- Plimmerton
Suburb: Plimmerton City: Porirua Island: North Island Surrounded by: to the north Pukerua Bay to the east Camborne to the south Mana and a little of the Porirua Harbour to the west Porirua Harbour , thenCook Strait The township of Plimmerton surrounds one of the more congenial
beach es in the northwest part of theWellington urban area inNew Zealand . Its census population (including Hongoeka Bay) was 2058 in 2006, little changed from 2052 in both the 1996 and 2001 counts. The static population may indicate that little scope exists for growth, at least without damaging the environment.History
The area was first settled by
Māori early in their occupation of New Zealand, and a major pa, Taupo Pa, was sited nearby.In the 1840s it was the home of
Te Rauparaha , who was captured here by the British in 1846. Near the southern end of Motuhara Road, a tiny historic reserve contains a cabbage tree that may be descended from the one he was said to have been captured near, and a plaque.The original laying-out of streets and naming was done for the
Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company , which built the railway link from the capital,Wellington , to Longburn, nearPalmerston North . Several towns were established along the way to encourage settlements that would contribute to the line's business.John Plimmer , after whom Plimmerton was named, was a director.By the late 1890s Plimmerton had become a popular holiday destination.
For a long time in
Hutt County , on1 April 1973 the still-growing area became one of the northern suburbs ofPorirua . Though small, it was one of the most lively. For a time it had the only active Residents' Association in the city.Localities
The largely Māori (
Ngati Toa ) settlement atHongoeka Bay to the northwest is part of Plimmerton for most practical social purposes.North of the industrial area is the
Taupo Swamp , a flax swamp, one of the largest of its type in the southern half of theNorth Island .State Highway 1, here named St Andrews Road, separates Plimmerton and the late-20th-century suburb of Camborne.
A shopping area about two blocks long adjoins the railway station and includes two churches, a medical centre,
Plunket rooms, a craft shop, a beauty salon, a real estate agent, a grocery store and several eateries. School, kindergarten, and tennis courts are close. Plimmerton Library, part of Porirua City Council's library system) moved in December 2007 from the single-room building near the school to the Plimmerton Pavilion, opposite the Plimmerton Volunteer Fire Brigade building.South-west of the shopping area is a fairly sheltered, gently graded beach, which has been a popular recreation area for over a century. It is popular with windsurfers; some world champions have trained there. Another popular beach is
Karehana Bay , at the foot of the Airlie Road/Cluny Road valley about 1.5 kilometres north-west of the shops. PoetDenis Glover mentioned the settlement in his poem Threnody: "In Plimmerton, in Plimmerton, the littlepenguin s play, and one deadalbatross was found at Karehana Bay".External links
* [http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Gov15_03Rail-t1-body-d16.html "The Storied Shores of Plimmerton" from the New Zealand Railways Magazine, 1940]
* [http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/WarEarl-fig-WarEarl013a.html Picture of the Taupo Pa on Plimmerton Beach, 1840]
* [http://newzealand.wikia.com/wiki/Plimmerton Plimmerton on the New Zealand Wikia]
* [http://www.pvfb.org.nz Plimmerton Volunteer Fire Brigade (including pictures of the area)]
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