LOCATION

HISTORY

Maori's

The Bay of Plenty, like many of the coastal areas was first settled by the Maori peoples from Polynesia. According to legend, the navigator Kupe, sailing from Rangiatea in the Society Islands, discovered the country around AD 925. Some Kupe legends report that he saw signs of habitation while others say there was none.

Kupe returned to his home and his sailing directions were later used by others. For instance Turi, commander of the Aotea canoe, settled the Patea area on the lower west coast of the North Island in the 14th century. Rangiatea traditions however say that Turi made at least 3 trips to New Zealand before he died at his home marae in Fa'aroa Bay, Rai'iatea Island.

When the navigator Toi and his crew arrived in the Bay of Plenty from polynesia around 1150 AD he found the area settled by people known as 'Tangata whenua' (people of the land). He settled in the area now known as Whakatane, but he also made several return trips.

A very descriptive and fascinating insight to the methods employed by early Pacific region navigators can be found through the link on my Links of Interest page.

Many voyaging canoes followed over the years and the Maori became firmly established.

 It was the local Maori people who named this area in the hills above the coast "Manawahe"  and while the modern translation of the name means a "sick, weak or bad heart"  it probably refers to the travelers rather than the land which probably had an abundance of rich bird life and vegetation as a food source in the heavily forested area. At the western end of the region they would have found fish and freshwater crayfish in Lake Rotoma. There were also many sites that could be fortified and easily defended from others seeking to settle as the population increased. 

There is ample evidence of settlement on the Northeastern coastal hill areas and records of settlement at Lake Rotoma to the south but there appears to be no evidence to date, that the maori actually resided in the hills of Manawahe.

Europeans

 The first large European influx occurred in New Zealand during the 1840's but Manawahe was largely untouched until around 1902 - 1903 when a group of 6 men gained a Government grant to settle in the area. It would appear that at least two of them started milling the forest. The cut logs were hauled to the mill by bullock teams. The cut timber was then carted with horses down the rough roads and tracks to Matata on the coast.  It seems that this mill went through several owners and was moved to a new site in 1919.

A number of other sawmills sprang up in the area , often moving on to new sites once the useful timber had been cut out.   The milling continued until the early 1950's.

While all of this logging was going on, others moved in and cleared the land for farming, often with fires that burned for days and sometimes out of control !

By 1920 most of the northern part of the region near the coast had been settled.
In May 1920, 7976 acres of land to the south near Lake Rotoma was put up for ballot to returned servicemen from World War 1.  Those successful in the ballot had to take up residency and were not allowed to sell their lease or freehold land for 10 years. They were allowed an advance of NZ 500 Pounds to get them started but were not allowed to spend more than 250 Pounds on the dwelling.
(The house we live in was built around this period and was originally part of a 476 acre block owned by a Mr W.H. Anderson)

A small rural school was also established during the early settlement phase and continues to operate to this day with a roll that tends to fluctuate around 20 to 25 pupils.

So ended the first phase in the development of the area.

The land has been progressively cleared since that time and today supports a diversity of farm and forestry interests.

Manawahe Today

Today the area has in excess of 90 homes and farm cottages who each receive a monthly newsletter with district news, including reports of the ongoing "battles" against officialdom over land use and conservation restrictions.

Where once it was common practice throughout New Zealand to gain Government grants to clear land for farming or to plant exotic forests, the wheel has turn a full circle. The land owners today face growing pressure from officialdom to conserve what little remains of the native flora and fauna. Many local landowners have voluntarily locked up such land over the years anyway and resent the new policies and restrictions (mainly in Draft form currently) being imposed on them.

The Resource Management Act was empowered by NZ Government several years ago and in simple terms decrees that nobody is allowed to foul the air,water or land - admirable intentions but the problem is in the interpretation of such a Law by everyone with a vested interest.
The RMA charges local government bodies with putting policies into place to ensure the principles are upheld but local Land owners see their land being taken away from them by 'Greenies' and fear that their livelihoods, land values and land-use will be severely restricted.

The problems will not go away, but with all parties seemingly becoming less co-operative and further entrenched with time, the 'battle' rages on behind the scenes.

Climate

The whole of the Bay of Plenty region has a temperate climate with day temperatures around 10C-15C in winter, with 25C-30C averages during summer.

Rainfall in the Manawahe area varies from 1800 mm near the coast to 2200 mm annually further inland, at an altitude of about 1000 ft above sea level near Lake Rotoma - where heavy falls of up to 105 mm (which continued to overflow my rain gauge ) have been recorded in a 24 hour period !!

Land Use

As this area is at the northern end of the 'Volcanic Plateau' most soils are pumice over sandstone with a light topping of scoria from numerous volcanic eruptions, the last of which was in 1886 when Mt Tarawera erupted near Rotorua with devastating consequences. Lake Rotoma itself was formed by volcanic activity around 8500 years ago .

Farming these soils had always been a problem until the use of super phosphate fertilizer and the trace element cobalt which prevents the 'bush sickness' prevalent in cattle prior to it's introduction.

Within the local area we have many acres of exotic forest that have been planted over the last 15 to 20 years. These stands of (mainly)Pinus radiata and eucalypts will provide wood chips for a large pulp and paper complex and a tissue paper mill both of which are located in Kawerau, a town of about 8000, 25 minutes away by road.

Local people have a wide variety of farming interests and amongst them we have :-

Deer farming - with Fallow deer,Red deer and Wapiti cross. The deer provide 'velvet' (harvested around November each year) for the Asian market and meat for Europe.

 Beef Farming - Hereford, Angus, and various crossbreed varieties. NZ Beef is exported all around the world.
Our youngest daughter was in the Faroes Islands on a student exchange program in 1999/2000 and said she was surprised to see New Zealand Angus beef for sale in the supermarket in Torshavn.(The capital city)

 A miniature horse Stud farm. A rapidly growing interest in NZ and also a great attraction at local schools and one or two have visited the rest home in Kawerau with their owner where they are keenly greeted by the old folks there !

 Dairy farms - mainly Friesian herds.
Collected daily by tanker trucks,much of the milk is used for town supply but the balance is processed into a variety of Dairy products and exported world-wide.

Sheep  -Many farms also carry sheep of various breeds. These provide wool, mutton and of course world famous New Zealand lamb.

 
There are also a number of larger farms being sub-divided to provide small blocks of up to 20 acres.
These are being increasingly used by folk from local towns who see them as an opportunity to enjoy the country lifestyle.

 These 'lifestyle' blocks are often used to graze a few cows, chickens, the kids pony,maybe a few goats or whatever takes their fancy.

Tourism

I have talked enough about our little corner of the world, why don't you come see for yourself !!
 If you would like to see the world in one small package then COME TO NEW ZEALAND.
We have an active volcanic Island just off the coast that you can visit, Farm stay and all classes of accommodation, Native bush walks, the BEST trout fishing in the world - and so much more, all at our doorstep ......

move on to my 'LINKS OF INTEREST' page for some interesting sites to browse through, including New Zealand scenery and tourist spots.