Petone

A DigitalNZ Story by DigitalNZ

Petone is a suburb in Lower Hutt with a rich history.

Te Puni and Te Wharepouri

150 years ago the Hutt Valley and Petone were covered in dense bush. At the eastern end of the beach, the river Te Awakairangi ran into the harbour, alongside Hikoikoi pā. At the other end of the beach was Pito-one pā and an older pā, Tatau-o-te-po.

When the New Zealand Company settlers arrived on the shores of Pito-one in 1840 they were greeted by the two principle rangatira of Te Āti Awa, Honiana Te Puni and Te Wharepouri.

Barraud, Charles Decimus, 1822-1897 :[Te Puni seated in a whare in Pito-one Pa] N. Z. 1860

Alexander Turnbull Library

Pearse, John, 1808-1882 :Nga Hauranga. Residence of the Chief E'Tako. [Between 1852 and 1856]

Alexander Turnbull Library

Court House of the First Settlement of New Zealand at Pito-one, 1839

Hutt City Libraries

Portrait of Honiana Te Puni [picture].

National Library of Australia

Hon. Wi Tako Ngatata M.L.C., Chief of the Ngatiawa tribe in Taranaki N.Z.

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

New Zealand Company plan of the Town of Wellington, Port Nicholson, 1840

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

‘Port Nicholson from the hills above Pitone in 1840’

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Birdseye view of Port Nicholson, in New Zealand, shewing the site of the town of Wellington, the river and valley of the Hutt and adjacent country.

Birdseye view of Port Nicholson, in New Zealand, shewing the site of the town of Wellington, the river and valley of the Hutt and adjacent country.

University of Otago

Letter from Wi Tako to George Grey

Alexander Turnbull Library

Letter from Wiremu Tako Ngatata to McLean

Alexander Turnbull Library

Letter from Te Honiana Puni to McLean and George Grey (with translation)

Alexander Turnbull Library

He Whare Puni, A House

Victoria University of Wellington

Te Puni's Pa, Pito-one, showing Colonel Wakefield's Quarters and the Chapel.

Hutt City Libraries

The Tory and the Cuba

The "Tory" and "Cuba" in Cook Strait, 1840.

Hutt City Libraries

Fig. 10—Wharepouri, Cousin to Te Puni. The Ship Tory in the Offing. Figs. 9 and 10 are reproductions of photos by Mr. Hapi Love, Junior, from the O...

Victoria University of Wellington

Te Puni's New Pa (Te Tatau-o-te-po) behind the Pito-one Pa

Hutt City Libraries

Stamp of NZ Company settlers arriving in Pito-one (Petone), 1840

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Newspaper

SUBMISSION OF WI TAKO. (Otago Witness, 09 July 1864)

National Library of New Zealand

Image: A Settler's House, Pito-one Flat, near the Korokoro stream and mill, and near the scene of the boat accident of 1840(Sketch by William Swainson, Esq., F.R.S.)(By courtesy Mr. J. W. Marshall)

A Settler's House, Pito-one Flat, near the Korokoro stream and mill, and near the scene of the boat accident of 1840(Sketch by William Swainson, Es...

Hutt City Libraries

Dr. Featherston and the Maori Chiefs, Wi Tako and Te Puni

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Petone foreshore

Alexander Turnbull Library

Petone beach

Alexander Turnbull Library

Overlooking Petone

Alexander Turnbull Library

Railway workshops

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Petone was home to large railway workshops where many trains for the Wellington region were built.

Railway Workshops, Petone, Wellington

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Petone Railway Station

Alexander Turnbull Library

Railway Workshops - Petone

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Petone Railway Station

Alexander Turnbull Library

Petone Railway Station

Alexander Turnbull Library

Petone Railway Station

Alexander Turnbull Library

Railway station, Petone, Wellington

Alexander Turnbull Library

Petone Jubilee.

Hutt City Libraries

Petone cemetery, New Zealand, with the tombstone of Wiremu Tako Ngatata

Alexander Turnbull Library

State housing

There have been several state housing projects in Petone. One of the most famous of these were the state houses on Patrick Street, many of which still stand today. These were built under Richard Seddon's government, but were too expensive and far away from transport and work places to prove successful.