Pāuatahanui
2006 population: 948.
Porirua’s double harbour evolved from an ancient river system, which was drowned by the rising sea about 5,000 years ago. Pāuatahanui, the name of the northern arm, means ‘big shellfish’.
The battle for Pāuatahanui
In 1839, the London-based New Zealand Company acquired land around both arms of the harbour, and planned a township at Motukaraka on the Pāuatahanui Inlet. Ngāti Toa objected to the purchase of their land without their consent. In 1846, part of the tribe fought British troops in the Horokiri valley. Eventually their chief, Te Rangihaeata, retreated, allowing Europeans to settle around the harbour.
European settlement
As settlers cleared the bush, increased erosion filled the Pāuatahanui Inlet with sediment. A road was built round the southern shore, then through the Horokiri Valley to Paekākāriki. This route was used by the coach service from 1865. Pāuatahanui soon had three hotels catering for travellers.
From 1886 Pāuatahanui declined with the completion of the Wellington–Manawatū railway, which crossed the inlet at Paremata, reducing traffic through the settlement. The village’s eclipse was hastened in 1936 when the Paremata road bridge opened followed by the completion of a highway between Pukerua Bay and Paekakariki. This removed the need to drive round the Pāuatahanui Inlet.
In 2006 Pāuatahanui remained a village, known for its tidal flats and the diverse bird life they attract.