Te Puke
Encyclopedia
Te Puke is a town located 28 kilometres southeast of Tauranga
in the Western Bay of Plenty
region of New Zealand
. It is particularly famous for the cultivation of kiwifruit
. It has a population of 6770.
, Mount Maunganui
, Papamoa
, and Maketu
, which are all coastal towns/cities, as well as the small townships of Waitangi, Manoeka, Pongakawa and Paengaroa. It is 60 kilometres from Rotorua
and 75 kilometres from Whakatane.
The town's name means The hill, and should be pronounced "teh-pook-eh". This name is reflective of its location, as it is on a hill near the Papamoa Hills.
Agriculture is the backbone of the district's economy. The warm, moist climate and fertile soils are favourable for horticulture
, with production of kiwifruit
, avocado
s and citrus fruit such as lemon
s and orange
s. The town markets itself as the "Kiwifruit capital of the world". Dairy cattle
and other livestock are also farmed.
after sailing from Hawaiki
. The canoe was under the command of chief Tama-te-kapua
, and he was responsible for many of the original place names of the area. Māori ventured up the rivers and streams and built many pā
in the area.
Lieutenant, later Captain James Cook, the first known European to visit the area, sailed between Motiti Island
and the coast in 1769. This was his first voyage to New Zealand, but he did not land here. Cook named the area the Bay of Plenty
as he observed that it was well populated and looked very fertile
. In 1830 Danish sailor Philip Tapsell, also known as Hans Homman Felk, settled at Maketu and operated as a trader. Church Missionary Society (CMS) missionaries arrived shortly afterwards and established mission stations at Te Papa (Tauranga
) and at Rotorua
. After the land wars began to ease in the 1860s, European settlers began to move to the Bay of Plenty
though not in great numbers.
Maketu
, however was a thriving village with a school, post office, and hotel and in 1869 an Anglican church. In 1876, surveying of the Te Puke Block commenced but it was not until 1879 that they survey was completed as the Native Land Court needed to complete their investigation of Māori titles for the land. Demand for land in the Tauranga
area increased and the Tauranga Working Men’s Land Association was formed in 1877. Forty eight members petitioned the government for 4000 acres (16 ha) of the Te Puke block under the deferred-payment system. At the same time George Vesey Stewart applied to the government to bring settlers from Great Britain
to the Te Puke Block as he had already successfully done in Katikati
.
The first settlers on the Te Puke Block arrived in 1879 and included Peter Grant and his wife Caroline (née Moon), William Bird and his wife Sarah (née Leitch), Joseph Malyon and his wife Sara (née James) amongst others. The first of the Vesey Stewart settlers arrived in Tauranga directly from London on the Lady Jocelyn on the 2 January 1881.
In July 1880, work commenced on the Tauranga to Te Puke Road, via Welcome Bay. It was constructed by the Armed Constabulary and local Māori who worked on their land. Before this, access to Te Puke was made across the Papamoa Hills from Ngapeke to Manoeka, following an ancient Māori trail. Peter Grant had been contracted by the Tauranga County Council to form this track in to a bridle path in 1879.
Stores, and also passengers for the town could also come from Tauranga by boat, first to Maketu, then up the Kaituna River to Canaan Landing and then by Māori canoe up the Waiari Stream to the site of the present road bridge just to the south of the town.
By late 1881, Te Puke boasted 25 wooden buildings including two hotels, two general stores, a butcher, a post office and a smithy. The settlers quickly settled upon the land and by 1884 had established a butter factory. Draining of the swamps began and the area was found to be very suitable for crops, and maize and wheat were grown extensively. Later much of the farming land was found to be "bush sick" but was cured with the use of cobalt in the 1930s.
Flax milling had begun in the 1870s and became a major industry in the area until the early 1940s. Saw milling began in 1905 and is still a major industry in the area. In 1883 gold-bearing ore was discovered on the Papamoa Hills and during the 1920s a gold mine operated at Muir’s farm on No 4 Road. With the building of the railway a large Public Works quarry operated in Te Puke and was a major employer. The freezing works at Rangiuru opened in 1968 and HortResearch opened on No 1 Road in 1971.
Disaster was to strike in the early hours of the 10 June 1886 with the eruption of Mount Tarawera
. Te Puke residents were awoken with the noise and the many related earthquakes. Many had a good view of the eruption and paintings survive of their memories. Ash and mud showered over crops and pastures up to 12 inches deep in places. The sun was not seen until 1pm.
Stock faced starvation and many farmers were forced to let their animals free to fend for themselves. Some stock was shipped from the area but many died. The settlers became short of food and water themselves and help was gratefully received from Tauranga. Evidence of the Tarawera eruption can still be found in disturbed ground in the area today. (Te Puke was again covered in ash during the 1995 Mount Ruapehu
eruption though not to the same scale.)
Te Puke town-ship began to grow and a mission/town hall was built in 1883. This was used for town meetings and as a church by three of the congregations. The first school, (Te Puke Primary) was opened in 1883. The Te Puke Times was first printed in 1912. The fire brigade and town boards were both formed in 1913.
A jockey club was formed in 1890, the brass band in 1903, the A. & P. Society in 1905, the rugby union in 1906, the bowling club in 1908, and the golf club in 1912. Planting of the trees down the centre of the main street, a major feature of the town today, began during 1914-1918 as a war memorial to the fallen. A nursing home was opened in Boucher Avenue in 1918 but any major cases were railed to Tauranga Hospital.
which operated between Auckland
and Taneatua
between 1928 and 1959. In February 1959, the steam hauled
express train service was replaced by a railcar
service operated by 88 seaters
that only ran as far as Te Puke. The railcar service operated between 1959 and 1967, when it was cancelled due to both mechanical problems with the railcars and poor patronage, the latter largely due to the circuitous and time consuming rail route between Auckland and the Bay of Plenty at that time.
was grown commercially but petered out in the late 1930s. Trial plantings of hops, and later rice, were also tried. Viticulture
was also tried and found to be successful but for various reasons also died out. The settlers had established home orchards when finance permitted and it was found that pip and citrus fruits flourished. From this, the first commercial orchard in Te Puke was planted in 1915. Commercial plantings were of apples, pears, oranges, lemons and grapefruit. After World War Two, the Rehabilitation Department settled returned servicemen on the No 3 Road as orchardists. Followed by others with their own finance, most of No 3 Road was in orchards by 1960. By 1966, 80 owners owned about 1500 acres (6 km²) of land of which 900 acres (3.6 km²) was in citrus and balance in sub-tropical fruit including tamarillos (tree tomatoes) and feijoas. In 1934 Jim MacLoughlin had bought a 7 acres (28,328 m²) lemon and passionfruit orchard in No 3 Road. His neighbour Vic Bayliss had two Chinese gooseberry plants and he had sold the fruit for £5! Spurred on by this Jim planted ½ acre of Chinese gooseberries in 1937. During World War II
, American
serviceman in New Zealand were introduced to the Chinese gooseberry and enjoyed it so much that this spurred further plantings. In 1952 the first exports were made, and in 1959 the name “Kiwifruit” was introduced. Since then many more plantings have been made with Hayward (green) being the most popular. In 1998 “Zespri Gold” kiwifruit was introduced to the market and experiments are being carried out on new varieties including a peelable kiwifruit and "kiwiberry", a small bite-sized kiwifruit-like fruit.
A large number of residents work picking or packing kiwifruit during April or May, as well as others coming from other nearby towns and cities.
For more information, visit the Kiwi 360 website.
that was filmed in 2008.
Read more at the Western Bay of Plenty District Council Projects and Publications Pages
Tauranga
Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
in the Western Bay of Plenty
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...
region of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It is particularly famous for the cultivation of kiwifruit
Kiwifruit
The kiwifruit, often shortened to kiwi in many parts of the world, is the edible berry of a cultivar group of the woody vine Actinidia deliciosa and hybrids between this and other species in the genus Actinidia....
. It has a population of 6770.
Location
Te Puke is in close proximity to TaurangaTauranga
Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
, Mount Maunganui
Mount Maunganui
Mount Maunganui is a town in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, located on a peninsula to the north of Tauranga. It was independent from Tauranga until the completion of the Tauranga Harbour Bridge in 1988....
, Papamoa
Papamoa
Papamoa is the largest suburb of Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty region on the northeastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand....
, and Maketu
Maketu
Maketu is a small town on the Bay of Plenty Coast in New Zealand. It is located on Okurei point and has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow out of, it is also adjacent to Newdicks Beach located on the south eastern side of Okurei point. The name is sometimes informally abbreviated...
, which are all coastal towns/cities, as well as the small townships of Waitangi, Manoeka, Pongakawa and Paengaroa. It is 60 kilometres from Rotorua
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
and 75 kilometres from Whakatane.
The town's name means The hill, and should be pronounced "teh-pook-eh". This name is reflective of its location, as it is on a hill near the Papamoa Hills.
Agriculture is the backbone of the district's economy. The warm, moist climate and fertile soils are favourable for horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
, with production of kiwifruit
Kiwifruit
The kiwifruit, often shortened to kiwi in many parts of the world, is the edible berry of a cultivar group of the woody vine Actinidia deliciosa and hybrids between this and other species in the genus Actinidia....
, avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
s and citrus fruit such as lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
s and orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
s. The town markets itself as the "Kiwifruit capital of the world". Dairy cattle
Dairy cattle
Dairy cattle are cattle cows bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cows generally are of the species Bos taurus....
and other livestock are also farmed.
Settlement
Around 1350, the Te Arawa canoe is said to have landed at MaketuMaketu
Maketu is a small town on the Bay of Plenty Coast in New Zealand. It is located on Okurei point and has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow out of, it is also adjacent to Newdicks Beach located on the south eastern side of Okurei point. The name is sometimes informally abbreviated...
after sailing from Hawaiki
Hawaiki
In Māori mythology, Hawaiki is the homeland of the Māori, the original home of the Māori, before they travelled across the sea to New Zealand...
. The canoe was under the command of chief Tama-te-kapua
Tama-te-kapua
In Māori tradition Tama-te-kapua was the captain of the Te Arawa canoe which came to New Zealand from Polynesia in about 1350. The reason for his leaving his homeland was the theft by his brother Whakaturia and himself of breadfruit from a tree belonging to a chief named Uenuku. The Te Arawa canoe...
, and he was responsible for many of the original place names of the area. Māori ventured up the rivers and streams and built many pā
Pa (Maori)
The word pā can refer to any Māori village or settlement, but in traditional use it referred to hillforts fortified with palisades and defensive terraces and also to fortified villages. They first came into being about 1450. They are located mainly in the North Island north of lake Taupo...
in the area.
Lieutenant, later Captain James Cook, the first known European to visit the area, sailed between Motiti Island
Motiti Island
Motiti Island is located off the Bay of Plenty coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is north-east of Tauranga and north-east of Papamoa. There were 18 homes occupied by 27 people on the island in the 2006 Census....
and the coast in 1769. This was his first voyage to New Zealand, but he did not land here. Cook named the area the Bay of Plenty
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...
as he observed that it was well populated and looked very fertile
Fertile
The term fertile describes a condition whereby organisms are able to produce physically healthy offspring.Fertile may also refer to:...
. In 1830 Danish sailor Philip Tapsell, also known as Hans Homman Felk, settled at Maketu and operated as a trader. Church Missionary Society (CMS) missionaries arrived shortly afterwards and established mission stations at Te Papa (Tauranga
Tauranga
Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
) and at Rotorua
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
. After the land wars began to ease in the 1860s, European settlers began to move to the Bay of Plenty
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...
though not in great numbers.
Maketu
Maketu
Maketu is a small town on the Bay of Plenty Coast in New Zealand. It is located on Okurei point and has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow out of, it is also adjacent to Newdicks Beach located on the south eastern side of Okurei point. The name is sometimes informally abbreviated...
, however was a thriving village with a school, post office, and hotel and in 1869 an Anglican church. In 1876, surveying of the Te Puke Block commenced but it was not until 1879 that they survey was completed as the Native Land Court needed to complete their investigation of Māori titles for the land. Demand for land in the Tauranga
Tauranga
Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
area increased and the Tauranga Working Men’s Land Association was formed in 1877. Forty eight members petitioned the government for 4000 acres (16 ha) of the Te Puke block under the deferred-payment system. At the same time George Vesey Stewart applied to the government to bring settlers from Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
to the Te Puke Block as he had already successfully done in Katikati
Katikati
Katikati is a town located on the Uretara Stream near the tidal inlet opened by Matakana Island in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. The nearest city is Tauranga, which is 40 kilometres to the southeast. Katikati lies 28 kilometres south of Waihi.Katikati was settled in 1875 by settlers from County...
.
The first settlers on the Te Puke Block arrived in 1879 and included Peter Grant and his wife Caroline (née Moon), William Bird and his wife Sarah (née Leitch), Joseph Malyon and his wife Sara (née James) amongst others. The first of the Vesey Stewart settlers arrived in Tauranga directly from London on the Lady Jocelyn on the 2 January 1881.
In July 1880, work commenced on the Tauranga to Te Puke Road, via Welcome Bay. It was constructed by the Armed Constabulary and local Māori who worked on their land. Before this, access to Te Puke was made across the Papamoa Hills from Ngapeke to Manoeka, following an ancient Māori trail. Peter Grant had been contracted by the Tauranga County Council to form this track in to a bridle path in 1879.
Stores, and also passengers for the town could also come from Tauranga by boat, first to Maketu, then up the Kaituna River to Canaan Landing and then by Māori canoe up the Waiari Stream to the site of the present road bridge just to the south of the town.
By late 1881, Te Puke boasted 25 wooden buildings including two hotels, two general stores, a butcher, a post office and a smithy. The settlers quickly settled upon the land and by 1884 had established a butter factory. Draining of the swamps began and the area was found to be very suitable for crops, and maize and wheat were grown extensively. Later much of the farming land was found to be "bush sick" but was cured with the use of cobalt in the 1930s.
Flax milling had begun in the 1870s and became a major industry in the area until the early 1940s. Saw milling began in 1905 and is still a major industry in the area. In 1883 gold-bearing ore was discovered on the Papamoa Hills and during the 1920s a gold mine operated at Muir’s farm on No 4 Road. With the building of the railway a large Public Works quarry operated in Te Puke and was a major employer. The freezing works at Rangiuru opened in 1968 and HortResearch opened on No 1 Road in 1971.
Disaster was to strike in the early hours of the 10 June 1886 with the eruption of Mount Tarawera
Mount Tarawera
Mount Tarawera is the volcano responsible for New Zealand's largest historic eruption. Located 24 kilometres southeast of Rotorua in the North Island, it consists of a series of rhyolitic lava domes that were fissured down the middle by an explosive basaltic eruption in 1886, which killed over...
. Te Puke residents were awoken with the noise and the many related earthquakes. Many had a good view of the eruption and paintings survive of their memories. Ash and mud showered over crops and pastures up to 12 inches deep in places. The sun was not seen until 1pm.
Stock faced starvation and many farmers were forced to let their animals free to fend for themselves. Some stock was shipped from the area but many died. The settlers became short of food and water themselves and help was gratefully received from Tauranga. Evidence of the Tarawera eruption can still be found in disturbed ground in the area today. (Te Puke was again covered in ash during the 1995 Mount Ruapehu
Mount Ruapehu
Mount Ruapehu, or just Ruapehu, is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone in New Zealand. It is 23 kilometres northeast of Ohakune and 40 kilometres southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupo, within Tongariro National Park...
eruption though not to the same scale.)
Te Puke town-ship began to grow and a mission/town hall was built in 1883. This was used for town meetings and as a church by three of the congregations. The first school, (Te Puke Primary) was opened in 1883. The Te Puke Times was first printed in 1912. The fire brigade and town boards were both formed in 1913.
A jockey club was formed in 1890, the brass band in 1903, the A. & P. Society in 1905, the rugby union in 1906, the bowling club in 1908, and the golf club in 1912. Planting of the trees down the centre of the main street, a major feature of the town today, began during 1914-1918 as a war memorial to the fallen. A nursing home was opened in Boucher Avenue in 1918 but any major cases were railed to Tauranga Hospital.
Railway
The East Coast Main Trunk Railway passes through Te Puke and opened in 1928. Rail passenger services were provided by the Taneatua ExpressTaneatua Express
The Taneatua Express was an express passenger train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department that ran between Auckland and Taneatua in the Bay of Plenty, serving centres such as Tauranga and Te Puke...
which operated between Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
and Taneatua
Taneatua
Taneatua is a small town in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is officially defined as a "populated area less than a town". The 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings found its population to be 750, a 14.7% decline since the previous census in 1996...
between 1928 and 1959. In February 1959, the steam hauled
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
express train service was replaced by a railcar
Railcar
A railcar, in British English and Australian English, is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach , with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g., the Great Western...
service operated by 88 seaters
NZR RM class (88 seater)
The NZR RM class 88-seaters were a class of railcar used in New Zealand, known unofficially as 'articulateds', 'twinsets', 'Drewrys' and 'Fiats'. They were purchased to replace steam-hauled provincial passenger trains and mixed trains...
that only ran as far as Te Puke. The railcar service operated between 1959 and 1967, when it was cancelled due to both mechanical problems with the railcars and poor patronage, the latter largely due to the circuitous and time consuming rail route between Auckland and the Bay of Plenty at that time.
Horticulture
A combination of the climate and soils in the area has always made Te Puke a popular area for horticulture. From the 1880s tobaccoTobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
was grown commercially but petered out in the late 1930s. Trial plantings of hops, and later rice, were also tried. Viticulture
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
was also tried and found to be successful but for various reasons also died out. The settlers had established home orchards when finance permitted and it was found that pip and citrus fruits flourished. From this, the first commercial orchard in Te Puke was planted in 1915. Commercial plantings were of apples, pears, oranges, lemons and grapefruit. After World War Two, the Rehabilitation Department settled returned servicemen on the No 3 Road as orchardists. Followed by others with their own finance, most of No 3 Road was in orchards by 1960. By 1966, 80 owners owned about 1500 acres (6 km²) of land of which 900 acres (3.6 km²) was in citrus and balance in sub-tropical fruit including tamarillos (tree tomatoes) and feijoas. In 1934 Jim MacLoughlin had bought a 7 acres (28,328 m²) lemon and passionfruit orchard in No 3 Road. His neighbour Vic Bayliss had two Chinese gooseberry plants and he had sold the fruit for £5! Spurred on by this Jim planted ½ acre of Chinese gooseberries in 1937. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
serviceman in New Zealand were introduced to the Chinese gooseberry and enjoyed it so much that this spurred further plantings. In 1952 the first exports were made, and in 1959 the name “Kiwifruit” was introduced. Since then many more plantings have been made with Hayward (green) being the most popular. In 1998 “Zespri Gold” kiwifruit was introduced to the market and experiments are being carried out on new varieties including a peelable kiwifruit and "kiwiberry", a small bite-sized kiwifruit-like fruit.
Te Puke Today
Today, Te Puke is a thriving town with a reasonably large main shopping street, Jellicoe Street, which is also the main road passing through Te Puke. There are a number of schools, religious organisations, cultural groups, and a variety of clubs in the town.A large number of residents work picking or packing kiwifruit during April or May, as well as others coming from other nearby towns and cities.
Attractions
Te Puke has quite a number of attractions. For information on some of the attractions not listed here, visit the Te Puke Online Attractions DirectoryKiwi 360
Perhaps the most notable attraction in Te Puke is Kiwi 360, with its famous landmark the giant kiwifruit. There is a tour through the orchards, on the KiwiKart, on which you can learn about the processes used to harvest and export the kiwifruit, as well as a café and shop.For more information, visit the Kiwi 360 website.
Te Puke Vintage Auto Barn
Te Puke Vintage Auto Barn, situated next door to Kiwi 360, had an impressive range of vintage cars, but was closed in November, 2006 because the elderly owner was no longer able to maintain the museum and no other investors were prepared to buy it. Now it has been transformed into a backpackers lodge.The Amazing Race
Te Puke is the destination of the 4th leg of the US reality show The Amazing Race 13The Amazing Race 13
The Amazing Race 13 is the 13th installment of the reality television competition series The Amazing Race. It featured 11 teams of two, each with a preexisting relationship, in a race around the world....
that was filmed in 2008.
Te Puke in the Future
There are plans for a new main road going through Te Puke, not passing through the main street and therefore moving the large bodies of traffic which now pass through the town, and the Government has set aside money for a Te Puke bypass road. There are also plans for a Te Puke Square area with a market, extensive work to Jubilee Park, and various other makeovers to the town.Read more at the Western Bay of Plenty District Council Projects and Publications Pages