The mail service was an important part of Paekākāriki’s early Pakeha settlement. From the 1850s, the mail coach from Wellington ran through Paekākāriki to Wanganui, mostly along the beach. Paekākāriki was an important staging post for this service, particularly after 1865, with the arrival of Cobb and Co. Captain Anderson ran four coaches and 16 … Read more
William (Bill) Carson opened his chemist in Paekākāriki in the late 1920s or early 1930s and closed it in 1981, after a fall from his bicycle and a broken hip. For some of the 50 plus years the shop remained open, it was possibly the only chemist operating between Plimmerton and Levin. A Plimmerton resident’s … Read more
The first Paekākāriki butcher shop opened somewhere between 1910 and 1915. The shop, at 6 Beach Road, was located next to the building that used to be the Post Office. At first, the shop was housed in two sheds. These may have been relocated to the site or may have been purpose built. This first … Read more
There has been an accommodation house and inn in this area since the 1840s. The first was Scotch Jock’s, as it was known. It was a thatched-roof cottage with a chimney and a lean-to set amongst bush. The wayside inn was run by ex-whaler John Nicol (Scotch Jock) and his wife Kahe Te Rau-o-Te-Rangi (Betty … Read more
The Paekākāriki Hill Road was part of the North Road that started in Wellington and was built partly to assist with the movement of troops after the Hutt Valley War of 1845-6. It went through Johnsonville, Porirua and on to Pāuatahanui, being built in sections and taking several years to finish. Troops building the road … Read more
The Paekākāriki Surf Lifeguards is acknowledged as the 10th oldest and first non‑metropolitan surf lifesaving club in New Zealand. The club celebrated its 100th year of lifeguarding on the Kāpiti coast in 2013. It was originally called the Paekākāriki Railway Surf and Life-Saving Club because most of the male population worked for the Railways. In … Read more
The original house located on Ames Street was built for Charles Tilley, one of Paekākāriki’s early founders. Tilley Road is named after the family. Another of the early pioneers, Stephen Smith, married Emily Webster from Otaki but, sadly, he died at an early age. Emily went on to marry Charles Tilley, a Cobb & Co … Read more
The Ames Street Reserve and Ames Street is named after one of Paekākāriki’s pioneering families. Mariner James Ames was the first of his family to be associated with the Paekākāriki area. He was Master of a schooner which traded between Sydney and the West Coast of New Zealand. He arrived in Kāpiti on the ship … Read more
The Centennial Highway was created through a major upgrading of the route from the Ngauranga Gorge to Paekākāriki. It was so-named because it was finished in 1939 as the country began celebrations for its centennial celebrations. The Centennial Highway still follows parts of its original route, including the coastal road that bypassed the windy and … Read more
The Centennial Highway (State Highway 1), extends from the Ngauranga Gorge through to Paekākāriki. Nowadays the stretch between Pukerua Bay and Paekākāriki is still referred to as the Centennial Highway. It was opened November 4, 1939 by Bob Semple, the Minister of Public Works. The opening coincided with New Zealand’s 1940 centennial year celebrations. Previous … Read more