Plimmerton
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use New Zealand English Template:Infobox New Zealand suburbs Template:Adjacent place
The suburb of Plimmerton lies in the northwest part of the city of Porirua in New Zealand, adjacent to some of the city's more congenial beaches. State Highway 59 and the North Island Main Trunk railway line pass just east of the main shopping and residential area.
Plimmerton has its modern origins as a late 19th century seaside resort. It is named after John Plimmer, an English settler and entrepreneur who, through the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, helped to fund and direct construction of the railway line. The estimated population is Template:NZ population data 2023 SA2 as of Template:NZ population data 2023 SA2
HistoryEdit
The area was first settled by the Māori people early in their occupation of New Zealand. Ngāi Tara and then Ngāti Ira settled south of Kāpiti, and a number of other tribes may have lived in the area including Muaūpoko, Ngāti Apa, Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Hotu.<ref name=colourful>Template:Cite book</ref>
Ngāti Toa people took control of the Porirua coast in the 1820s.<ref>Chris Maclean. 'Wellington places - Mana – Paremata to Pukerua Bay', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 22-Aug-12, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/wellington-places/14</ref> In the 1840s the area where Plimmerton is situated was the home of Te Rauparaha, who had his main residence at Taupō pā. Te Rauparaha was captured by 200 British troops and police on 23 July 1846 near the southern end of Motuhara Road. A tiny historic reserve contains a cabbage tree that may be descended from the one he was said to have been captured near, and a plaque. In 1847, most of Ngāti Toa’s land in Porirua was sold to the Crown for the New Zealand Company by a group of eight chiefs, and Taupō was retained as part of a Māori reserve (one of three) that extended from Paremata to Paekākāriki.<ref name=ngatitoadeed>“Deed of Settlement between Ngāti Toa Rangatira and Toa Rangatira Trust and the Crown”, December 2012, https://www.ngatitoa.iwi.nz/sitecontent/images/Folders/General/Ngati-Toa-Rangatira-and-Toa-Rangatira-Trust-and-The-Crow.pdf</ref> However, the following year Te Rauparaha was released and retired to Ōtaki; by 1850 Taupō pā was deserted.<ref name=pcchistory>Porirua City Council, "History of Plimmerton", https://www.webcitation.org/6UGPOiulc?url=http://www.pcc.govt.nz/About-Porirua/Porirua-s-heritage/Porirua-s-suburbs/Plimmerton-and-Camborne/History-of-Plimmerton</ref><ref name=painporirua>Pat Stodart, “Pā in Porirua: social settlements”, Tuhinga 26: 1–19, https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/sites/default/files/tuhinga.26.2015.pt1_.p1-19.stodart.lowres.pdf</ref>
The area continued to be referred to as Taupō, after the pā, and was leased by Ngāti Toa for farming by European settlers over the following decades. These included William Cooper, Canington (possible Carrington), and then Levi Tandy (from 1859).<ref name=colourful /> James Walker farmed from Paremata to Plimmerton beginning in 1875.<ref name=pcchistoryparemata>Porirua City Council, "The history of Paremata, Papakowhai and Mana", https://www.webcitation.org/6UGPXZ0sk?url=http://www.pcc.govt.nz/About-Porirua/Porirua-s-heritage/Porirua-s-suburbs/Paremata--Papakowhai-and-Mana/History-of-Paremata--Papakowhai-and-Mana</ref>
In the late 19th Century Ngāti Toa’s land holdings around Taupō began to rapidly decline as land was by converted to individual title by the Native Land Court and then sold, transferred to the Public Trustee or taken for public works and reserves.<ref name=ngatitoadeed />
When the Horokiwi Valley Road was opened fewer travellers followed the Taua Tapu track through Taupō to Pukerua Bay. So Pāuatahanui grew at the expense of Taupō until the railway line was opened in 1885.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In the 1880s the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company decided to build a railway link from the capital, Wellington, to Longburn, near Palmerston North. Several towns, including Plimmerton, were established along the way to encourage settlements that would contribute to the line's business. John Plimmer, after whom Plimmerton was named, was a director of the company.
_Track,_Plimmerton_(17210987220).jpg){kind=link}
In 1885 the first excursion train journeyed from Wellington to Plimmerton on 3 September, and regular services began from 10 October. With the railway's arrival, Plimmerton became accessible to holidaymakers, and evolved into a seaside resort. Plimmerton House, a two-storied hotel, was built alongside the railway station in 1886 (and burnt down in 1907). Sections began to be sold in 1888 and by the late 1890s Plimmerton had become a popular holiday destination. In 1900 Plimmerton consisted of 30 summer cottages, two private hotels and one general store.<ref name=colourful />
Plimmerton was originally part of Hutt County. On 1 April 1973 the still-growing area became one of the northern suburbs of Porirua. Though small, it was one of the most lively. For a time it had the only active Residents' Association in the city.
The main state highway route through Plimmerton, previously part of Template:NZSH, was renumbered SH 59 on 7 December 2021 due to SH 1 being shifted to the Transmission Gully Motorway.<ref name="State Highway 59 switch confirmed for December">Template:Cite press release</ref>
Official nameEdit
The name Plimmerton was used in promoting the railway<ref>Falkner, A., The Wellington & Manawatu Railway Co. Ltd., "Map of country between Wellington and Manawatu District opened up by railway, shewing townships & land to be sold by Company". August 1885. Ref: MapColl-r832.4gme/1885/Acc.2705. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/23065176</ref> and advertising of sections for sale from the mid-1880s.<ref name=colourful />
Plimmerton was gazetted as an official geographic name on 3 November 2011. The suburb amalgamated the previous recorded suburb names of Plimmerton and Karehana Bay.<ref>Land Information New Zealand, "Plimmerton", https://web.archive.org/web/20140830133319/http://www.linz.govt.nz/placenames/consultation-decisions/a-to-z/plimmerton</ref> It excludes the largely Māori (Ngāti Toa) settlement of Hongoeka to the west, which was gazetted on 16 December 2010.<ref>Land Information New Zealand, "Hongoeka", https://web.archive.org/web/20130222120257/http://www.linz.govt.nz/placenames/consultation-decisions/a-to-z/hongoeka</ref>
Demographics and census informationEdit
The Plimmerton statistical area covers Template:Convert,<ref name="Area">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and includes Hongoeka. It had an estimated population of Template:NZ population data 2023 SA2 as of Template:NZ population data 2023 SA2 with a population density of Template:Decimals people per km2.
Template:Historical populations Plimmerton had a population of 2,142 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 27 people (1.3%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 90 people (4.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 840 households, comprising 1,062 males and 1,080 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.98 males per female. The median age was 44.0 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 399 people (18.6%) aged under 15 years, 339 (15.8%) aged 15 to 29, 1,026 (47.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 378 (17.6%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 90.2% European/Pākehā, 13.4% Māori, 3.1% Pasifika, 3.2% Asian, and 2.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 23.0, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 58.5% had no religion, 32.6% were Christian, 0.3% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.3% were Hindu, 0.6% were Muslim, 0.4% were Buddhist and 2.0% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 687 (39.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 150 (8.6%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $47,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. 582 people (33.4%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 969 (55.6%) people were employed full-time, 252 (14.5%) were part-time, and 42 (2.4%) were unemployed.<ref name="Census 2018">Template:NZ census 2018</ref>
LocalitiesEdit
State Highway 59, here named St Andrews Road, passes through Plimmerton, as does the North Island Main Trunk railway line
A shopping area about two blocks long adjoins Plimmerton Railway Station on Steyne Avenue and includes a church, a medical centre, Plunket rooms, a craft shop, a beauty salon, real estate agents, a grocery store and several eateries.
To the north alongside the railway line is Plimmerton Domain, comprising 3 football fields, home to the Mana Archery Club, Wellington 29th Boys' Brigade and the Mana Arts Society.<ref>Porirua City Council, Public sports grounds, http://www.pcc.govt.nz/Leisure/Sports-Grounds</ref> Beyond is the Plimmerton Industrial Estate, which includes numerous businesses, the Plimmerton Croquet Club, and a storage facility for the New Zealand Film Archive.<ref>stuff.co.nz, "Climate controlled haven for NZ's film treasures, http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/4829409/Climate-controlled-haven-for-NZs-film-treasures</ref>
The Mainline Steam railway preservation group have their extensive restoration facilities located behind Plimmerton Railway Station.
North of the industrial area is the Taupō Swamp, a flax swamp, one of the largest of its type in the southern half of the North Island. Taupō Stream passes south through the swamp, along the east edge of Plimmerton Domain, between Steyne Avenue and St Andrews Road, and then flows into the sea at the north end of South Beach.
Plimmerton Library, which was part of Porirua City Council's library system, closed on 27 July 2012.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref> It opened in the late 1940s and operated from a single-room building near the school from November 1951 until December 2007.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It then shifted to the Plimmerton Pavilion, opposite the Plimmerton Volunteer Fire Brigade building, until its closure.
South-west of the shopping area is Plimmerton Beach, a fairly sheltered, gently graded beach, which has been a popular recreation area for over a century. It is popular with windsurfers; some world champions have trained there. At the southern end is South Beach. Recreational water quality at Plimmerton Beach is rated "fair" by the Greater Wellington Regional Council; water quality at South Beach is rated "poor", however, due to periodic faecal contamination.<ref>Greater Wellington Regional Council, Air, land and water in the Wellington region – state and trends: Porirua Harbour sub-region, http://www.gw.govt.nz/assets/Our-Environment/Environmental-monitoring/Environmental-Reporting/Porirua-Harbour-low-res.pdf</ref> This contamination may originate from Taupō Swamp (via Taupō Stream), which often supports a large waterfowl population.<ref>Greenfield, S, et al. Recreational water quality in the Wellington Region: State and trends, https://www.webcitation.org/6UGS5W8ro?url=http://www.gw.govt.nz/assets/Our-Environment/Environmental-monitoring/Environmental-Reporting/Recreational-Water-Quality-SoE-report.pdf</ref>
Another popular beach is Karehana Bay, at the foot of the Airlie Road/Cluny Road valley about 1.5 kilometres north-west of the shops. Poet Denis Glover mentioned the settlement in his poem Threnody: "In Plimmerton, in Plimmerton, the little penguins play, and one dead albatross was found at Karehana Bay".<ref>Glover, Denis,'Threnody', in Hogan, Helen M, Nowhere Far From The Sea, Whitcombe & Tombs Ltd, Christchurch, 1971</ref>
EducationEdit
Plimmerton School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students,<ref name="official2960">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="ero2960">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with a roll of Template:NZ school roll data as of Template:NZ school roll data.<ref name="moe2960">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
St Theresa's School is a co-educational state-integrated Catholic primary school for Year 1 to 6 students,<ref name="official3025">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="ero3025">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with a roll of Template:NZ school roll data.<ref name="moe3025">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Plimmerton also has a kindergarten.
Notable peopleEdit
- Andrea Sanders, founder of musical group The Beatgirls<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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ReferencesEdit
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