Patea

Patea is the second-largest town in South Taranaki, New Zealand. It is located on the western bank of the Patea River, 61 kilometres north-west of Wanganui on State Highway 3. Hawera is 27 km to the northwest, and Waverley is 17 km to the east. The Patea River flows past the town to the northeast and into the South Taranaki Bight. The population was 1143 in the 2006 Census, a decrease of 146 from 2001.

History: The European town called Patea, originally named Carlyle, was situated closer to the river mouth than is the main part of the present town. During the New Zealand land wars Patea was an important military settlement. General Cameron’s force arrived at the mouth of the Patea River on 15 January 1865 and constructed redoubts on both sides of the river.

With the eventual end of hostilities, Patea grew into a market town. The first of the sections on the present town site were sold in 1870. A local shipping company was established in 1872, and harbour improvements begun. The Marton-New Plymouth railway line via Patea was completed in March 1885. The Carlyle Town Board, created about 1877 to administer town affairs, was succeeded by a borough council constituted on 13 October 1881 under the earlier locality name of Patea.

The town came to national attention in 1982 for the closure of the main employer, the Patea Freezing Works. Patea was also catapulted to fame in 1982 as the home of singer Dalvanius Prime and the Patea Māori Club. Their single, Poi E, was an early indicator of renewed impetus in contemporary Māori popular music.

The Freezing Works: In the early 1880s the predecessor to the Patea Freezing Works was established on the eastern bank of the Patea River. Cool stores for handling dairy produce followed in 1901 with later additions evolving into what became known as the Patea Freezing Co-Op and South Taranaki’s primary employer.

Strategic reforms implemented the closing of the processing plant, inefficiencies and nationwide over processing lead to its demise when finally – after 100 years of operation in September of 1982 – the Patea freezing Works finally closed her doors leaving a once thriving township bereft of staple employment. In February 2008 – the old site suffered massive and extensive fires.

The current town: Patea has retained a strong community focus and enjoys many services. This includes a well resourced Medical Centre, public swimming pool and trust-owned Rest Home. Patea LibraryPlus is open 5 days a week, offering Council services as well as full library facilities. Opening hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 8.30-5 and Tuesday 9.30-5.

A few miles east of Patea is the small community of Whenuakura where New Zealand golfer Michael Campbell lived as a child. He learned to play golf at the Patea Golf Club which sits on the cliffs overlooking the Tasman Sea. He crowned his professional career by winning the US Open in June 2005, and three months later, the HSBC World Match Play Championship which carries the richest prize in golf, £1,000,000.

Education: Patea Area School is a composite (years 1-15) school with a roll of 170. Until 2005, the school was Patea High School. It became an area school when Patea Primary School closed. The primary school was founded in 1875.

St Joseph’s School is a state integrated Catholic contributing primary (years 1-6) school with a roll of 34. The school was established in January 1904. Both schools are coeducational, and have a decile rating of 1.

Further reading: general historical works
Central and South Taranaki centennial souvenir, Hawera, [N.Z.]: Hawera Star, 1940 
Patea Borough centennial, 1881-1981: 100., Patea, [N.Z.]: Patea Mail, 1981 
Patea County, Wellington, [N.Z.]: New Zealand Historic Places Trust, 1982 
Pioneer days: some interesting reminiscences, Patea, [N.Z.]: Patea and Waverley Press, 1929 
The wonder book of Taranaki : containing photographic reproductions of a selection of Taranaki’s scenic beauties; illustrations and descriptions of the principal towns, New Plymouth, Hawera, Stratford, Eltham, Inglewood, Waitara, Patea, and Opunake; descriptive articles on Taranaki’s splendid motor highways, overseas shipping facilities of the province, features of the dairy industry, fertilizer works in Taranaki, educational advantages, hydro-electric power, forestry enterprise, etc., etc., New Plymouth, [N.Z.]: Thomas Avery & Sons Ltd., 1927 
Austin, L.W. (1931), Borough of Patea, 1881-1931: souvenir programme, including a short story of the town, Patea, [N.Z.]: Patea Jubilee Celebration Executive 
Fryer, Arthur (n.d.), A little bit of history: articles by Arthur Fryer, Hawera, [N.Z.]: The Post 
Leslie, Margaret; Baker, Livingston & Church, Ian (eds.) (1981), Patea: a centennial history, Palmerston North, [N.Z.]: Dunmore Press [for] Patea Borough Council, ISBN 0-908-56474-0 
Nolan, Iris (1956), Patea – Taranaki, New Zealand, 1881-1956: Patea Borough 75th jubilee: official souvenir, Patea, [N.Z.] ; Hawera [N.Z.]: Patea Borough Council ; Hawera Star 
Roberts, Cyril J. (ed.) (1937), Official history of the County of Patea: compiled from County and official records and from personal experiences of pioneer families in the district, Patea, [N.Z.] ; Hawera, [N.Z.]: Published by the authority of the Patea County Council ; Hawera Star 
Thomson, Keith W. (ed.) (1976), The legacy of Turi: an historical geography of Patea County, Palmerston North, [N.Z.]: Dunmore Press, ISBN 0-908-56425-2

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