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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Auckland Provincial District]

Paparata

Paparata.

Paparata is a fertile valley traversed by a road, which starts from the Great South Road at Bombay, and extends for several miles through the district. A very few years ago the entire valley was a dense bush, but it has been taken up by enterprising settlers who are working the land chiefly as dairy farmers, and some idea of the extent of the settlement may be gathered from the fact that there are forty-six suppliers of milk to the local creamery. Paparata is a forty-three miles south of Auckland, and a coach runs from the valley to the Drury railway station. The valley is in the county of Manukau, and is part of the Paparata road district.

The Paparata Road District is bounded on the north by the Opaheke road district, on the west by the Maungatawhiri road district, and on the south by the Pokeno district; the eastern boundary is the crown of a range of hills. For the year 1900 the value of the total ratable property of the district was £37,932. Members of the Board for 1900: Mr G. Balme, chairman and treasurer; Messrs W. Mattimore, P. Reynolds, J. Sturgeon, H. J. Flay; with Mr. W. Caie as clerk and collector.

Mr. George Balme, Chairman of the Paparata Road Board, of which he has been a member for many years, was born in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, in 1853. He arrived in Auckland by the ship “Warwick,” in 1873, and settled in Bombay. After carrying on business for some years, he purchased a farm of forty-eight acres at Paparata in 1882. This property has been fully improved, and is worked as a dairy farm.

Mr. William Caie, Clerk and Collector to the Paparata Road Board, was born in Kincardineshire, Scotland, in 1839. In 1865 he came out with the Bombay settlers in the ship of that name, and has since been a resident in the district. Mr. Caie was appointed to his present position in March, 1887.

Paparata Post Office is situated on the main road near the public school, at the house of Mr. S. Lindsey, who has acted as postmaster since 1898. The post office was opened in 1892, and there is a weekly mail every Saturday.

Paparata Public School stands on an eminence near the main road through the valley. It was established in 1870, and is a wooden building with a shingle roof, one class room and a porch. There is accommodation for sixty pupils, that number is on the school roll, and the average attendance is forty-eight. Mr. G. A. Worsley, who has page 699 been in charge of the school since 1889, holds a D2 certificate.

The Paparata Wesleyan Church was erected in 1890, and has accommodation for 100 persons. The resident minister at Pukekohe is in charge.

The Paparata Creamery (William Vant, manager), the property of the New Zealand Dairy Association, was erected in 1892. The building is of wood and iron, with a solid concrete floor. A six horse-power Tangye engine is used to work the machinery, which consists of two Alpha-Laval All separators, which are capable of treating 400 gallons of milk per hour. There are forty-six suppliers in the locality, and over 1200 gallons of milk are treated daily, the average for the entire season being about 6000 gallons per week. The manager arranges the work of this creamery so as to ensure the Sunday's rest, and he has proved that, by working late on Saturday evening, no inconvenience arises to either the suppliers or the company.

Mr. William Vant, Manager of the Paparata Creamery, was born in Kent, England, in 1870. He came with his parents to Auckland in 1874 in the ship “Alumbagh,” and was educated at Ngaruawahia, where he became a wheelwright by trade. After working at his trade for a number of years, he joined the staff of the Dairy Association in 1892, and became manager of the Puni Creamery in the same year. Mr. Vant was manager of the creamery at Pokeno from 1893 to 1900, and was then stationed at the Paparata creamery. He was married, in 1896, to a daughter of Mr. Robert Craig, late of Pokeno, and has two sons.

Mr. W. Vant.

Mr. W. Vant.

Patridge, William, Farmer, Paparata. Mr. Partridge was born in Devonshire, England, in 1845, and was brought up to a country life. When he was twenty years of age he arrived in New Zealand by the ship “Bombay,” and received a ten-acre grant, as an original settler in the Bombay district. Subsequently he purchased 116 acres of virgin bush in the Paparata Valley. This property has all been brought into cultivation, and is worked as a dairy farm. Mr. Partridge has for a number of years served on the local school committee. During the time of the Maori troubles he served in the Razorback volunteers, and afterwards in the Drury Light Horse, and was one of the expedition which went to the Waikato to intercept Te Kooti. Mr. Partridge was married, in 1876, to a daughter of the late Mr. Thomas Gee, of Paparata, and has four sons and one daughter.

Hanna, photo.Mr. and Mrs W. Partridge.

Hanna, photo.
Mr. and Mrs W. Partridge.

Sturgeon, John, Farmer, Paparata Valley, was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was brought up as a miner, and having arrived in New Zealand in 1865 by the ship “Bombay,” became one of the original settlers in the district of that name, and received a ten-acre grant. In 1883 Mr. Sturgeon purchased 113 acres in Paparata Valley, then a dense bush. About eighty acres of this property have been cleared and brought into cultivation. During the Maori disturbances, Mr. Sturgeon, served as a volunteer in the Razorback Rangers, and afterwards in the Drury Light Horse. During the Te Kooti scare he was one of the party who went up the Waikato. In 1874 Mr. Sturgeon won the Drury Light Horse Belt for shooting, and has been a member of the Paparata Road Board since 1898. He was married, in 1893, to a daughter of the late Mr. C. Waugh, of Paparata, and has two sons and three daughters.

Mr. and Mrs J. Sturgeon and Children.

Mr. and Mrs J. Sturgeon and Children.

Mr. Christopher Waugh, Old Colonist, who died in 1895, was one of the original party of settlers, who came out in the ship “Bombay,” in 1865. He was born at Penrith, Cornwall, England, in 1839, and was brought up as a coal miner. On his arrival in New Zealand, he secured a ten-acre grant in the Bombay district, and bought seventy-one acres near the school in Paparata in 1873. This property was all brought into cultivation during Mr. Waugh's lifetime. He took considerable interest in educational matters, and served for some time on the local school committee. Mr. Waugh was married, in 1862, to a daughter of Mr. Walton Smith, sometime of Cambridge, and left four sons and four daughters.

The late Mr. C. Waugh, with Mrs. Waugh and Grandchild.

The late Mr. C. Waugh, with Mrs. Waugh and Grandchild.