Petone
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use New Zealand English Template:Infobox New Zealand suburb Template:Adjacent place
Petone (Māori: Pito-one) is a large suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand. It stands at the southern end of the Hutt Valley, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. Europeans first settled in Petone in January 1840, making it the oldest European settlement in the Wellington Region. It became a borough in 1888, and merged with Lower Hutt (branded as "Hutt City") in 1989.
Etymology
The Māori name Template:Lang has long been taken to mean the end (pito) of the sand (one), referring to the long sandy beach at Petone with pā at each end of the beach.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However in 2024 The New Zealand Geographic Board suggested that Pito-one means "an umbilical cord (pito) buried in the sand (one)", as a symbolic tethering of a newborn to the whenua (land) in Māori culture.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On 6 September 2024, the Hutt City Council voted to officially name the suburb "Pito One".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This proposed name change was supported by the New Zealand Geographic Board, The Wellington Tenths Trust and the Palmerston North Māori Reserve Trust. On 19 December 2024, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk chose to decline the change, stating that "people feel strongly about the name of their home and each proposal received a range of submissions both for and against".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Geography
Petone is on flat land, between Hutt River to the north and east, hills on the west and Wellington Harbour to the south. The land along the foreshore was uplifted by a metre or more in the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake, which improved drainage around the mouth of Hutt River.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":0" /> The foreshore has a shallow sandy beach, formed by sediment from the Hutt River,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which is a popular family swimming spot. Korokoro Stream enters Wellington Harbour at the western end of the Petone foreshore, and drains a catchment in Belmont Regional Park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
As a low-lying suburb, Petone is vulnerable to tsunami<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and flooding. During a severe storm on 20 December 1976, Korokoro Stream caused flooding almost a metre deep in the industrial area of Petone around Cornish Street, and more than 40 people had to be rescued from factory roofs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
There were two Māori pā (fortified settlements), belonging to Te Āti Awa, at Pito-one near the beach when the first European settlers arrived in the region. At the western end of the beach was the Pito-one pā, and at the other end near the mouth of the Hutt River stood Hikoikoi pā.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1850 the pā at Pito-one was described as "the largest and best fortified within the District of Wellington ... their cultivations of kumara and maize look well and the residents, in point of comfort and wealth, are better off than any of the Port Nicholson natives ... total population 136".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Around 1840, Edward Jerningham Wakefield described the locality as a "sandy beach, which is about two miles long. The main river falls into the sea at the eastern end ... and is called the Heretaunga [Hutt River]. A merry brawling stream, called the Korokoro, or "throat", flows between [Pito-one pa] and the western hills. The valley ... [is] bounded on either side by wooded hills from 300 to 400 feet in height. It was covered with high forest to within a mile and a half of the beach, when swamps full of flax and a belt of sand hummocks intervened."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Petone was the first European settlement in the Wellington region and retains many historical buildings and landmarks. The first European settlers in large numbers arrived on 22 January 1840 on the ship Aurora,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which brought 25 married couples, 36 single people and 40 children. The Aurora is commemorated in the Petone Settlers Museum, which has a sculpture shaped like the bow of the ship protruding from the front of the building. Māori from the nearby Pito-one pā came to meet the new arrivals, with one passenger recording in his diary: "The first great object of attraction was the venerable old chief Te Puni, his interesting and beautiful wife 'Victoria,' and his handsome daughter Aena, the princess, together with sons and endless relatives and a pa full of natives who were delighted to greet us with 'Kapai te Pakeha,' Tena-koe, and other expressions of greeting."<ref name=":1" /> Template:Rp
A beach settlement of small wooden houses and tents was established, which was initially called Britannia. The earliest European settlers found life hard. Nevertheless, the settlement grew: the population of "Pito-one and Hutt" in 1845 was given as 649, compared to, "Town of Wellington" of 2,667. There was horse racing at Pito-one Beach on 20 October 1842, attracting a crowd of five or six hundred people from Wellington.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref>
After repeated flooding, most settlers moved south around the harbour to Thorndon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Thorndon is at the shore of what is now the city of Wellington, New Zealand's capital.
From the late 19th century and for much of the 20th century, Petone was a thriving, largely working-class town. It was the location of several large industrial sites, including car assembly plants, a meat processing plant, a wool processing plant, a tobacco processing plant,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a soap factory and a toothpaste factory.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The majority of these closed in the 1970s and 1980s, resulting in gradual economic decline in the area.
Defunct industries
- Petone Railway Workshops 1876–1929
- Gear Meat Company 1882–1981
- Wellington Woollen Manufacturing Company 1883–1968 (company founded 1883, manufacture began at Petone in 1886)<ref name=":0" />
- Lever Brothers soap factory (later became Unilever) 1919–2015<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- W.D. & H.O. Wills tobacco factory 1919–2020<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- New Zealand Motor Bodies vehicle assembly plant 1926–1978<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- General Motors vehicle assembly plant 1926–1984<ref name=":0" />
- Todd Motors vehicle assembly plant 1935–1974.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> The company closed the Petone factory after building a new plant at Porirua in the early 1970s.
- Colgate-Palmolive toothpaste and toiletries factory 1939–2007<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Austin Motor Industries vehicle assembly plant (later New Zealand Motor Corporation, then Emco Group) 1946–1983<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Petone gained borough status in 1888. The borough's first coat of arms had images representing the Gear Meat Company, the woollen mills and the railway workshops, showing how important these businesses were to the local economy.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Petone Borough<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> amalgamated with Lower Hutt as a result of the local government reform in 1989. The suburb has since enjoyed renewed economic growth, using its early European heritage as a draw for tourists and gaining many cafes and shops.
Petone is home to the Petone Rugby Club founded in 1885.
Railway employee, fireman, and photographer Albert Percy Godber (1875–1949) photographed railway infrastructure and trains, industries, Māori artworks, sights, and workers in Petone capturing a perspective from an earlier era.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Alexander Turnbull Library has a collection of his photographs.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
State housing
New Zealand's first state housing was constructed at the east end of Petone in 1906. Historian Ben Schrader has identified that this housing (known as the Heretaunga Settlement) may be the first national government-led housing development in the world.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Heretaunga Settlement has been declared a Historic Area by Heritage New Zealand.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some of the original houses remain in good condition, and the local tourist office provides a guide showing where they are located. Some of the houses in Patrick Street are listed as Historic Places by Heritage New Zealand.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Star Flats (state housing apartment blocks built in the 1960s) are located in Jackson Street and East Street.
Demographics
Petone, comprising the statistical areas of Petone Central, Petone East and Petone Esplanade, covers Template:Convert.<ref name="Area">Template:Cite web</ref> It had an estimated population of Template:Decimals as of Template:NZ population data 2023 SA2 with a population density of Template:Decimals people per km2.
Template:Historical populations Petone had a population of 7,491 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 816 people (12.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 945 people (14.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 2,955 households, comprising 3,753 males and 3,738 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female, with 1,167 people (15.6%) aged under 15 years, 1,650 (22.0%) aged 15 to 29, 3,492 (46.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,188 (15.9%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 71.6% European/Pākehā, 15.5% Māori, 8.2% Pasifika, 16.1% Asian, and 2.4% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 28.0, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 48.4% had no religion, 35.0% were Christian, 1.2% had Māori religious beliefs, 4.9% were Hindu, 0.8% were Muslim, 0.9% were Buddhist and 3.3% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 2,046 (32.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 852 (13.5%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,440 people (22.8%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 3,468 (54.8%) people were employed full-time, 795 (12.6%) were part-time, and 261 (4.1%) were unemployed.<ref name="Census 2018">Template:NZ census 2018</ref>
| Name | Area (km2) |
Population | Density (per km2) |
Households | Median age | Median income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petone Central | 1.30 | 954 | 734 | 339 | 34.7 years | $39,900<ref>Template:NZ census place summary 2018</ref> |
| Petone East | 1.63 | 3,906 | 2,396 | 1,569 | 39.4 years | $34,600<ref>Template:NZ census place summary 2018</ref> |
| Petone Esplanade | 0.97 | 2,631 | 2,712 | 1,047 | 36.1 years | $39,500<ref>Template:NZ census place summary 2018</ref> |
| New Zealand | 37.4 years | $31,800 |
Points of interest
Jackson Street
Petone's main street has over 220 businesses (most are small unique businesses), is a hub for hospitality, and is listed by Heritage New Zealand as a historic area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Petone's former police station and jail, built in 1908, were moved to a site on Jackson Street in 1994 from Elizabeth Street, and is home to the Jackson Street Programme Inc. (JSP) which was established in 1992. The Historic Police Station is the JSP's office, and has information on Jackson Street and Petone for visitors and tourists. The Old Jail became a museum with exhibits about policing in Petone and the history of Jackson Street.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jackson Street also features a 'Walk of Champions': over 140 bronze plaques have been laid on the footpath celebrating 200 local sportspeople who have represented New Zealand or become national champions in their sport.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
St David's Church
St David's is a Presbyterian church at 4 Britannia Street with a Heritage New Zealand Category 2 listing. It was built in 1889 in a simple Colonial Gothic style designed by Christian Toxward. Originally it had a large steeple but this was later removed after being damaged by weather and rot. In 1993 the steeple was restored and a porte cochere was added. The church has a decorated pipe organ and there is a large stained glass memorial window. The church is now used for services by the Samoan community.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
St Augustine's Church
St Augustine's is an Anglican church at 12 Britannia Street which has a Heritage New Zealand Category 2 listing. The church is built of wood, and was designed by Frederick de Jersey Clere in a gothic style.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> When it was built in 1902-1903 it had the tallest spire in New Zealand, but the spire was removed in 1954 after being damaged in a storm.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Te Puna Wai Ora
The Te Puna Wai Ora (Spring of Life) in Buick Street provides artesian water from taps. The water originates from the Waiwhetu Aquifer and has been naturally filtered through the alluvial gravels and sands of the Hutt Valley over several years. It is free, and consumers travel long distances to collect the water for drinking purposes.<ref>Hutt City – Petone's Artesian Water Template:Webarchive Retrieved: 5 April 2012.</ref> In June 2017, a small ultraviolet water treatment unit was installed to ensure on-going safety of the drinking water.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Petone Settlers Museum
Template:Main Petone Settlers Museum is housed in the Wellington Provincial Centennial Memorial Building on the Petone foreshore, opposite Buick Street. The building was opened on Wellington Anniversary Day 1940 to commemorate the arrival of the ship Aurora and the first European settlement in Wellington. It is a building of national significance.
Iona Cross
In February 1940 a stone cross was erected on the Petone foreshore near the Settlers Museum, to commemorate 100 years since the first Presbyterian church service in New Zealand was held on board the settler ship Bengal Merchant at Petone on 23 February 1840.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The cross is 2.7 m (15 ft) high and carved on one side. The cross was supposed to have been a replica of the MacLean Cross at Iona in Scotland donated by the Church of Scotland, but due to the outbreak of World War 2 this was not possible.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> Instead, the cross was carved in Auckland or Coromandel, and is made of Coromandel Tonalite, a type of rock formerly quarried on the Coromandel Peninsula.<ref name=":2" /> The cross has a 'Historic Place Category 2' listing from Heritage New Zealand.<ref name=":2" />
Hōniana Te Puni-kōkopu memorial
The Hōniana Te Puni-kōkopu memorial can be found in the Te Puni Street urūpa (burial ground).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Hōniana Te Puni Reserve
Hōniana Te Puni Reserve is a 5-hectare grassed reserve at the western end of the Petone foreshore.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The reserve, formerly known as 'Korokoro Gateway', was given to Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika in 2009 as part of a Treaty settlement and is managed by Hutt City Council.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Wellington Rowing Association and Wellington Water Ski Club have buildings on the site, and the reserve is popular with walkers and as a dog exercise area. A pouwhenua (carved pole) was erected on the reserve in 2000. The pouwhenua represents chief Honiana Te Puni and commemorates the arrival of the first European settlers at Petone. It was carved by Bryce Manukonga of Te Āti Awa.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The pouwhenua was repaired and reinstalled at the reserve in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of 2023 the reserve is being used as a work space by contractors building Te Ara Tupua, a cycleway connecting Petone and Wellington.
Hikoikoi Reserve
The reserve is a park and walkway at the mouth of the Hutt River. It features a disc-golf course.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The reserve was the site of Ngati Awa's Hikoikoi Pa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Petone Wharf
Template:Further One remnant of Petone's industrial history is the Petone Wharf. The original wharf was built to allow the Gear Meat Works to move its products quickly to Wellington for export.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> That wharf was demolished and the current wharf built slightly further north along the shore in 1908-1909.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The wharf was popular with walkers and people fishing, but was closed to the public in January 2021 after suffering earthquake damage in the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake and two smaller subsequent earthquakes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In May 2021 Hutt City Council voted to repair the wharf<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but as of May 2022 was still considering the best course of action.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In November 2023 Hutt City Council announced that it would be demolishing the wharf.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As of August 2025 the wharf is still standing but closed off.
Petone Rotary Fair
The Petone Rotary Fair is a notable local event, held annually since 1992, that draws people from all over the greater Wellington region to Jackson Street, Petone's main thoroughfare, which is closed off to traffic for the event.
The purpose of the fair is not only to raise the profile of Petone and provide an enjoyable day out, but to raise money for charity. The fair consists of various stalls selling products such as plants, artwork, jewellery, CDs & DVDs, cosmetics, food and drink, etc., and there are musicians, carnival rides, and displays from various organisations such as the New Zealand Fire Service.
Education
Petone has three schools:
- Petone Central School is a state full primary (Year 1–8) school in central Petone, with Template:NZ school roll data students as of Template:NZ school roll data
- Sacred Heart School is a state-integrated Catholic full primary (Year 1–8) school in central Petone, and has Template:NZ school roll data students as of Template:NZ school roll data
- Wilford School is a state full primary (Year 1–8) school in north-eastern Petone, and has Template:NZ school roll data students as of Template:NZ school roll data
Since Petone College (formerly called Hutt Valley Memorial Technical College) closed in 1998, Hutt Valley High School in central Lower Hutt has been the nearest state secondary school to Petone.
The main campus of the Wellington Institute of Technology (Weltec) is located in Petone.
See also
References
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External links
- Discover Historic Petone: A website listing 37 points of interest in a tour around Petone.
- Jackson Street Programme: Information and history of Jackson Street.
- Template:Cite web
- Names of immigrants who arrived on the Aurora