History

Paeroa History

Maori History
Early Settlers
Mining History
Karangahake Legends
The Lemon and Paeroa Story
The history of Lemon and Paeroa
The L and P bottle
The ANZAC Lone Pine of Gallipoli

Maori History

Paeroa (a low hill) featured prominently in the early Maori settlement of Hauraki, with the large Raupo Pa, on the junction of the Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers, 3km west of the town, being inhabited from around 1300. To the west of the pa site there was the 32,400ha Kopuatahi swamp land which was rich in food and resources. Today, while many hectares around the periphery have been developed into very productive farm land, there are some 8500ha set aside as an ecological reserve. It also the watershed between the two catchments of the Waihou and Piako river systems in the Thames Valley.

Paeroa was on the main route from Hauraki and points north to the Bay of Plenty. Travellers went by canoes using the Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers to reach Paeroa. From here they tramped through the Karangahake Gorge, across the Waihi Plains to Athenree, at the northern end of the Tauranga Harbour, and continued on their journey by canoe.

Stories from each Iwi or Hapu

Early Settlers

Captain Cook, in November, 1769, sailed up the Waihou River to Netherton, 7kms north of Paeroa, and reported huge Kaihikitea trees along the banks. He named the river The Thames, as it resembled the River Thames in his homeland.
In 1820 Rev Samual Marsden used the route, staying at the Raupo pa for some four days, and conducting the first Christian service in the district on Sunday, November 20. Bishop Selwyn travelled the same route in 1843 and Sir George Grey, was another notable to traveller along this well-worn track in 1849-50.
The first white settler to arrive in the district was Joshua Thorp, in 1842. He, with his family, came from Colville seeking fertile farming land. He purchased an area from the Ngati Tamatera Paramount Chief Tararia, and established his home close to where the Historic Maritime Park is today, 3kms north of Paeroa on SH2.

With the goldfields developing at a fast rate so did Paeroa into a bustling river port to service a demanding industry. Through the 1880s the town expanded steadily from its early business centre between Willoughby Street and the Ohinemuri River and Victoria and Arney Streets. As the town developed in the 1880s a small hill through what is now the centre of Paeroa, was excavated to enable the main street to be extended on almost the same level.

All the mining companies’ requirements such as heavy machinery, coal, provisions for increasing staff numbers, were hauled by horses and wagons to Karangahake, Waitekauri and Waihi. Teams of 20 horses each were regularly used to pulling 20-ton loads while over a 100 tons of coal per day were hauled by eight and ten horse-teams and wagons to the processing batteries. On any one day there could be an estimated 400 horses on the road between Paeroa and Waihi. All this traffic went along Paeroa’s main street.

Wharves were first at Arney Street and Wharf Street, but as the river filled with mining debris, the main wharf was established at The Junction (Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers), 3kms west of Paeroa and connected to the town centre by tramway along Junction Road. By the early 1900s, this wharf could not reached by the steamers and they stopped at The Puke wharf (Historic Maritime Park). Finally with the continued silting and river stopbank works, in 1914, the Ngahina Wharf was built on the Waihou River, below the present SH2 bridge.

With the main trunk railway line (Auckland-Wellington) being pushed ahead in the 1880-90s, a railway route was surveyed from Hamilton to Thames. By 1895 this link was completed between Hamilton and Paeroa. Although the Thames-Paeroa section was started almost 20 years previously, politics and local Maori opposition did not allow the link with Paeroa to be achieved until 1897.

By 1905 the railway line had been constructed through the Karangahake Gorge to Waihi and this spelt the end to horse-drawn traffic and also had an effect on river shipping. The coming of the motor vehicle from around 1914 and particularly after the First World War (1914-18) saw the boat traffic gradually decline, ceasing in the late 1930s.

Road transport continued to develop with one the very early (c 1880) horse transport firms, Brenan and Co, changing with the times and by the 1950s turned Paeroa into a large road transport centre with a fleet of around 150 vehicles. The railway station, by now, had become one of the largest junctions in New Zealand.

Economic trends saw the railway closed in 1970s with the opening of the Kaimai tunnel and road transport diminished after a series of company amalgamations around 1990.

As the mining enterprises wound down, the slowly developing farming industry gathered pace. The first creamery was built in Thames Road in 1899, then came a butter factory in 1901 (where Agrisea and Buchanan Joinery are today), with other butter and cheese factories in the district at Netherton and Hikutaia.
Paeroa met the new challenge: A service centre to meet the demands of a flourishing farming industry.

By the 1960s Paeroa had its butter factory and a modern milk-powder producing factory, and at Kerepehi 13kms away, was one of the largest milk-powder factories in the Southern Hemisphere. These were working at capacity to process the milk production from some of richest dairying farms in New Zealand. But again through the 1980s with changing economic times and company mergers within the industry taking place all these factories were closed.

On the local government scene, Paeroa’s infancy was spent under the wing of the Thames County Council. In 1885 pressure from the developing Paeroa and Waihi districts saw the Ohinemuri County Council established and take control of the area, which then included Netherton, Kerepehi, Kaihere and Waitoa. These areas were taken over by the Hauraki Plains and Piako Counties when they came into being just after the First World War.

While the Waihi Borough Council came into being in 1902, the Paeroa Borough Council was finally approved in 1915. From that point the borough council took positive steps to develop the town with the main focus being on roads, water and sewerage, along with finishing off the flood protection scheme. In 1989, the two boroughs, Paeroa and Waihi joined the counties of Ohinemuri and Hauraki Plains to constitute the Hauraki District Council.

One of greatest assets of the town is the Domain, one block from the main street. Set aside as a reserve in 1892, the Domain, which includes Tuikairangi or Primrose Hill, has been developed from 1904. Lawn bowling, tennis, croquet, rugby and hockey were the early sports to use the domain. Some of the early planted trees are still growing and are a rarity in New Zealand. The domain now provides recreation facilities for several sports, cultural and community events.

Mining History

When gold was discovered in the district in the late 1860s, Paeroa soon became a hive of activity with miners and mining companies looking to stake their claims. Paeroa quickly became their base and a commercial infrastructure sprung up to meet their increasing demands.

By March 3, 1875, agreement was reached with local Maori land owners for access, and Ohinemuri gold fields were declared opened. Over the preceding days several steamers, came up the Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers bringing hundreds of miners from Thames and Auckland to seek their fortune. But alas, they found the gold locked in hard quartz rock, which required specialised treatment and a large amount of funding to establish the processing plants. From over 600 miners on opening day, there were a little over 100 left in three months time.

By the 1890s three major companies were operating in the Karangahake area, 6km east of Paeroa, while further east there was a large mining operation at Waitekauri and three main companies in Waihi. With the gold processing in full swing the Government of the day, in 1895, passed legislation by an Act of Parliament to allow the companies to dump the debris from their operations into the Ohinemuri River—it was declared a sludge channel. The fine talcum-like residue deposited, some containing cyanide, soon killed all river life turning the river’s pristine waters into a dirty grey-colour. This continued until 1954, a year after the last processing plant, at Waikino, closed.

Karangahake Legends:

The legend of Ohinemuri – According to Maori folklore, a small pa near the area known now as Turner’s Hill , was occupied by a sub-tribe. The pa was attacked by a marauding tribe, making all the inhabitants flee except the chief’s daughter, who was away gathering food. On her return she found tht the pa was occupied and she didn’t know where to hide. A taniwha who in a deep cave at the top of the hill took pity on her and after guiding her into the cave, blocked the entrance with a large rock. There they stayed until her tribe could re-occupy the pa and the chief reclaim his daughter. The river was then named ‘Ohinemuri’, meaning “the maid who was left behind”.

The Lemon and Paeroa Story

(By Graham Watton, Curator and Historian of the Paeroa and District Museum)

The early Maori who arrived in the Ohinemuri area around 1600, the European pioneers who settled here from 1842, and those associated with the development of the goldfields and the township of Paeroa from the early 1870s, quickly recognised the unique mineral waters bubbling from a deep underground spring for its medicinal and thirst quenching qualities.

One early report, around 1905, states:

“The chance discovery of the spring of mineral water in a cow paddock near the confluence of the Ohinemuri and Waihou Rivers, known as the Junction, was followed by frequent visits to the hole in the ground from which palatable water could be obtained for the taking. That was long before anyone thought of commercialising the product."

“The writer and his lady friend struck upon the happy idea of taking a lemon or two in their pockets and adding lemon juice to the mineral water anticipating the future use that delectable refreshing drink “Paeroa and Lemon”.

“Paeroa and Lemon was enjoyed by some of the early residents of Paeroa to quench the thirsty and on occasions to relieve a bilious attack”.

A report compiled by a noted Government balneologist A. S. Wohlman, OBE, MD., BS (London) in 1904 stated:

“The Paeroa spring is a large warm effervescing spring of similar nature to the Te Aroha spring, but containing 73 grains of magnesium bicarbonate to the gallon.

“It is good for dyspepsia and pleasant to drink and in older times had the reputation among the goldminers of the district as a Sunday morning drink after a Saturday night “burst”. It can be beneficial for constipation.

The Paeroa spring water as a mild alkaline water with iron salts and was valuable for medicinal purposes and as a table water. He was not sure anyone would go to the expenses of bottling it, especially with the large amount of tea which was drunk in the colony.

“The Paeroa water analysis was: Temperature 80deg. F.; fair effervescence of CO2; pleasant sweetish taste. Magnesium bicarbonate, 73 grains per gallon; sodium bicarbonate, 39.4; calcium bicarbonate, 35.5; ferrous bicarbonate 1.6; total solids 167.8.”

Yet another early recollection about 1906:

“A favourite Sunday walk was to the mineral spring near Junction Wharf. The spring filled a small grassy well, the overflow going into the nearby creek. The usual thing was to have a drink there and take a bottle home. This property was taken over by a Mr Fewell who started bottling the water. This was the beginning of Lemon and Paeroa.”

The history of Lemon and Paeroa.

The famous spring is on a block of land in Junction Road and close to the first major wharf which serviced the early goldfields. The land was first owned, in April, 1887, by James Coote, hotel-keeper and Alexander Hogg, store-keeper, both Paeroa.

In August the same year the property was subdivided and the spring with some 13 acres was transferred to John Logan Campbell, later Sir John Logan Campbell, “the father of Auckland”.

By 1896 timber merchant James McAndrew purchased the property and established a timber sawmill on the Hape Creek, close to the spring.

Over the next 13 years the district residents regularly visited the spring to partake of its waters.

The property passed through several owners until Robert Fewell, in partnership with his brother-in-law Frank Brinkler, took over the sawmill in 1908 and the next year he purchased the property and commenced marketing the mineral water through his company the Paeroa Natural Mineral Water Company, which was incorporated in March, 1910.

This firm built up a large clientele over a wide area including Auckland as it supplied cases of bottled Paeroa mineral water. The firm also consigned barrels of the water to customers in Auckland on the Northern Steamship Company’s river steamers ss Taniwha and ss Waimari.

In 1915 Mr Fewell sold his Paeroa Natural Mineral Water Company’s property and proprietary rights to Grey and Menzies Limited a local and regional aerated water manufacturing company.

This company had been formed by the amalgamation in 1902 of John Grey and Sons, Auckland, with a branch at Coromandel, and Menzies Limited with headquarters in Thames and aerated water factories in Paeroa (Francis Street), Waihi and Te Aroha. Grey and Menzies operated their Paeroa factory until it was closed in 1912.

The new owners in the Paeroa spring issued a statement from their Auckland office in August, 1915, stating:

“Paeroa Mineral Water and Paeroa and Lemon would be continued to be produced. The Paeroa spring water is a first class natural mineral water for table purposes and closely resembles some of the best table water imported. We are therefore confidently recommended its use to the public.”

Grey and Menzies Limited operated a flourishing company and in 1926 built a new factory in Station Road, Paeroa, to produce everyday lines of aerated waters, but not “Paeroa and Lemon” which was distributed from their Auckland factory. The raw water in large barrels was sent by boat to the Auckland factory.

In 1934 the Paeroa and Lemon commenced production in the Paeroa factory. The raw mineral water was taken in barrels and tanker by road transport to the points of manufacture.

Just when the brand name was changed from “Paeroa and Lemon” to “Lemon and Paeroa” is not clear. An advertisement in the local newspaper, the Hauraki Plains Gazette, in 1947 displayed both names.

In 1960 New Zealand Breweries took over the business although it was still operated as Grey and Menzies Limited. Later the Auckland firm, Schweppes Limited took over from New Zealand Breweries and formed a company named Contract Bottlers Limited.

Also in 1960, with the growing popularity of the Lemon and Paeroa product, the spring underwent major re-development work, with the well being lined with 1.3m diameter pipes to a depth of 13m and a new pump-house built.

In an attempt to find the depth of the spring several lengths of 11mm pipe were joined together measuring a total of 100m, but this did not reach the bottom of the spring.

In 1963 C. L. Innes, a long-standing Hamilton aerated mater manufacturer, became involved and the new firm Innes Tartan Limited formed. Demands for the unique drink continued to climb.

Lemon and Paeroa had the distinction of winning the British Bottlers Institute Diploma of Excellence award in 1969. The product was the only entry from outside the British Isles to win such an award.

To keep pace with the demand Innes Tartan brought expansion of the Paeroa factory, with the 50-year-old building given an upgrade in 1970 and a pipeline laid from the well to the factory, a distance of 2kms. New bottling equipment installed and hygienic features added. The total floor space, including a warehouse, added 10 years previously, was now around 1115 sq. metres.

A smaller pipe was laid from the factory to the Railway Reserve where the famous water, after filtration, was available to the public in a small kiosk through an old-style double action hand pump. Unfortunately, vandals continually smashed the cast-iron pump and the reserve kiosk was closed within 18 months.

By now the mineral water was being artificially manufactured in several of the company’s factories in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The product was being exported to Australia and used by airlines and cruise ships. Continual checks were made between the spring water and the artificial product to ensure that both were the same.

Schweppes (New Zealand) Limited, another cordial manufacturer, became associated with Innes Tartan Limited to manufacture Lemon and Paeroa at its New Zealand factories.

With the changing economic climate during the late 1970s and with the trend of the day being amalgamations, Oasis Industries, another Auckland aerated water manufacturer, became involved taking over Innes Tartan and Schweppes.

The Paeroa factory was closed by its new owners in July, 1980, and the whole production unit moved to Auckland. The ownership of the spring remains with the Auckland firm, which in more recent times has been absorbed by the international and American-based company Coca-Cola Amatil.

The L and P Bottle

However, the memories of those proud days of Paeroa and Lemon, or in later years Lemon and Paeroa and then L and P, are kept to the forefront by the large L and P bottle at the eastern entrance to Paeroa on State Highway 2.

This eye-catching structure commenced its life as a replica of a space rocket being the focal point for Paeroa’s 1967 Christmas promotion. It was at the time when men were being sent into outer space and to moon and theme was: “Paeroa was to rocket into Christmas”. It was placed on the triangle area in front of the Post Office.

This 7 metre high 1.3 metre diameter structure was made from six concrete water troughs stacked on top of one another. A fibre-glass “neck” was placed on top housing a public address system from which announcements were made and music played during the promotion. It was painted to depict a space rocket.

After the Christmas festivities it was dismantled and then reassembled as a bottle for the 1968 festivities. This time it painted in Lemon and Paeroa bottle colours. Again the structure became a focal point of the promotion and attracted considerable interest from passersby.

Early in 1969 the bottle dismantled and stored away. After discussions between Innes Tartan and the Paeroa Borough Council a joint-venture saw the bottle, re-erected close to its present site later that year.

This time it was constructed of concrete pipes with considerable timber framework inside to ensure it was withstand the elements. It has had a couple of re-paints to keep up with changing corporate colours.

Since then the “bottle” has become one of the most well-known and photographed structures in New Zealand. It was been reproduced on postage stamps and there must be million of photographs of it around the world.

Towards the end of 2002 the bottle was moved again, some 20 metres back into newly-developed $400,000 Ohinemuri Reserve to enable photographers to get their “snaps” without dodging traffic in the middle of the very busy State Highway 2.

Today, after almost 100 years, the famous spring has gone in a full circle to return to the unique mineral water bubbling out of the ground, into the nearby Hape Creek with a couple of with differences. The unique mineral water now bubbles from a concrete pipe well but locked away from local residents and tourists.