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Waikouaiti is a small town in East Otago, New Zealand, within the city limits of Dunedin. It is located on State Highway 1 40 kilometres north of Dunedin city centre and 666 kilometres from the start of the highway at Picton. The town's population is about 1,100. Waikouaiti, established in 1840, was the first European settlement in southern New Zealand to be mainly based on farming. It is now a service town to the surrounding farms.

Contents 1 Location 2 History Of Waikouaiti 3 See the History 4 References 5 Roadworks/Transit NZ 5.1 Waikouaiti Domestic Airport 6 Population

[edit] Location

Waikouaiti is situated on flat land near the northern end of a small bay and about 2 Kilometres north of the mouth of the Waikouaiti River. The bay, which is bounded on the north by Cornish Head and on the south by Huriawa Peninsula, provides a comparatively sheltered anchorage. A mile west of the town the narrow coastal plain rises to undulating and hilly country. The Dunedin-Oamaru highway and the South Island Main Trunk railway pass through Waikouaiti. Dunedin is 25 miles south-west by road (32 miles by rail) and Oamaru is 46 miles north-east by road or rail. The view from the railway above the bay is one of the most beautiful coastline vistas in New Zealand.

Sheep farming is the principal primary activity of the district. Karitane, 4 Kilometres south-west of Waikouaiti, is a base for commercial sea fishing. Waikouaiti has no important industrial activities but is a minor trade and servicing centre. The town once served as a dormitory for staff members of Cherry Farm Mental Hospital which has since closed, 2 miles southwest. In common with Karitane and other nearby coastal townships, Waikouaiti attracts visitors in the summer holiday season.

[edit] History Of Waikouaiti

In pre-European times the main fighting pa of the district appears to have been the heavily fortified Huriawa Peninsula. It was known as Te Wera's pa and, according to a Māori account, it was here that Te Wera, chief of the district, and his people who lived in nearby villages, were besieged by foes for many months some time in the eighteenth century. Close to the isthmus of Huriawa Peninsula, on the landward side, was the original whaling station established in 1837 by Long, Wright & Richards of Sydney. In 1838 John Jones bought it. At that time 'Waikouaiti' or versions of the name, referred to the whaling station. Jones decided to establish an agricultural settlement and acquired land on the north side of the estuary for the purpose and the name came to include that settlement too. He recruited in Sydney farm workers who had emigrated to New South Wales from the south of England and who were dissatisfied with the climate and conditions they found there. Jones offered them a fixed annual sum and freehold possession of 60 acres per family after two years' settlement. They sailed in Jones's brig Magnet and landed on Waikouaiti Beach in March 1840. In May of the same year Jones sent the Rev. James Watkin and his wife to act as clergyman and teacher to the children of the settlers, whalers, and Māori, and provided a house, chapel, and school. Watkin established his mission station by the whaling station at what is now Karitane and by late 1842 was living there in a purpose-built house. From the outset he took a firm stand against the vices of the whaling community and the savage customs of the Māori, and was in a measure responsible for the subsequent orderly progress of the settlement. In August 1843 Jones arrived on the scene with his family and they made their home at Prospect Farm, Matanaka, the headland at the northern end of Waikouaiti Bay. Three years later a town council was established. In 1866 the town was incorporated as the borough of Hawksbury (or West Hawksbury). The town reverted to the name 'Waikouaiti' in 1909 but now excluding Karitane, the place Europeans first used the name to refer to.

'Waikouaiti' is said to mean 'the water that decreased', or 'receding water', perhaps referring to a change in the river's course in olden times. It is also stated, however, that the correct name is 'Waikawaiti', one meaning for which is 'little stream of bitter water'. Another suggestion is 'wai-koua-iti' meaning 'braided streamlets'. Which is correct is obscure.

Waikouaiti is the site of the first European farming settlement in Otago, and dates from 1840 when whaler Johnny Jones sent pioneers to the area, A school was built on Matanaka (A Hill that goes out to the sea, similar to a Peninsula). Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the area was frequented by Māori, who had a pa at nearby Huriawa, modern Karitane Peninsula and a kaik, or undefended village, on the site of modern Karitane. Beside the latter Long, Wright & Richards established a whaling station in 1837. It has sometimes been said that Waikouaiti was the first European settlement in Otago. In fact there were several earlier but their focus was more maritime. Waikouaiti's distinction is its early focus on farming.

The town lies close to the coast and the mouth of the Waikouaiti River. The nearby settlement of Hawksbury was long connected with a mental health institution, Cherry Farm.

[edit] See the History

Thomas Shepherd's (1779-1835) sketch of the coast north of Otago, made in May 1826, shows the Karitane and Waikouaiti coast. The original is in the Mitchell Library, Sydney. It was reproduced for the first time in Entwisle, 2005, as illustration 17.

Jones's homestead and some of the associated buildings of his colonial manor farm dating from 1843 still stand on Cornish Head. The farm buildings, though not the homestead, are owned by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust and may be visited. They are said to be the oldest surviving farm buildings in New Zealand.

In Beach Street in Waikouaiti proper is the wooden shingle roofed St. John's Anglican Church. The cost of building it was met by Johnny Jones and it was opened in 1858. It was designed by B.W. Mountfort of Christchurch who also designed the Provincial Council Building there.

[edit] References

Entwisle, P (1998) Behold the Moon the European Occupation of the Dunedin District 1770-1848 Dunedin, NZ: Port Daniel Press ISBN 0-473-05591-0. Entwisle, P (2005) 'Taka a Vignette Life of William Tucker Dunedin, NZ: Port Daniel Press ISBN 0-473-10098-3. Knight, H & Coutts, P (1975) Matanaka Dunedin, NZ: John McIndoe.

[edit] Roadworks/Transit NZ

At the moment Transit New Zealand is doing a relignment of SH1 from Waikouaiti to Flag Swamp, in order to reduce the number of accidents that occur on the Tumai overbridge just north of Waikouaiti. The new road will consist of a north bound passing lane and is due to be completed in December 2007.

[edit] Waikouaiti Domestic Airport

Waikouaiti Domestic Airport is situated two Kilometres out of the town centre yet is basically non functional. Very few flights, mainly small engine fixed wing aircraft associated with agricultural spraying operate from the airstrip which is not suitable for commercial passenger use. The airstrip in the vicinity of Waikouaiti shown on the official LINZ mapping data is 234 Metres in length, and is approx 7 km south of the township, the lat long coordinates are Long 170 37' 18.8 Lat -45 38' 33.48.

[edit] Population

The population of Waikouaiti in 2006 will be estimated at 1,400 residents.