A fledgling Pongakawa Heritage Centre doesn’t need a house – it already has one – but it does need a helping hand to make it a home.

The idea for permanent celebration of the history and heritage of Pongakawa emerged after Pongakawa School’s 125th jubilee in 2017.

Many of those on the organising committee reconfigured themselves into a new committee to drive the project.

“We were all on such a high about how successful [the jubilee] was, and how much stuff we found, we decided this was what we would go on with,” said Frances Patete, who was head of planning for the jubilee and a school staff member for 35 years.

The trust was gifted an old house by the Wilkins family. The house was moved from its Maniatutu Rd site to a spot between the Pongakawa Action Centre and Playcentre in 2020, but its final home would be closer to the school and closer to Old Coach Rd.

Behind the scenes

Since then there had been little visible action, but behind the scenes things had continued, Patete said.

The land had been rezoned and various permits had been sought and approved and the trust had raised $70,000 so far for the project.

TECT had come to the party with a $249,000 grant that would be available when a matching amount was raised.

Trust chairwoman Catherine Cawte said she went to see the house before it was moved.

“I thought: ‘We can’t let this house be demolished’ – it just had a lovely aura about it.

“We have a vision of when it’s done, it’s just going to be beautiful.”

For the jubilee, the original Pongakawa School minute book from 1891, the very first school cash book and enrolment books dating back to the school’s opening in 1892 were restored.

This was one of the catalysts to searching for a way finding a permanent home for everything gathered for the jubilee or already in storage at the school.

“We filed the hall for the [2017] jubilee with memorabilia that the school still has,” Patete said.

As well as “heaps and heaps of photographs” the school, which Patete described as a “hoardy” school, had old maths, reading and text books and old uniforms.

Intertwined

Committee member Andrew Blaymires donated the original school library cabinet for the jubilee, that was also the community library, and there are furniture and other residential bits and pieces in storage.

The history of the school and the district are intertwined – but much of what had been accumulated related to the school.

“We know the school is just part of the history of the area, and while we’ve got lots about the school we’ve got very little about the area prior to the school opening.”

Descendants from many of the original settler families were still in the area and their stories were also being sought, and Dany Ngawhika (Ngāti Whakahemo), the school Board of Trustee’s iwi liaison member, was also on board as a tangata whenua representative.

There was the possibility one of the rooms in the house may be furnished in the style of its age and another could be turned into a replica classroom from the time the school opened.

Cawte said she would like to see the house used as a resource for the school.

Pongakawa School acting principal Mike Judd said he couldn’t see any reason why it couldn’t be used by other schools as well. “We’ve talked about maybe doing a heritage classroom and so other schools could come in and experience what it was like in an older classroom,” he said.

Secure extra funding

But for now, the main thrust of the project was to secure the required extra funding so the house can be moved to its permanent home.

“Once the house is in place, we can put signs up and do all sorts of things – really get creative,” said Cawte. “There’s still a lot to do, but there’s still a lot of enthusiasm.

”Also on the committee were Ngaire Rose, Brigid Crawford, Joanne Black, Andrea Marsh and Paul Hickson.

Anyone who could help in any way, with support, donations, artefacts or stories, could email: franp@pongakawa.school.nz

Mends House history:

• Mends House had been gifted to the Pongakawa Heritage Charitable Trust.

• The cottage was largely in its original condition.

• It was built by successful flax miller George (Bonny) Mends, who was the co-owner of a flax mill on Wharere Rd. The mill was destroyed by fires that, in 1908, swept through the Pongakawa swamp.

• Later the house was used as a farm cottage.