Waitara History Walk, Sunday 19th June 2022

8 keen walkers enjoyed a Waitara History walk today, led by Jan, with Lois and Sharryn pointing out features and telling stories about Waitara in the 1950s and it's more recent history and features.

The walk took us from the Town Bridge, along the river to the mouth talking about Waitaras early history as Taranaki's port, its special significance as the centre of the Taranaki Land Wars over the disputed Peka Peka block, and the changing face of the freezing works. We then walked through tracks along the coastal sand dunes, to find a track on the Southern edge of the town, past the old Subaru factory.

Then Sharryn led us to the highlight of the day, the Community orchard, probably around 2 acres of council land planted out with a great variety of fruit trees.  The citrus trees were laden with fruit, so one or two of us will be making marmalade tonight.

We then followed the railway line back towards town, and cut across to the stop banks on the SH3 side of town to be amazed at the amount of fill brought in to protect the town from devastating floods.  We finished the day with an enjoyable lunch at Tawa Glen.

Jan Flemming