Te Puke
| Te Puke | ||
| Geographical location | ||
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| Coordinates | 37 ° 47 ′ S , 176 ° 20 ′ E | |
| Region ISO | NZ-BOP | |
| Country |
 New Zealand
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| region | Bay of Plenty | |
| District | Western Bay of Plenty District | |
| Ward | Te Puke Ward | |
| Residents | 7th 494 (2013) | |
| height | 19 m | |
| Post Code | 3119 | |
| Telephone code | +64 (0) 7 | |
| UN / LOCODE | NZ TPK | |
| Photography of the place | ||
 Kiwi statue Kiwi 360 |
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Te Puke is a town in the Western Bay of Plenty District of the Bay of Plenty region on the North Island of New Zealand .
Origin of name
The name of the city means something like "the hill" in the Māori language .
geography
The city is located around 17 km southeast of Tauranga , around 39 km north of Rotorua and around 61 km west-northwest of Whakatāne on the northern foothills of a gently sloping mountain landscape in the Rotorua region . North of Te Puke is a 7 km wide plain reaching the coast of the Bay of Plenty , which is criss-crossed by numerous streams and canals. Nearby small towns or settlements are Papamoa , around 6 km north-north-west, Paengaroa , around 8 km south- east and Maketu , around 12 km east-northeast.
history
Settlement history
According to Māori tradition, the Arawa Waka (canoe) coming from Hawaiki landed in Maketu on the Bay of Plenty around 1350 . The team was led by the chief Tamatekapua , to whom many of the place names in the region go back. The Māori settled along the rivers and built numerous fortified pā s (villages) there.
The British navigator and explorer James Cook , on his first voyage in 1769, was the first European to sail the area between Motiti Island and the coast. Cook called the area of the bay " Bay of Plenty " because he found fertile land and good settlement in the region. In 1830 the Danish seaman Philip Tapsell , also known as Hans Homman Felk , settled in Maketu and worked there as a trader. Missionaries of the Church Missionary Society met shortly thereafter and erected mission stations in Te Papa ( Tauranga ) and Rotorua . After the New Zealand Wars subsided in intensity in the 1860s, European colonization of the Bay of Plenty began .
In 1876, the survey of the land block around what is now Te Puke began , but could not be completed until 1879, as the Native Land Court first had to complete investigations into the Māori property claims to the land. The land needs of the settlers in the Tauranga region increased and in 1877 the Tauranga Working Men's Land Association was founded. Forty-eight members of this association submitted an application to the government for 4,000 acres of land from the Te Puke block to be paid for in installments. At the same time, George Vesey Stewart applied to the government to bring settlers from Great Britain to Te Puke , as he had already done with success in Katikati . The first settlers came in 1879 and more in 1881.
In July 1880, construction began on a road between Tauranga and Te Puke across Welcome Bay . Previously, Te Puke was accessed along an old Māori path across the Papamoa Hills from Ngapeke to Manoeka . Peter Grant was contracted by Tauranga County Council to upgrade in 1879 to make this trail a mule track .
Economic development
At the end of 1881 Te Puke owned 25 wooden buildings, including two hotels, two buildings for general stores, one for a butcher, one for the post office and one for the local blacksmith. In 1884 a butter factory was established. The swamps north of the city began to be drained and the land was found suitable for agriculture. Maize and wheat were especially grown. I later found out that a large part of the country was " bush sick " (a phenomenon that can be traced back to the lack of iron, cobalt and zinc that is widespread in the North Island), but this was remedied in the 1930s by giving cobalt .
Flax was grown from the 1870s and was an important industry in the region until the early 1940s. Sawmills were built in 1905 and are still of economic importance today. In 1883, gold ore was found on the Papamoa Hills , what was discovered in the 1920s in a mine at Muir's Farm on Road No. 4 was dismantled. To build the railway, a large quarry was operated in Te Puke , which provided many workers with an income. In 1968 a cold store was built in Rangiuru and in 1971 HortResearch on Road No. 1 .
Development of the commune
In 1883 a combined mission and town hall building was built in Te Puke . This was used for the town's assemblies and as a church for three of the local parishes. The first school, Te Puke Primary , opened in 1883. The newspaper The Te Puke Times was first printed in 1912, the fire department was created a year later. A jockey club was established in 1890, a brass band in 1903, the rugby club in 1906, a bowling club in 1908 and a golf club in 1912. The trees along the middle of the main street, which are important for the image of the city today, were planted between 1914 and 1918 as a war memorial for the fallen. An infirmary was established on Boucher Avenue in 1918 , but all serious cases still had to be taken to the hospital in Tauranga by train.
History of horticulture
Tobacco had been grown commercially since the 1880s , but this gradually phased out in the late 1930s. Trial plantings of hops and later rice were planted. Viticulture was tried out with success , but for various reasons it was unable to establish itself here. The settlers planted their own orchards when funds allowed and found that pome and citrus fruits grew particularly well. The first commercial orchard in Te Puke was planted in 1915. Apples, pears, lemons and grapefruit were grown. After World War II, the Rehabilitation Department relocated returning soldiers to Road No. 3 as fruit growers. Others followed from their own resources, and so the area around Road No. 3 around 1960 largely from orchards. In 1966, 80 owners owned around 1500 acres (6 km²) of land, 3.6 km² of which were planted with citrus fruits, the rest with other subtropical fruits tamarillos and "feijoas" ( Brazilian guava ). In 1934, Jim MacLoughlin bought 28,000 m² of land on Road No.3 , where lemons and passion fruits were grown. His neighbor Vic Bayliss had two plants of a plant called " Chinese Gooseberry " ( Actinidia deliciosa ) and sold the fruit for £ 5. This prompted Jim to plant half an acre in 1937 with this fruit. During the Second World War, US soldiers stationed in New Zealand came into contact with the fruit, so that further plantings were created due to the increasing demand. The first exports took place in 1952, and in 1959 the name " kiwifruit " was introduced. Since then, numerous other plantations have been created, the green Hayward variety being the most popular. In 1998, the yellow variety “Zespri Gold” , belonging to the species Actinidia chinensis , was launched and new varieties, including peelable and small, berry-like varieties, were introduced.
Mount Tarawera volcanic eruption
On June 10, 1886, the place was hit hard by the eruption of Mount Tarawera, 50 km south-east . The inhabitants woke up from the eruption and the tremors it caused. Many had a good look at the eruption, so images from this period have come down to us. Ash and mud covered fields and pastures in some places 30 cm high. The sun was out of sight until one o'clock in the afternoon.
The cattle faced starvation and many farmers were forced to release them so they could support themselves. Some of the cattle were removed from the affected area, but many animals died anyway. Food and water for the settlers became scarce, so help from Tauranga was gratefully accepted. Te Puke was once again covered in ash by an eruption from Ruapehu in 1995, but not to the same extent.
population
In the 2013 census, the city had 7,494 inhabitants, 5.8% more than in the 2006 census.
economy
The warm, humid climate and the fertile soil of the region favor horticulture , especially kiwis , citrus fruits and avocados are grown. Fruit growing is the most important economic factor in the region. The city therefore markets itself as the "kiwifruit capital of the world". Livestock farming, especially dairy farming , is also practiced.
Many residents of Te Puke as well as commuters from the surrounding area are busy harvesting and packing the kiwi fruits in April and May
Infrastructure
Road traffic
The New Zealand State Highway 2 runs through Te Puke and connects the city with Tauranga on one side and Whakatāne on the other. Several country roads leading south through the mountains from Te Puke connect the city to Rotorua via the connection to New Zealand State Highway 36 .
Rail transport
The East Coast Main Trunk Railway , opened in 1928, runs through Te Puke . Passengers were carried on the Taneatua Express , which ran between Auckland and Taneatua between 1928 and 1959 . In February 1959, the steam-powered train by 88-seater was railcars of the RM class of New Zealand Rail replaced, which then, however, only until Te Puke wrong. In 1967 passenger traffic was given up due to mechanical problems with the multiple units and low passenger numbers. The route used for freight traffic to Kawerau .
Attractions
The kiwi fruit is marketed for tourism under the label "Kiwi 360". This includes a huge replica of a sliced kiwi fruit, a café and a shop. There are tours through the kiwi plantations with the so-called KiwiKart , where you can learn something about the cultivation and export of kiwi fruits .
The Te Puke Vintage Auto Barn next to Kiwi 360 exhibited numerous classic cars , but has been closed since November 2006 as the owners retired and couldn't find a buyer. Accommodation for backpackers is now located here.
literature
- Helga Neubauer: Te Puke . In: The New Zealand Book . 1st edition. NZ Visitor Publications , Nelson 2003, ISBN 1-877339-00-8 , pp. 387-390 .
Web links
- Te Puke . Te Puke Economic Development Group,accessed October 19, 2017.
- Te Puke . Bay of Plenty Tourism,accessed October 19, 2017.
Individual evidence
-
↑ a b
Sources of the population of Te Puke West and East :
- 2013 Census QuickStats about a place : Te Puke West . Statistics New Zealand,accessed October 19, 2017.
- 2013 Census QuickStats about a place : Te Puke East . Statistics New Zealand,accessed October 19, 2017.
- ^ Neubauer: Te Puke . In: The New Zealand Book . 2003, p. 388 .
- ↑ a b Topo250 maps . Land Information New Zealand , accessed October 15, 2017 .
- ↑ Homepage . Kiwi 360 , accessed October 17, 2017 .