Tawa Historical Society Incorporated

The Tawa Historian

Newsletter #31 – March 2013

Dear members,

Your Executive Committee has now had its first meeting of the year, and there are a number of matters to report to you.

Brian Mexted’s Memories of Tawa Flat 1928-1958, as told to Michael Steer

This book, of 50+ pages, is almost ready to go to the printer, and we have scheduled a launch with the kind co-operation of Alan Mexted of Mexted Motors. The launch will be held at 6.00pm on Wednesday 10 April 2013 in the Mexted Motors Showroom, Main Road, Tawa. Refreshments will be served. All members are most welcome to attend. In fact it will double as a Members’ Meeting, when members can raise any matters to do with our Society with any of the Executive who are present. It will also be an opportunity to meet with members of the Mexted family, who are delighted that Brian has “put pen to paper”. Brian and Michael have done a great job with this most interesting book, the Society’s 12th publication since 2005.

The Tawa Railway Station

David Parsons and I have represented the THS at meetings of a committee which has made recommendation regarding the replacement station currently under construction. In particular we have worked with the Tawa Community Board, and representatives of the Wellington Regional Council to arrive at suitably decorated illustrative panels to be placed around the new building. We are very happy with the agreed result which will see 16 panels (some doubles) installed. They cover the 1885 station, the 1908 signal box, and the 1937 station, as well as panels featuring scenes relating to Tawa.

We have been given a number of the old signs that were part of the old station. If members are interested, they, or others they know, might be interested in purchasing items of this memorabilia which the Executive decided could be a source of fund raising for our Society. We may advertise them on Trade Me. If you are interested, please contact David Parsons (232 6339).

Historical Walk

Planning is commencing for another community walk to be held in Feb/Mar/Apr (?) 2014. Between the Tawa Rotary Club and ourselves, we had a most successful walk in early 2012, and Rotary are happy to be so involved again. We’ll keep you posted.

Tawa History Week

We have run a Tawa History Week for some years now in the four days immediately following the Monday of Queen’s Birthday weekend. This year we intend to tie in with the Wellington heritage people who will run another Heritage Month in September throughout Wellington. So we will become part of that wider emphasis, and our Tawa History Week will be held this year during September.

Archives

At our meeting Lois Mexted, our Archivist, reported on the advice and guidance she has been receiving from a number of sources, and in particular, from Vicki-Anne Heikell, Field Conservator of the Alexander Turnbull Library. We thank Lois most sincerely for the thorough way she is going about her task as our Archivist.

Subscriptions

In his Financial Report our Treasurer, Bill Hinkley gave us an update on our finances, and was pleased to report that well over half of the annual subs of members had been received, along with over $200 in donations. Thank you to all concerned. Your support is most encouraging.

A History of Tawa

Our next publication is likely to be A History of Tawa, which will hopefully be published in November 2013. It will likely have chapters dealing with the following:

Tawa prior to 1840: the environment and the people.
Tawa in the 1840s: Wakefield and the NZ Company; land purchase; the arrival of colonists; access, surveys and trouble; the decline and fall of the NZ Company; the first Tawa Flat settlers.
Tawa in the 1850s: more settlers; a church and a school; clearing the land; events and circumstances bringing change.
Tawa from 1860 to 1879: the Porirua Road; more settlers and sections; a local policeman; Boscoville or Boscobel; Grass Lea’s or Grasslees; Brailsford; James Taylor; St Peter’s Church; the settlement of Takapu Valley; population; a new school building; links to Wellington; Tawa Flat by 1879.
Tawa from 1880 to 1900: the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company; Wellington to Paremata; Tawa Flat and the railway; the Porirua Lunatic Asylum; the Tawa Flat Creamery; a new school; Tawa Flat and the South African War; the population of Tawa Flat and Takapu Valley; change in Tawa Flat between 1880 and 1900.
Tawa from 1900 to 1920: Tawa Flat loses a church; the first subdivisions; the railway changes hands; a changing emphasis in dairying; World War 1; influenza epidemic; population; the passing of the “Bush Legion”.
Tawa from 1920 to 1945: difficulties for farming; electric power; Takapu Aided School closes; the Ranui Golf Club; subdivisions of the late 1920s and early 1930s; the Tawa Flat Railway Deviation; farming in the 1930s and early 1940s; Centennial Highway and the Paremata Bridge; Tawa Flat School; Arahata Borstal; World War 2;
Tawa from 1945 to 1975: pre-conditions for “take-off”; the Motorway; subdivisions for the people; local government; the importance of 1958; population growth 1945-1975; from one school to eight; the centre of retail activity moves north; Tawa industry; sports clubs; community organisations and groups.
Tawa from 1975 to the present: Static population; amalgamation with Welligton; the development of Porirua and Johnsonville and their effect on Tawa; the re-routing of “Transmission Gully”; developments in housing; the decline of Tawa industry and its growth in Granada North.