Tututawa
Encyclopedia
Tututawa is a locality and rural centre in east Taranaki, New Zealand
, 26 km east of Stratford
, with a population of approximately 40. The settlement is centred 5 km south of Ohura
Road (State Highway 43
), at the intersection of Mangaotuku Road and Tututawa Road. Positioned approximately 150m above sea level, Tututawa is nestled in a valley amongst high sandstone
/greywacke
ridgelines. Within the area are the historic localities of Tewheniwheni, Mangaehu and Tawhiwhi.
The valley is entered from the north via the Tututawa Saddle and Mangaotuku Road, which follows the meandering Mangaotuku Stream. At Tututawa the Tututawa Stream feeds into the Mangaotuku Stream, and the Mangaotuku meets the Mangaehu Stream. Similarly Tututawa Road, which runs along the Tututawa Stream valley, meets Mangaotuku Road, and Mangaotuku Road meets Mangaehu Road. The valley is surrounded by four high peaks; the Mangaotuku trig (365 m alt.) to the west, Popuanui (443m) to the east, Tututawa (451m) to the south-east and Waitiri (490m) to the south.
A bridge crosses the Mangaehu Stream to the south, and the road stretches across a small open plain to the intersection of Mangaotuku, Mangaehu and Soldiers Roads.
Mangaehu Road follows the valley floor of the upper Mangaehu Stream to the east to Puniwhakau, Makahu
and Aotuhia, completing a loop to Strathmore and State Highway 43
via Brewer Road. The Tewheniwheni Stream feeds into the Mangaehu Stream east of the Tututawa trig, while the Pipi Stream runs northwards to the Mangaehu from the Waitiri trig.
Soldiers Road follows the Mangaehu Stream approx. 5 km to the west where it forks into two tributaries; Tauwharenikau Road and Perry Road. Tauwharenikau Road follows the stream of the same name south-east towards the Waitiri trig.
, particularly sheep
and beef
farming, with a smattering of dairy
grazing. Rivendell Gardens, a notable feature of Taranaki’s Rhododendron
Festival, is located on Tauwharenikau Road.
Community life centres on the Tututawa Hall and Domain, facilities which were once used as a school. Tututawa is home to the Mangaehu Dog Trial Club, and has produced a number of national champions in dog trials, as well as shearing
and woodchopping. The Matemateaonga Ranges to the south are popular for pig
and deer
hunting.
The name Tututawa is said to mean "bird snares set in Tawa trees", and this is affirmed by the significant population of wood pigeon
(kereru) that graze upon the lush purple berries of the remaining Tawa
trees. The name is likely to have been ascribed by the Inuawai hapu of the Ngati Ruanui
tribe, who once dwelt along the Mangaehu Stream and its tributaries.
The Rev. Richard Taylor
visited these settlements in December 1846 and described a place called Makama - “a small open plain with two cottages in it”.
Historian Ian Church writes;
According to Church, European
settlers discovered a settlement site near Tututawa, and archaeological evidence has identified occupation sites along the Mangaehu Stream, both upstream and downstream from its junction with the Mangaotuku. Tututawa is located in close proximity to the historic Kaharoa Track, which followed the Kaharoa Range and the Mangaehu valley, linking Patea
to the Taumatamahoe Track.
purchased the 61200 acres (247.7 km²) Mangaotuku Block from Ngati Ruanui
and Ngati Maru
for £7650. Through the 1880s the government refrained from developing or selling this land, or from purchasing any more. Charles Brown
negotiated the private purchase of the Toko
, Huiakama
and Pohokura blocks, and sold these to Thomas Bayly in June 1884.
In 1891 Palmerston North
bootmaker Charles Stepney Gatton formed the Palmerston North Land Association to take advantage of the Liberal Government’s land settlement scheme. Parts of the Mangaotuku, Toko and Huiakama blocks, in the area south of Ohura Road between Douglas
and Strathmore, were sold to the association. Ballots for 80-hectare sections were held in 1894 and those successful began to arrive in 1896.
Co-operative in 1903. Further government lobbying by Brickell and Moir led to the establishment of Tututawa Primary School on 25 February 1901. A community hall
was opened on 13 December 1903, and soon a post office
, telephone facilities
, a store
, a butcher
and a blacksmith
were also operating in the village.
Tututawa Road at this time crossed a saddle near the Tututawa trig, and ran down the Tewheniwheni valley to complete a loop to Tewheniwheni on Mangaehu Road. The now defunct Waitere Road provided a link to Omoana, climbing steeply to the Waitere trig and following the northern reaches of the Kahaora Range where a number of families were settled.
By 1906 it became clear that 80 hectares was not sufficient for settlers to make a living and that year saw a number of original settlers leave. The Puniwhakau Dairy Company, a local co-operative, had taken over the creamery from the Crown Dairy Company in October 1905, but by 1911 had amassed an overdraft of £2,800. The company was reconstructed as the Tututawa Co-operative by 1914.
In 1908 John Barrett Norris, formerly a teacher
in Ireland
, opened a school in his home near Tewheniwheni known as Mangaehu School. The school had a short life, closing in 1917. Following the First World War 1,243 hectares along Soldiers, Perry and Tauwherinikau Roads, known as the Tawhiwhi settlement, were subdivided into ten farms for returned soldiers. By October 1925, however, only one settler remained in Tawhiwhi due to economic hardship and access problems. The Tututawa Co-operative Dairy Company was liquidated in 1926.
Club was formed in 1925, and to this day the yearly trials remain a focal point of community life and a national attraction to trialists. The Tututawa Domain
Board was formed in 1931, contributing to the construction of tennis courts and attractive amenities surrounded by shrubs and lawns. Around this time a branch of the Women's’ Division of Federated Farmers
(WDFF) was also established.
reached Tututawa in 1953, the same year saw the closing of the post office, followed three years later by the telephone office. The Domain Board and Hall Company merged in 1964, and the county
took over the amenities the following year. Decline in the school roll led to consolidation with Douglas
in 1969, helped by improvements to Mangaotuku Road over the Tututawa Saddle.
and beef
farming land.
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...
, 26 km east of Stratford
Stratford, New Zealand
Stratford is the only town in the central Taranaki district of Stratford District, New Zealand. It lies beneath the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki/Egmont, approximately half-way between New Plymouth and Hawera, near the geographic centre of the Taranaki region. The town has a population of...
, with a population of approximately 40. The settlement is centred 5 km south of Ohura
Ohura
Ohura is a small town in the west of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located to the west of Taumarunui in the area known as the King Country, in inland Manawatu-Wanganui...
Road (State Highway 43
New Zealand State Highway network
The New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...
), at the intersection of Mangaotuku Road and Tututawa Road. Positioned approximately 150m above sea level, Tututawa is nestled in a valley amongst high sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
/greywacke
Greywacke
Greywacke or Graywacke is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lithic fragments set in a compact, clay-fine matrix. It is a texturally immature sedimentary rock generally found...
ridgelines. Within the area are the historic localities of Tewheniwheni, Mangaehu and Tawhiwhi.
Geography
A bridge crosses the Mangaehu Stream to the south, and the road stretches across a small open plain to the intersection of Mangaotuku, Mangaehu and Soldiers Roads.
Mangaehu Road follows the valley floor of the upper Mangaehu Stream to the east to Puniwhakau, Makahu
Makahu
Makahu is a settlement in inland Taranaki, in the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located to the southeast of Strathmore. the Makahu Stream runs south through the area to join with the Mangaehu Stream, which flows into the Patea River....
and Aotuhia, completing a loop to Strathmore and State Highway 43
New Zealand State Highway network
The New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...
via Brewer Road. The Tewheniwheni Stream feeds into the Mangaehu Stream east of the Tututawa trig, while the Pipi Stream runs northwards to the Mangaehu from the Waitiri trig.
Soldiers Road follows the Mangaehu Stream approx. 5 km to the west where it forks into two tributaries; Tauwharenikau Road and Perry Road. Tauwharenikau Road follows the stream of the same name south-east towards the Waitiri trig.
Economy and culture
The area is predominantly reliant on pastoral farmingPastoral farming
Pastoral farming is farming aimed at producing livestock, rather than growing crops. Examples include dairy farming, raising beef cattle, and raising sheep for wool. In contrast, mixed farming is growing of both crops and livestock on the same farm. Pastoral farmers are also known as graziers...
, particularly sheep
Sheep husbandry
Sheep husbandry is a subcategory of animal husbandry specifically dealing with the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. Sheep farming is primarily based on raising lambs for meat, or raising sheep for wool. Sheep may also be raised for milk or to sell to other farmers.-Shelter and...
and beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
farming, with a smattering of dairy
Dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
grazing. Rivendell Gardens, a notable feature of Taranaki’s Rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
Festival, is located on Tauwharenikau Road.
Community life centres on the Tututawa Hall and Domain, facilities which were once used as a school. Tututawa is home to the Mangaehu Dog Trial Club, and has produced a number of national champions in dog trials, as well as shearing
Sheep shearing
Sheep shearing, shearing or clipping is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. The person who removes the sheep's wool is called a shearer. Typically each adult sheep is shorn once each year...
and woodchopping. The Matemateaonga Ranges to the south are popular for pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
and deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
hunting.
Maori settlement
Wood Pigeon
The Wood Pigeon is a species of bird in the Columba genus in the Columbidae family. It is a member of the dove and pigeon family Columbidae.- Distribution :...
(kereru) that graze upon the lush purple berries of the remaining Tawa
Tawa (tree)
The Tawa tree is a New Zealand broadleaf tree common in the central parts of the country. Tawa is often the dominant canopy species in lowland forests in the North Island and the north east of the South Island, but will also often form the subcanopy in primary forests throughout the country in...
trees. The name is likely to have been ascribed by the Inuawai hapu of the Ngati Ruanui
Ngati Ruanui
Ngāti Ruanui is a Māori iwi traditionally based in the Taranaki region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 7,035 people claimed affiliation to the iwi. However, most members now live outside the traditional areas of the iwi.-Early history:...
tribe, who once dwelt along the Mangaehu Stream and its tributaries.
The Rev. Richard Taylor
Richard Taylor (missionary)
Richard Taylor was a C.M.S. missionary in New Zealand. He was present at the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, but is perhaps most notable for the numerous books he wrote on the natural and cultural environment of New Zealand in his time...
visited these settlements in December 1846 and described a place called Makama - “a small open plain with two cottages in it”.
Historian Ian Church writes;
- They reached the first settlement at Makama – “a small open plain with two cottages in it” – where several people were at work on their cultivations. While Taylor was talking to a dozen of them a severe earthquake shook the ground for about two minutes; the locals said they could remember one earthquake when they could not stay on their feet. In the evening, prayers were held in “their place of assembly.”
- The track followed up the Mangaotuku River “through a series of undulating grassy plains”.
According to Church, European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
settlers discovered a settlement site near Tututawa, and archaeological evidence has identified occupation sites along the Mangaehu Stream, both upstream and downstream from its junction with the Mangaotuku. Tututawa is located in close proximity to the historic Kaharoa Track, which followed the Kaharoa Range and the Mangaehu valley, linking Patea
Patea
Patea is the third-largest town in South Taranaki, New Zealand. It is on the western bank of the Patea River, 61 kilometres north-west of Wanganui on State Highway 3. Hawera is 27 km to the north-west, and Waverley 17 km to the east. The Patea River flows through the town from the...
to the Taumatamahoe Track.
Purchase and settlement
On 16 December 1875 the New Zealand governmentParliament of New Zealand
The Parliament of New Zealand consists of the Queen of New Zealand and the New Zealand House of Representatives and, until 1951, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The House of Representatives is often referred to as "Parliament".The House of Representatives usually consists of 120 Members of...
purchased the 61200 acres (247.7 km²) Mangaotuku Block from Ngati Ruanui
Ngati Ruanui
Ngāti Ruanui is a Māori iwi traditionally based in the Taranaki region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 7,035 people claimed affiliation to the iwi. However, most members now live outside the traditional areas of the iwi.-Early history:...
and Ngati Maru
Ngati Maru
Ngāti Maru is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. There are two iwi known as Ngati Maru, one based in Taranaki, the other based in Thames . These two iwi have a common ancestor in Hotunui who had three sons Marukopiri, Maruwharanui and Marutūāhu...
for £7650. Through the 1880s the government refrained from developing or selling this land, or from purchasing any more. Charles Brown
Charles Brown (Taranaki)
Charles Brown was a New Zealand politician from the Taranaki area.-Personal life:Brown was born in London, England, the illegitimate son of Charles Armitage Brown and Abigail O'Donohue, an Irish house servant at Wentworth Place where Brown and Keats resided...
negotiated the private purchase of the Toko
Toko
Toko is a small rural settlement 10 kilometres east of Stratford, New Zealand, at the intersection of East Road and Toko Road. It is located on a railway, the Stratford - Okahukura Line, the western portion of which was operated as a branch line known as the Toko Branch prior to the line's...
, Huiakama
Huiakama
Huiakama is a settlement in inland Taranaki, in the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located just to the north of Strathmore on State Highway 43.-Education:...
and Pohokura blocks, and sold these to Thomas Bayly in June 1884.
In 1891 Palmerston North
Palmerston North
Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
bootmaker Charles Stepney Gatton formed the Palmerston North Land Association to take advantage of the Liberal Government’s land settlement scheme. Parts of the Mangaotuku, Toko and Huiakama blocks, in the area south of Ohura Road between Douglas
Douglas, Taranaki
Douglas is a lowly populated locality and a rural centre in east Taranaki, surrounded by dairy, sheep and beef pastoral farming. It is situated 18 km east of Stratford at the intersection of East Road, Ohura Road, Douglas Road South and Bredow Road. East Road and Ohura Road meet to form State...
and Strathmore, were sold to the association. Ballots for 80-hectare sections were held in 1894 and those successful began to arrive in 1896.
Boom and bust
In July 1898 Robert Bennett Brickell and G. Moir lobbied the government for subsidies to improve Mangaotuku Road. In 1900 a 44-section township, with sites for school, creamery, police, government building, cemetery and recreation reserve, was surveyed by William Theodore Morpeth and originally named Mangaehu. A creamery was established by the Crown Dairy Company in 1900, later taken over by the StratfordStratford, New Zealand
Stratford is the only town in the central Taranaki district of Stratford District, New Zealand. It lies beneath the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki/Egmont, approximately half-way between New Plymouth and Hawera, near the geographic centre of the Taranaki region. The town has a population of...
Co-operative in 1903. Further government lobbying by Brickell and Moir led to the establishment of Tututawa Primary School on 25 February 1901. A community hall
Hall
In architecture, a hall is fundamentally a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age, a mead hall was such a simple building and was the residence of a lord and his retainers...
was opened on 13 December 1903, and soon a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, telephone facilities
Telephone exchange
In the field of telecommunications, a telephone exchange or telephone switch is a system of electronic components that connects telephone calls...
, a store
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
, a butcher
Butcher
A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat or any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat, poultry, fish and shellfish for sale in retail or wholesale food establishments...
and a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
were also operating in the village.
Tututawa Road at this time crossed a saddle near the Tututawa trig, and ran down the Tewheniwheni valley to complete a loop to Tewheniwheni on Mangaehu Road. The now defunct Waitere Road provided a link to Omoana, climbing steeply to the Waitere trig and following the northern reaches of the Kahaora Range where a number of families were settled.
By 1906 it became clear that 80 hectares was not sufficient for settlers to make a living and that year saw a number of original settlers leave. The Puniwhakau Dairy Company, a local co-operative, had taken over the creamery from the Crown Dairy Company in October 1905, but by 1911 had amassed an overdraft of £2,800. The company was reconstructed as the Tututawa Co-operative by 1914.
In 1908 John Barrett Norris, formerly a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, opened a school in his home near Tewheniwheni known as Mangaehu School. The school had a short life, closing in 1917. Following the First World War 1,243 hectares along Soldiers, Perry and Tauwherinikau Roads, known as the Tawhiwhi settlement, were subdivided into ten farms for returned soldiers. By October 1925, however, only one settler remained in Tawhiwhi due to economic hardship and access problems. The Tututawa Co-operative Dairy Company was liquidated in 1926.
Sports and social activities
Sports days and picnics were a popular form of community entertainment from early days, often held at the school grounds. The Mangaehu Dog TrialSheepdog trial
A Sheepdog trial is a competitive dog sport in which herding dog breeds move sheep around a field, fences, gates, or enclosures as directed by their handlers. Such events are particularly associated with hill farming areas, where sheep range widely on largely unfenced land...
Club was formed in 1925, and to this day the yearly trials remain a focal point of community life and a national attraction to trialists. The Tututawa Domain
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
Board was formed in 1931, contributing to the construction of tennis courts and attractive amenities surrounded by shrubs and lawns. Around this time a branch of the Women's’ Division of Federated Farmers
Federated Farmers
Federated Farmers of New Zealand Incorporated is an organisation in New Zealand which lobbies on behalf of its member farmers.It has a network of 24 provinces and seven industry groups. Federated Farmers provides a locally based, democratic organisation that lobbies on farming issues both...
(WDFF) was also established.
Winding down
While electricityElectricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
reached Tututawa in 1953, the same year saw the closing of the post office, followed three years later by the telephone office. The Domain Board and Hall Company merged in 1964, and the county
County council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
took over the amenities the following year. Decline in the school roll led to consolidation with Douglas
Douglas, Taranaki
Douglas is a lowly populated locality and a rural centre in east Taranaki, surrounded by dairy, sheep and beef pastoral farming. It is situated 18 km east of Stratford at the intersection of East Road, Ohura Road, Douglas Road South and Bredow Road. East Road and Ohura Road meet to form State...
in 1969, helped by improvements to Mangaotuku Road over the Tututawa Saddle.
Consolidation
The last four decades has seen continued population decline, and the amalgamation and consolidation of farms. However the area continues to thrive as productive and economic sheepSheep husbandry
Sheep husbandry is a subcategory of animal husbandry specifically dealing with the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. Sheep farming is primarily based on raising lambs for meat, or raising sheep for wool. Sheep may also be raised for milk or to sell to other farmers.-Shelter and...
and beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
farming land.