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Population and area data from The New Zealand Official Yearbook.[1]
Waiapu County was a county governed by the Waiapu County Council on the North Island of New Zealand from 1890 until the council was merged with other councils to form Gisborne District Council in 1989.
The Waiapu County, which then included the area which became Matakaoa County, was formed in 1890. Its first council comprised: E. H. Henderson, W. Milner, A. H. Wallis, Travers, Connolly and White. At a meeting at Port Awanui on 27 December 1890, Mr. Henderson was elected chairman.
In March 1874, there were only 32 European residents on the East Coast above Uawa—9 males and 3 females in the Te Araroa district, and 13 males and 7 females in Waiapu. By 1878 the number of pākehā had risen to 109. The 1906 census showed 858 Europeans and 2,611 Maoris. Previously, the native census had been taken on a tribal basis. In 1926 (exclusive of Matakaoa) the figures were: Europeans, 1,809; Maoris, 3,292; and, in 1945: Europeans, 1,641; Maoris, 4,341, plus 3 per cent, representing residents absent on war service.
The Guide to Travellers section of the Poverty Bay Almanac for 1884 contained a warning to visitors to Waiapu not to attempt to pass round headlands where there was no track. Mention is made of a track from Waipiro Bay to the hot springs at Te Puia, and of another leading to Makarika. From Tuparoa a track led to the oil springs at Rotokautuku, branching off to Wai-o-matatini. There was also a track from Port Awanui to Wai-o-matatini. In October 1884, the Poverty Bay Independent praised the development work which was being undertaken by Mr. J. N. Williams and Sir George Whitmore. "There is already a movement among the dry bones of Tawhiti," it remarked, "and, to-day, the district is alive with the voices of labourers." It added: "Smallholders could not possibly make any strides in the work of converting those wilds into pleasant and verdant pastures."
It was not until 1894 that steps were taken to effect appreciable improvements to the old native track leading north from Tolaga Bay along the Hikuwai River. A contract was then let to D. Malone to form a road 1.8 metres (6ft) wide for a distance of 13 kilometres (8mi). C. H. McCracken and a mate squared the timber for several 2.4-metre-wide (8ft) bridges. Manuka was used for the stringers, studs, caps and sills; manuka fascines, bound with wire, for the decking and sheathing; and logs for wheel guards. Some attention was next given to the track leading over the hill into Tokomaru Bay. When the council raised a loan of NZ£10,000 for road works in 1901, very considerable improvements were made to the inland route. By February 1902, drays could make the journey from Tolaga Bay to Tokomaru Bay.
Floods have, on several occasions, done considerable damage to roads and bridges. The greatest setback was suffered in May 1916, when the overall damage was estimated at £30,000. Both the Tikitiki bridge (opened in February 1914) and the Rotokautuku bridge (then only recently erected) were damaged. The Tikitiki bridge was again extensively damaged in February 1917. A further flood, in March 1918, swept away four of the spans, and the site was abandoned.
Phenomenal rains at Tokomaru Bay on 21–22 January 1917, caused the Mangahauini Stream to rise to a record level in a few hours. Part of W. G. Keane's home was undermined, A. N. Wilkins's wool-scouring works was demolished, and two bridges were swept away. At Waima, Edgar A. R. Louis (20 years old), who lived in a tent, was drowned. When Mr. and Mrs. Hanlon had to leave their home, the husband took charge of their 18-months-old infant, but it slipped from his grasp when he became entangled in a fence, and was swept out to sea.
In the heyday of development on the East Coast, shipping was an essential industry. All inward goods and outward produce had to be "surfed" at Tokomaru Bay, Waipiro Bay, Tuparoa, Port Awanui, Te Araroa and Hicks Bay. In the case of Tolaga Bay, small craft could enter the river. Tolaga Bay, Tokomaru Bay, Te Araroa and Hicks Bay were, later, equipped with wharf facilities.
The pattern of a large section of the East Coast was completely altered by the diversion of traffic from the coastline to the inland route. For many years, Port Awanui had three hotels, a courthouse, a police station, a post office, three stores and a wool store. Nothing now remains to indicate that it was once a very busy locality. Tuparoa had two hotels, a post office, two large stores, a boarding-house, stables, smithy, wool store and dumping shed. It, too, has been shorn of most of its former glory. Waipiro Bay (for many years the county headquarters) has lost two of the three large stores which it formerly boasted, besides a wool store, saddler's shop and a smithy. On the other hand, Ruatoria has blossomed from a sparsely settled junction known as "The Cross Roads" into a substantial township, and Te Puia (now the county headquarters) has become a popular spa.
Tokomaru Harbour Board is the only harbour board in New Zealand that has never levied a harbour rate. In 1911, it built a wharf at a cost of £10,000, and, in 1914, made substantial improvements. [A jetty had been built at Te Ariuri in 1906. Mr. McCracken (who carried out the work) used large manuka trunks obtained from "Mangaroa" for piles. A wool store was then erected, and a dumping plant installed.] In 1925, some rocks were removed, enabling vessels drawing up to 3.51m (11ft 6in) to berth. Two years later, the board bought the New Zealand Shipping Co.'s brick wool sheds, etc., for £13,000. A new wharf and approach were built in 1940 at a cost of £28,300. The port's busiest years were from 1913 to 1916, when 400 vessels (aggregate tonnage, about 400,000) were handled annually. As in the case of other small ports, it suffered a heavy decline in business when—during the Second World War—it was excluded from the itineraries of Home vessels.
Harbour Board Chairmen:
K. S. Williams, 1910–19;
G. Kirk, 1920;
A. B. Williams, 1921–23;
A. W. Kirk, 1924–26;
F. J. Williams, 1927–30;
H. H. Fairlie, 1931;
J. Busby, 1932–33;
D. W. W. Williams, 1934;
J. Busby, 1935–43;
V. G. H. Rickard, 1944–48;
F. R. Jefferd, 1948–.
Captain S. J. Plummer was harbourmaster and secretary from 1912 to 1948;
W. C. Brydon, secretary, 1948–;
Captain P. W. C. McCallum, harbourmaster, 1948–.
A severe outbreak of typhoid fever, which necessitated the establishment of a temporary camp at Ruatoria, led to the erection of a small hospital in 1907 at Te Puia. In 1949, a 24-bed "T.B." block, an X-ray block, a new nurses' home and a new kitchen were added at a cost of £57,210. At Tokomaru Bay a small maternity home was opened, but, subsequently, Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Williams made a gift of a fine dwelling at Waipiro Bay for that purpose. In 1948, they presented a modern ambulance to the hospital. The gravest menace that has to be fought by the Health Department and the hospital authorities is tuberculosis among the Maoris. X-ray examinations have been carried out extensively. In 1948, there were two district nurses at Ruatoria and one each at Tolaga Bay, Tokomaru Bay, Tikitiki and Te Araroa.
From 1890 to 1893 the county offices were at Tuparoa, from 1893 to 1930 at Waipiro Bay, and from 1930 at Te Puia. Rates collected for 1890–91 totalled £513; in 1946–47 the aggregate was £34,070. As at 31 March 1947, the county debt (apart from Harbour Board loans) stood at £57,130, with maturity dates ranging up to 1966. The gross capital value of the county in 1946 was £2,667,971.
There were several "gold rushes" in the Waiapu in the early days. In 1874, about 100 natives went prospecting on and around Mount Hikurangi. Sir James Hector, who examined the locality, found no signs of gold. In 1875 "Scotty" Siddons, mate of the Beautiful Star, claimed to have met, on the East Coast, a native who had a few ounces of gold. He and a mate named Hill found a lot of mundic on the north-west side of the mountain, but only outcrops of limestone on the higher slopes. In 1886, Reupane te Ana, of Makarika, discovered what he fondly imagined was an enormous deposit of gold. With noble unselfishness, he let all his friends into the secret. Drays, wheelbarrows and receptacles of all kinds were rushed to the scene, and large quantities of the "precious metal" were removed to a safe place. When it turned out that the metal was only mundic, Reupane became an object of ridicule, and, afterwards, was known as "Tommy Poorfellow."
Edward Hannam Henderson (born at Worth, Kent, in 1852) came out to New Zealand in 1875. He learned sheep farming in Hawke's Bay under Colonel Herrick and Sir G. Whitmore. In 1880, in conjunction with Swindley and Co., he bought a run in the Bay of Plenty. He moved to the East Coast in 1882, and, with W. G. Stainton, took up Matakaoa run. He had three brothers—all admirals—Sir John Henderson, Sir Reginald Henderson (who planned the first Australian Navy) and Sir William Henderson.
Arthur William Kirk (born at Makaraka in 1874) was the eldest son of Enoch Kirk, one of the pioneers of Tolaga Bay. With his brother George, he engaged in storekeeping at Tuparoa for a number of years. Then he took up land in the Ruatoria district. He served as chairman of Waiapu County Council, Waiapu Hospital Board and Tokomaru Bay Harbour Board. He died on 27 February 1947.
Arthur Henry Wallis (born at Bexhill, England, in 1851) came out to Hawke's Bay in 1868. He was a cadet on William Nelson's station and, then, under J. N. Williams. In 1883 Mr. Williams appointed him manager of Waipiro station, which was then in heavy bush and fern. Under his guidance, much of the property was completely transformed. He was the only justice of the peace for miles around, carried out the duties of lay reader, and, when an accident occurred, was called upon to administer first aid. He represented Waiapu Riding in Cook County, and assisted to promote Waiapu County. In March 1901, he took over Onetohunga and Horehore on his own account. He served, for several terms, on Gisborne Harbour Board, and became prominent in social, business and sporting circles in Poverty Bay. He died on 12 September 1938.
William Busby (born at Bay of Islands in 1841) was the third son of James Busby, the first British Resident for New Zealand. He engaged on survey work in Poverty Bay for some years, and then returned to the Bay of Islands, where he took up sheep farming. In 1885, he moved to Edenham (Hawke's Bay), and, in 1901, he bought Pauariki, Tokomaru Bay. He died on 25 December 1918.
Thomas Sydney Williams (born at the Bay of Islands) was a son of Judge Edward Marsh Williams, of the Native Land Court, and a grandson of Archdeacon Henry Williams. In 1894, he took up the management of Tuparoa run for his uncle (Archdeacon Samuel Williams) and developed methods of stocking and fencing which overcame tauhinu scrub, which had become a grave menace to the establishment of pasture on papa hillslopes. Mrs. Williams was a granddaughter of Archdeacon Henry Williams and of James Busby. Cadets and shepherds always received a warm welcome at their home, "Kaharau." Mr. Williams died on 25 May 1928, and Mrs. Williams on 29 December 1940.
William Oates (born in Durham in 1861) resided at Opotiki for five years before he settled on the East Coast in 1890. For some years, he was a working manager on the Tawhiti portion of J. N. Williams's run. He then established a boarding-house, butchery and bakery, and, later, a storekeeping business at Tokomaru Bay. He served on Waiapu County Council, Waiapu Hospital Board and the Tokomaru Bay Harbour Board, was chairman of the Tokomaru Bay School Committee for 30 years, and, for several terms, held a seat on the Hawke's Bay Education Board. In all forms of sport, especially cricket, he took a keen interest, and was regarded as "The Father of Sport" at Tokomaru Bay. He died on 10 January 1930.
William O'Ryan (born in 1852) was trained as a surveyor and engineer. In addition to practising his profession in Poverty Bay, he also took up bridge building contracts. In 1886, he built the wooden approach to the Gisborne breakwater. For 16 years, he was an engineer in Waiapu County, and, during much of that time, he was also county clerk. A good deal of the road and bridge work carried out under his supervision was badly damaged by floods between 1916 and 1918. He died in Auckland on 2 October 1939.
Upon his retirement in 1946, after fifty years' service as a contractor and/or employee of Waiapu County, Charles H, McCracken was presented with a special letter of appreciation and a substantial gratuity.
Ruatoria is a town in the Waiapu Valley of the Gisborne Region in the northeastern corner of New Zealand's North Island. The town was originally known as Cross Roads then Manutahi and was later named Ruatorea in 1913, after the Māori Master female grower Tōrea who had some of the finest storage pits in her Iwi at the time (Te-Rua-a-Tōrea). In 1925 the name was altered to "Ruatoria", although some texts retain the original spelling.
William Donald Stuart MacDonald was a New Zealand politician, Cabinet Minister, and briefly Leader of the Opposition.
Te Rua Reihana Tipoki brought up in Te Araroa in Gisborne, is a rugby union player who captained North Harbour to Ranfurly Shield victory in 2006. Tipoki played for a wide variety of teams including Munster Rugby. He currently plays for Ruatoria-based East Coast.
Gisborne District or the Gisborne Region is a local government area of northeastern New Zealand. It is governed by Gisborne District Council, a unitary authority. It is named after its largest settlement, the city of Gisborne. The region is also commonly referred to as the East Coast.
Waiapu was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate in the Gisborne – East Coast Region of New Zealand, from 1893 to 1908.
William Williams was consecrated as the first Anglican Bishop of Waiapu, New Zealand, on 3 April 1859 by the General Synod at Wellington. His son, Leonard Williams became the third Bishop of Waiapu and his grandson, Herbert Williams, the sixth. His brother, the Rev. Henry Williams, led the Church Missionary Society (CMS) mission in New Zealand. William Williams led the CMS missionaries in translating the Bible into Māori and published an early dictionary and grammar of the Māori language.
Cook County was one of the counties of New Zealand in the North Island. It was established in 1876 and comprised the areas which today form the counties of Cook, Waikohu, Uawa, Waiapu and Matakaoa County, extending from Cape Runaway in the north to Paritu in the south. It was disestablished in 1989.
Gisborne District Council is the unitary authority for the Gisborne District of New Zealand. The council consists of a mayor and 13 ward councillors. The district consists of the city of Gisborne and a largely rural region on the east coast of the North Island.
Henare Potae (?–1895) was a New Zealand tribal leader. Of Māori descent, he identified with the Te Whanau-a-Ruataupare hapū of the Ngati Porou iwi.
Rota Waitoa was a New Zealand Anglican clergyman, of Māori descent. Waitoa identified with the Ngāti Raukawa iwi. He was born in Waitoa, Waikato, New Zealand. Waitoa's ordination as deacon at St Paul's, Auckland, on 22 May 1853, was the first ordination of a Māori into the Anglican church.
Mohi Tūrei was a notable New Zealand tribal leader, minister of religion, orator and composer of haka. Of Māori descent, he identified with the Ngāti Porou iwi. He was the only child of Te Omanga Tūrei of Ngāti Hokupu hapū and Makere Tangikuku of Te Aitanga‐a‐Mate hapū.
Te Kani-a-Takirau was a notable New Zealand tribal leader. Of Māori descent, he identified with Hapu Matua of the Te Aitanga A Hauiti Iwi. He was born in on the East Coast of New Zealand. He is well known for having refused to sign the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.
Iharaira Te Houkamau (?–1875) was a notable New Zealand tribal leader. Of Māori descent, he identified with the Ngati Porou iwi.
Waiapu Ward was a ward in the Gisborne District on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. In 2012 it was decided to disestablish the ward for the 2013 election, with the northern part being combined with Matakaoa Ward to form Matakaoa-Waiapu Ward, and the southern part being combined with Uawa Ward to form Tawhiti-Uawa Ward.
Waipiro Bay is a small coastal settlement in the Gisborne District on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The name also refers to the bay that the settlement is built on. It was named Waipiro by Chief Paoa, which translates literally to "putrid water", referring to the area's sulphuric properties. It is in the Waiapu ward, along with nearby towns Te Puia Springs, Tokomaru Bay, and Ruatoria. It is located 15 km (9 mi) south of Ruatoria, 77 km (48 mi) north-east of Gisborne, and 41 km (25 mi) south-west of the East Cape Lighthouse, the easternmost point of mainland New Zealand. By road, it is 103 km (64 mi) from Gisborne, and 231 km (144 mi) from Ōpōtiki. Waipiro Bay is governed by the Gisborne District Council, and is in the East Coast electorate.
Waiapu Valley, also known as the Waiapu catchment, Waiapu River valley or simply Waiapu, is a valley in the north of the Gisborne Region on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the catchment area for the Waiapu River and its tributaries, and covers 1,734 square kilometres (670 sq mi). The Raukumara Range forms the western side of the valley, with Mount Hikurangi in the central west. The towns of Ruatoria and Tikitiki are in the north-east of the valley.
Uawa County was one of the counties of New Zealand on the North Island. Today a part of the Gisborne Region, the county was constituted on 10 December 1918. The area had previously been a part of Cook County, and became a part of the county again when the two councils were amalgamated on 1 April 1964.
Matakaoa County was one of the counties of New Zealand in the North Island.
Akuaku, also known as Aku Aku, was a settlement approximately halfway between Waipiro Bay and Whareponga in the East Coast region of New Zealand's North Island. A traditional landing point for waka taua, the town is most notable now as the former home of Major Ropata Wahawaha, N.Z.C, as well as the ancestral home of Te Whānau-a-Rākairoa.
Charles Frederick Baker was an English member of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) active as a missionary in New Zealand in the 19th century. He supervised the construction of the historic church at Russell and was involved in the Treaty of Waitangi proceedings, a collection consisting of his journals and papers was added to the UNESCO Memory of the World New Zealand register in 2018.
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