Tawa Historical Society Incorporated
The Tawa Historian
INFO SHEET #1 – 27 November 2001
For those thirty people who attended the launching of the Tawa Historical Society at Tawa Borough Council Chambers (presently the home of the Tawa Town Board within the City of Wellington) on 22 November 2001, that in itself was an historical event. With the adoption of the “Rules of the Society” at this public meeting, an initiative early in the year, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Tawa, lead to this first step on what should be an interesting continuing road.
Already much thought has been given by the steering committee to the various projects which the society can carry forward into the future. Some of the main activities could be:-
- Identifying significant heritage building and ensuring their recognition by the City of Wellington and the N.Z. Historic Places Trust.
- Acquiring a suitable structure as a Museum in Tawa, perhaps the old School Cottage in Oxford Street.
- Collecting historical material for eventual physical display and oral history to combine for electronic presentation as historic educational resources, some of this may be about the Tawa history of:
- the old Porirua Road through Tawa and marking this heritage trail.
- pioneer timber felling and farming.
- Schools in Tawa and Takapu Road.
- Local Government.
- Tawa Cemetery.
- Railway.
- Motorway.
- Service Clubs: Rotary, Lions, Scouts and others.
These and other subjects will be considered and a priority of action developed by the Societies Management Committee which is to meet for the first time on 10 December 2001.
Certainly, the Society would expect to produce a periodical bulletin soon and perhaps an early start can be made to form a Heritage Trail through Tawa.
Certainly for effective progress to be made a sizable membership would assist as would donations from appropriate sources and this will be explored by the Executive Committee. As an incentive to join the Tawa Historical Society those applying for membership up to 30 June 2002 will be recognized as Foundation Members and for part of the Societies historical record.
For the record the Mayor of Wellington: Kerry Prendergast graciously agreed to be Patron of the Society and the following were elected officers and committee members:-
Chairperson: Philip Harland
Deputy: Murray Darroch
Secretary: Gaylene Lines
Treasurer: Allan Todd
Committee: Brian Abel, Susan Butterworth, Pamela Edmonds, Chris Gaunt, Elizabeth Sutton, Bruce Murray
Auditor: Peter Chisholm.
Thanks to all who have helped create the Tawa Historical Society and those already members. Special thank are given to City Councillors: Robert Armstrong and Ngaire Best, also Brian Blacktop for his legal advise and Susan Butterworth for her work as Secretary of the steering committee.
FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO HELP THE WORK OF THE SOCIETY PLEASE SEND YOUR APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP $25 TO TAWA HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC., 94 Larsen Crescent, Tawa.
From the desk of the Chairperson
Philip Harland