Some Important Dates
Maurice Perry
In an auction room in Willis Street, the sale took place of “The township of Paraparaumu and its suburban lands” by direction of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company Ltd. The land sold for an average of six pounds per acre.
From The Evening Post 29th June 1888
1912: George Cripps, retired farmer from Waitotara, buys an existing farmed block and moves into a whare on the property that later becomes No 6 Glen Road.
1919: Harold Ahern and Hubert Hoby purchase sections on top of ridge above tennis courts from Mr Hyde, early farmer, and build the first baches in the area.
1923: Herbert and Lillian Eatwell come to area to settle, first living with George Cripps, Lillian’s uncle. Bill Eatwell follows soon after. They start farming and name the area Kawatiri.
Late 1920s: Sections being sold by Messrs Eatwell & McLennan. Pine trees planted on ridge above Tenniscourt Road.
About 1930: Kawatiri Reserve set aside and tennis courts laid down. Pine Avenue (now Tenniscourt Road) built by Bert Eatwell using a horse and scoop.
Lillian opened a small shop in their home selling basic food items.
Early 1930s: Urwins built a shop on the corner of Renown Road and Poplar Avenue (now named Valhallah).
1930s – 40s: Eatwell family ran Kawatiri Guest House – Bert Eatwell farmed cows and milked them in a dairy shed beside tennis courts.
1934: Post and telegraph facilities established in Urwins’ shop. NZ Post Office insisted that the name of the area be changed from Kawatiri, as this name was in use in the Nelson Lakes area. Raumati South is chosen as the new name.
1937 – 38: Poplar Avenue formed.
1938: Buckley’s bus, connecting the beaches with Paraparaumu and Paekakariki railway stations, taken over by the government and transferred to NZ Railways road services.
1938: Trayes bought the shop from Urwins and about the same time installed the first petrol pump, a hand-operated model selling the Big Tree brand of petrol. A second shop is built opposite the Trayes’ shop and run by Mr and Mrs Woods.
1938: The Crescent is created from what had been known as Hobies Road.
1939: Rosetta Road built by Downer and Co. immediately after building Paraparaumu Airport.
1940: 4th November Coast Road (named Centennial Highway) from Paremata to Paekakariki opened, enabling a much shorter trip from Wellington to the Kapiti Coast.
1940: Motor Camp opened at the southern end of Tenniscourt Road.
1940: Mrs Mitchell bought the shop from the Woods and ran it throughout the war years, then sold it to the Wakelins. They eventually sold it to the Loveridges when Wakelins took over running Kawatiri Guest House.
1942: Government commandeered McKenzies’ and other farms north of Paekakariki for a training ground for the United States marines.
1942 – 43: US marines and their vehicles very prominent through-out the area.
1943: Trayes sold the corner shop to Mr and Mrs Cummins.
1944: First Tennis Club formed in Raumati South.
1945: Jack Leach opened Modern Services store at 121 Rosetta Road.
1946: First standalone Post Office opened opposite the Presbyterian Church in Poplar Avenue.
1945: 1st October money order and savings bank facilities added to the Post Office.
1945: 18th October Presbyterian Church opened on land purchased by Mrs Cook for that purpose. That building today is a residence named St. Williams by the Sea.
1945: Bowling Club opened in Glen Road.
1946: Trayes sold the corner shop to Mr and Mrs Marks.
1947 – 1949: McKenzie Avenue, Whareroa Road and Jeep Road constructed.
1952: 12th April War Memorial Hall opened with a tennis tournament and a ball in the evening.
1952: 21st December All Saints Anglican church opened in Glen Road.
1953: Present block of shops (first stage built). First shops were a dairy, chemist and bookshop.
1954: Queen Elizabeth Park created from farmland.
1954 – 55: Plunket Rooms built in Kawatiri Reserve.
1955: Surf Club opened.
1955 – 56: Leinster Avenue constructed.
1959: The second stand alone Post Office was built opposite the present shops.
1965: Lawrence Paul bought the corner store and eventually closed it down after thirty years as the Raumati South general store.
1969: Coastlands Shopping mall (first stage) built. Patronage of local shops then changed dramatically.
1970s: Some subdivision of Emerald Glen Road and Waterfall Gully Road.
1970s: Sea wall (first stage) constructed to hold back erosion, then ongoing over the years.
1970: Raumati South Primary School opened with Brian Purcell the first headmaster.
1970s: Post Office installed an automatic telephone exchange at Paraparaumu and shortly afterwards removed the need for party lines.
1975: Kapiti Borough Council took control from Hutt County Council. Mr Barry Hadfield is our first elected Mayor.
Early 1980s: Water and sewerage reticulation throughout the district.
1984: KCDC created to take control from Kapiti Borough Council.
1990s: Mataihuka Walkway on the ridge above State Highway 1 created, giving a walking track from Paraparaumu to Waterfall Gully with wonderful views.
Late 1990s: Raumati Estate created from what had been Harry Shaw’s dairy farm in Matai Road.