The renovation of Pataka Museum’s storage area in 2017 brought to light two documents that are probably the oldest existing paper records of early Porirua.
In 1856 the village of Pahautanui (now called Pauatahanui) was the only settlement in the Porirua area. Thomas Hollis Stace, who had arrived with his family from Tasmania in 1853, bought a piece of land on the southern edge of the village. He saw that the village lacked a school, church and cemetery; so he donated an acre of his land to help fill these gaps.
The details of this generous gift were set down on two sheets of parchment on 6 December 1856, and it is this 161-year-old Trust Deed that has emerged from the Pataka storeroom.
Join author Richard Shaw as he takes his through his new book, The Unsettled (2024, MUP), which is based on responses he received to an earlier account of his great-grandfather’s […]
Jason Love entering William Jones Park with his young family in support to play his 200th match for Wainuiomata this past Saturday against Petone. Photo: Andy McArthur. By Adam Julian Jason Love (Te Āti Awa/Ngāti Poro) is an unapologetic original. So, when the veteran Wainuiomata rugby player was asked to describe himself, he invented his...