A Tribute to George Herbert Stubbs
Mr. Stubbs came to Mangatangi in l9l2 to take up his block of land, an area of 7213 acres.
Mangatawhiri is a farming district located 62 kilometres south of Auckland on the old Thames-Paeroa highway. Mangatawhiri translates as ‘the stream where the tawhiri tree grows’ and refers to the boundary between Maaori and Pakeha at the time of the land wars in 1863. General Cameron crossed the river in 1863 and declared war upon the Waikato tribes.
At the conclusion of the wars, land in this area was balloted for. Access to Mangatawhiri was along Valley Road, the settlers came over the hills from Drury via a track known as Happy Valley Road and now called Paparimu Road. The highway was not built until after the turn of the century and has just undergone change in 2010. With the realignment of State Highway 2, Mangatawhiri has been bypassed but still remains as an alternative route to the firth of Thames, and Coromandel.
The first white settler, Robert John Lyons, took up land on March 12, 1867, with his wife Margaret and son William. James Lyons now farms the family farm on Lyons Road and operates part of the sheep and beef farm as an organic dairy farm. The Lyons were soon followed by other families. These included the Reeds, whose Crown grant in August, 1867, was registered in 1868, and the Popes in the same year. Pope’s Lagoon is known to many duck shooters and is on the original Pope property. Aloe Reed married Charles Pope and the family are in their seventh generation of farming today in the district.
The Keith, Mabey, McPherson, Pendergrast, Appleby, Twining, McIlroy, Motion, Caie and Parker families were all settled in the valley before the turn of the 19th century. One of the first homesteads built of locally sourced pit sawn kauri in 1875 cost 189 pounds and the timber for its 2000 sq. ft area weighed 40 pounds. Several other houses were built of timber taken from the valley.
In the early 1890s one of the last Maaori war canoes was made from a kahikatea tree growing in the valley at a place known as Canoe Corner. Until 1980, Seacraft milled kauri trees from the surrounding bush in the valley and used these to make pleasure craft. Up until 2010, pine was milled at Twining Road and the timber was supplied to build Haines Hunter boats. Much hard work was required by the settlers to clear the land and build roads.
Many helped with road construction taking the metal from the Mangatawhiri River. Flax milling was an early industry, replaced by dairying and sheep as pastures were developed.
After the turn of the 19th century a dairy factory was built by the settlers on Keith’s property and later moved to the new one on McKenzie’s farm. Today, however milk is taken out of the valley by tanker. A lot of the sheep farms in Mangatawhiri have now converted to dairying and the size of the average dairy farm in Mangatawhiri has increased through farm amalgamations. Mangatawhiri has its own organic dairy factory where Green Valley Milk processes milk on-site to sell throughout the country. Marphona Farms is the largest organic dairy farm in Australasia holding AsureQuality full organic certification. Their Mangatawhiri farm also houses the dairy factory to produce top quality Green Valley milk products. There are also several farms supplying organic milk to Fonterra and milk is also supplied to Open Country Cheese dairy company.
The fertiliser bulk store Altum formally Summit Quinphos is situated on the new Mangatawhiri Road and supplies fertiliser to the local farmers. Twining Nurseries is located on Twining Road and supplies grown hedging in metre long bags to New Zealand markets.
Among the other early occupations were timber felling and gum digging, a marked contrast to todays industry of organic milk production, dairy farming engineering, chicken farming and hatching, and nursery growing.
The valley is served with a daily mail delivery from Pokeno. The nearest town to Mangatawhiri is Pukekohe where many of the residents go to shop and work. A number of the smaller farms in Mangatawhiri have been cut into smaller lifestyle blocks. Many of these residents commute to Auckland to work, and enjoy a rural lifestyle in Mangatawhiri.
The first school was held in the Lyons’ homestead. As the population grew, Mr Robert J. Lyons gave land on the Valley Road corner for the school. The school was moved across the river by traction engine to its present site on McKenzie Road in 1925. A new school was built in 1962 and is a strong focus point for the community today. The school celebrated its 125 year reunion in 2003 and a book on the history of Mangatawhiri School and its district was written by Donnelle Hamilton.
The Mangatawhiri Hall was burnt down by a mystery fire in 1961 and was rebuilt in 1962. 2012 will mark 50 years of the hall’s popular existence. The preschool is held in the hall three times a week and has a thriving roll. Many other groups also use the hall for their events.
When people ask for directions to Mangatawhiri, the locals will often use The Mangatawhiri Castle as a point of reference, well known for its large ice creams. The castle was built by Mr Banner around the original Mangatawhiri Store of 1934. It features pictures of Snow White and the seven dwarfs on the outside and medieval paintings on the inside of the turrets. Today with the bypass of the highway, the castle has closed down. The petrol station opposite is now a dairy servicing the local area.
Mangatawhiri has undergone change over the years and the new by-pass has challenged the area. However Mangatawhiri will maintain its strong community spirit, a legacy of its rural roots.
Excerpts have been taken from the Mangatawhiri Valley Centennial Celebrations booklet of 1967 for parts of this writing.
Compiled by S Young 2011
Exploring the journey: a comprehensive look at our origins, key milestones, and evolution through the years, celebrating the stories and achievements that have shaped our legacy.
Mr. Stubbs came to Mangatangi in l9l2 to take up his block of land, an area of 7213 acres.
Little did I think at the time that I would be returning in 1924 and spending most of my life…
ln the early 1930’s an attempt was made to establish a Tennis Club in Mangatangi.
Captain William Field Porter arrived in Auckland in 1841, having embarked with his family in his own brig, the “Porter”…
In December l927 we did our first shearing at Mangatangi. In those days we relied on the Maori.
Maori had long used the gum for making torches, lamp black for tattoo pigments and mixed it with sow thistle…
In 1957 the Smith family purchased from Mr. Ted Waller, a block of land comprising 956 acres of hill country…
John Cummings was born in County Antrim, Ireland in 1869 and came to New Zealand in 1874, on the ship…
Richard A Henderson was the sole charge teacher at this (Mangatangi) school when it opened in July 1923.
The Barton family arrived from England in 1885 and after a period in Auckland, farmed in Onewhero and Pukekawa before…
A virgin country such as ours in the l9th Century had to rely on its natural resources. Our district was…
In 1915 Mr. George S Johnston, set off from Auckland with a wagon drawn by two horses to Mangatangi.