Mr William (Bill) Paterson recalls his memories of Ngaruawahia.
Mr Paterson was born in Ponsonby, Auckland, in 1874. He tells of his parents’ travel to Ngaruawahia just after he was born. He says Ngaruawahia has always been a very busy spot because it sits at the junction of the Waikato and Waipa Rivers, and it is a place of importance for Māori also. He recalls a large Māori hui with King Tawhiao and government officials, including Sir George Grey.
Early Ngaruawahia had timber and flour mills, a large butter factory, a lot of farming, and brickworks. Mr Paterson speaks about bridges and transport, then recalls the opening of the railway in 1876, and the old Waipa Hotel. He speaks further about the layout and street names of the town, the gun turret, and the racecourse. He then recounts a tale of a murder in the jail - an old man was killed by a Māori boy, who was later sentenced to death. There is brief mention of King Tawhio’s tangi at Taupiri.
Mr Paterson recalls regattas at Ngaruawahia, with haka, and large war canoes competing against each other. Māori would travel from far away for the regatta, and treated it as a holiday or gala time. He expresses hope that the Māori language won’t be lost. He then speaks about his work, mostly farming. His father sold the family’s original farm to Te Puea Herangi, princess of the Māori.
He speaks about the first big flood in 1876, during the building of the first railway bridge. A second large flood followed, but did little damage to Ngaruawahia. He then speaks about the name of the town, which was sometimes also called Newcastle. Mr Paterson prefers the name Ngaruawahia though, which he says could mean “open the kumara pits” (originally in celebration of a chieftain’s marriage). He also speculates about the name possibly meaning “split stick” - regarding the splitting of the rivers where Ngaruawahia is located. Following this (in part 5) Mr Patterson again briefly speaks about the layout of the town, and states that it is the birthplace of the cricketer Mr M. P. Donnelly.
Mr Paterson’s father was involved with the transport of the gun turret to Ngaruawahia. Two gun turrets were on the boat the “Pioneer”, on the river during the war. After the war, the turrets were unloaded at Mercer. One was brought to Ngaruawahia, the other remained at Mercer.