout movement, with a particular emphasis on boating and other water-based activities on the sea, rivers or lakes (canoeing, rafting, scuba, sailboarding). Sea Scouts can provide a chance to sail, cruise on boats, ...
, yachting, power-boating, rowing, and
water-skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...
clubs. The harbour entrance from Plimmerton or Mana is popular with experienced
windsurfers Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...
and
kitesurfers Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...
while beginners find the shallow enclosed waters of the Pauatahanui arm of the harbour a forgiving environment in which to develop their skills.
Aotea Lagoon Aotea Lagoon is an artificial lagoon surrounded by a public park in the Papakowhai suburb of Porirua, North Island, New Zealand. Aotea and two nearby lagoons were created when major arterial transport links were realigned from the natural coas ...
is a popular recreational area on the south-eastern shore of the Porirua Inlet. Porirua was the host of the
2010 Oceania Handball Championship The 2010 Oceania Handball Championship was the seventh edition of the Oceania Handball Nations Cup, which took place in Porirua, New Zealand from 8 to 10 May 2010. By winning, Australia secured the Oceania bid for the 2011 World Men's Handball Cham ...
.
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
won the tournament from hosts
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. The
Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...
finished third. A branch of Adrenalin Forest, an adventure park where paying visitors navigate rope bridges, swings and flying foxes strung between trees up to 31 metres off the ground, opened in Porirua in 2010. The park is located on the east side of Porirua Harbour near the Gear Homestead.


Notable people

Notable councillors of Porirua have included: Other prominent residents have included:


Sister-city relationships


Sister City


Friendly City


Twin City

*
Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...


Gallery


See also

*
Fort Parramatta Fort Parramatta was the name was given to a fort north of Wellington, New Zealand, in the 1840s. The remains of the fort are still visible on the Ngatitoa Domain in Porirua City, but the surrounding suburb name has been changed to "Paremata ...
*
Upper Hutt Upper Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. Geography The Upper Hutt city cent ...
*
Lower Hutt Lower Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It is New Zealand's sixth most p ...
*
Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
*
Kapiti Coast The Kapiti Coast District is a local government district of the Wellington Region in the lower North Island of New Zealand, 50 km north of Wellington City. The district is named after Kapiti Island, a prominent island offshore. The pop ...


References


External links


Porirua City Council official website



Porirua Urban Area Community Profile
from Statistics NZ * * {{Authority control Populated places in the Wellington Region