page_title: Te Puke
section_title: Development
hierarchical_section_title: Te Puke / Development
caption_attribution_description: English: View of the Main Street in Te Puke in 1924. The premises of Alexander &amp; Dowdy, real estate agents, and the Farmers' Union Trading Company are visible centre left. Photographed by Albert Percy Godber. Dated from other images in Godber Album Vol 109.
context_page_description: Te Puke is a town located 28 kilometres southeast of Tauranga in the Western Bay of Plenty of New Zealand. It is particularly famous for the cultivation of kiwifruit. Te Puke has a population of 7,496 as of the 2013 Census.
  Te Puke is close to Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Papamoa, and Maketu, which are all coastal towns/cities, as well as the small townships of Waitangi, Manoeka, Pongakawa, and Paengaroa. The Tauranga Eastern Link, completed in 2015, moved State Highway 2 away from Te Puke and removed large volumes of traffic from its streets.
  The town's name means The Hill, and should be pronounced "teh-pook-ee", not the occasional "Te-Pyook". This name is reflective of its location, as it is on a hill near the Papamoa Hills.
context_section_description: In July 1880, work commenced on the Tauranga to Te Puke Road, via Welcome Bay. It was constructed  by the Armed Constabulary and local Māori who worked on their land. Before this, access to Te Puke was made across the Papamoa Hills from Ngapeke to Manoeka, following an ancient Māori trail. Peter Grant had been contracted by the Tauranga County Council to form this track into a bridle path in 1879.
  Stores and passengers for the town could also come from Tauranga by boat, first to Maketu, then up the Kaituna River to Canaan Landing and then by Māori canoe up the Waiari Stream to the site of the present road bridge just to the south of the town.
  By late 1881, Te Puke boasted 25 wooden buildings including two hotels, two general stores, a butcher, a post office and a smithy. The settlers quickly settled upon the land and by 1884 had established a butter factory. Draining of the swamps began and the area was found to be very suitable for crops, and maize and wheat were grown extensively. Later much of the farming land was found to be "bush sick" but was cured with the use of cobalt in the 1930s.
  Flax milling had begun in the 1870s and became a major industry in the area until the early 1940s.  Saw milling began in 1905 and is still a major industry in the area. In 1883 gold-bearing ore was discovered on the Papamoa Hills and during the 1920s a gold mine operated at Muir's farm on No 4 Road.  With the building of the railway a large Public Works quarry operated in Te Puke and was a major employer. The freezing works at Rangiuru opened in 1968 and HortResearch opened on No 1 Road in 1971.
  Disaster struck in the early hours of the 10 June 1886 with the eruption of Mount Tarawera. Te Puke residents were awoken with the noise and the many related earthquakes. Many had a good view of the eruption and paintings survive of their memories. Ash and mud showered over crops and pastures up to 12 inches deep in places. The sun was not seen until 1pm.
  Stock faced starvation and many farmers were forced to let their animals free to fend for themselves. Some stock was shipped from the area but many died. The settlers became short of food and water themselves and help was gratefully received from Tauranga. Evidence of the Tarawera eruption can still be found in disturbed ground in the area today. (Te Puke was again covered in ash during the 1995 Mount Ruapehu eruption though not to the same scale.)
  Te Puke town-ship began to grow and a mission/town hall was built in 1883. This was used for town meetings and as a church by three of the congregations. The first school, (Te Puke Primary) was opened in 1883. The Te Puke Times was first printed in 1912. The fire brigade and town boards were both formed in 1913.
  A jockey club was formed in 1890, the brass band in 1903, the A. & P. Society in 1905, the rugby union in 1906, the bowling club in 1908, and the golf club in 1912. Planting of the trees down the centre of the main street, a major feature of the town today, began during 1914-1918 as a war memorial to the fallen. A nursing home was opened in Boucher Avenue in 1918 but any major cases were railed to Tauranga Hospital.
caption: View of Main Street in 1924 including Alexander & Dowdy real estate agents, building and Farmers' Union Trading Company
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