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Waitangirua

Suburbs of PoriruaUse New Zealand English from May 2021

Waitangirua is a suburb of Porirua City approximately 22km north of Wellington in New Zealand. Waitangirua was established during the 1960s, almost exclusively as a Government housing development for New Zealand's burgeoning working class immigrant population. As such the ethnic demographic of Waitangirua at the time of establishment comprising primarily Pacific Island, Scottish, Indian, Irish, English and Chinese as well as Māori. Many of the original settling families still live in Waitangirua today. The hilly suburb until the late 90s was almost semi-rural surrounded by farmland with Whitby to the North East, Pauatahanui Inlet and Estuary further to the North, and the Belmont hills and Hutt Valley to the East. The diverse multi-racial nature of Waitangirua makes for a colourful community dominated by a vibrant and exuberant youth culture. Several scenes from the Taika Waititi film Eagle vs Shark were shot on location in Waitangirua.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Waitangirua (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Waitangirua
Niagara Street, Porirua Waitangirua

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Wikipedia: WaitangiruaContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N -41.129 ° E 174.88 °
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Address

Niagara Street
5024 Porirua, Waitangirua
Wellington, New Zealand
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Nearby Places

Gear Homestead
Gear Homestead

Gear Homestead, named Okowai ('muddy water') by its owner James Gear, is a historic building in Porirua, New Zealand. It was listed by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (since renamed to Heritage New Zealand) as a Category 2 historic place in 1983. Gear Homestead is significant because of its association with James Gear, a butcher who founded the Gear Meat Preserving and Freezing Company. The company was one of the largest employers in Wellington and also played a large part in the development of Petone.The building was designed by Robert Edwards and built in 1887 by William Hartley. It was constructed of matai, totara and kauri, and the wall on the south side is about 30 cm thick and filled with sawdust for insulation against southerly winds. When James Gear's health declined and he was confined to a wheelchair, he had a cottage built behind the house, with a ramp connecting it to the main house. He lived in the cottage with a nurse and manservant, separate from his family. The house remained in the ownership of the Gear family until 1967, and in 1975 it was bought by Poriurua City Council.In the early to mid 1980s, the historic building was used as a major location in Peter Jackson's first film, Bad Taste. The building was home to the Iredale and Tiegan family in the 1995 children’s TV series Mirror, Mirror (TV series), and in 2007 it was used as a location in the horror movie When Night Falls.The homestead is now a cafe/bar/restaurant and is open 7 days a week.