Papanui

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Papanui is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located five kilometres to the northwest of the city centre, its geographical coordinates are 43° 30' 0" South, 172° 37' 0" East. Papanui is a middle socio-economic area with a population of 3,435 (2001 census) consisting prodominatly of Pākehā (New Zealanders of European decent) with approx 4% Māori (Christchurch average 8%).

The area is home to Northlands Shopping Centre, the largest mall in the South Island.

The name literally translated means "Big plain", a name which would aptly suit most of central Christchurch, which is one of New Zealand's flattest cities.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Pre-European 1.2 European settlement 1.3 Industrial development 2 Economy 3 Education 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Pre-European

Before European settlement Papanui, like much of New Zealand, was covered with dense bush. There was an abundance of forest birds which were hunted for food by the area's Māori inhabitants.
The name Papanui also refers to a large funeral prye. According to Māori legend, Tuhaitara, a Ngāi Tahu princess, sent her eldest son, Tamarairoa to Papanui to kill her former husband Marukore. But Marukore was aware of his sons intentions and when Tamarairoa and his younger brother arrived Maruokore killed them both and burnt their bodies on a huge prye. ^[1]

[edit] European settlement

When European immigrants first began to settle in Christchurch in the early 1850s, Papanui attracted a number of sawyers who made a living from milling timber from the Papanui bush. This timber was used in the construction of many of Christchurch's first buildings. The 30 hectares of bush was cleared within five years, and the area stagnated for some time, but gradually more settlers came and began to farm crops and establish orchards in the area.^[2]

When Christchurch's first railways were built in the 1870s, the main north line was built through Papanui, with the Papanui railway station being built in 1872. A tram line up Papanui Road (the road linking Papanui to Christchurch) was also built in 1880 connecting to Papanui railway station. The first trams were steam, with horsedrawn trams being introduced in 1893. With the introduction of electric lines, Papanui acquired an electric tram in 1905. With the exception of the first few tram-cars, which were brought from the United States, the trams were made by a local firm, Boon & Co. The last tram to Papanui ran in 1954.^[3]

[edit] Industrial development

For much of the 20th century, Papanui was a light industrial area. In 1900, Edward Halsey, a baker trained at Sanitarium in Michigan in the United States, emigrated to New Zealand and began making health foods in a wooden shed in Papanui, including Granola, New Zealand's first breakfast cereal.^[4] Halsey's business was successful, and the Sanitarium Health Food factory was built on the side of Halseys shed in 1919. It is still in operation today; however it was rebuit in 1966 after being destroyed in a fire.

The Firestone tire factory (now Bridgestone) was built on land purchased from the Cone family in 1945 and produced New Zealand's first pneumatic tyre in 1948. ^[5] and the deli meat company Verkerks built a factory in 1961.^[6] Both of these factories are still in operation today. For some time, there was also an Ovaltine factory on the Main North Road and a Birdseye Frozen Foods factory; neither of these are in operation today.

[edit] Economy

The median income in Papanui is NZ$22,100 (about US$12,600). This compares to a median of $17,600 for Christchurch and $18,500 for New Zealand. (2001 census). Most of the population is emloyed in retail, distribution, sawmills, the apparel industry and the meat works.^[7] Unemployment in Papanui is currently low — 366 according to figures from the Ministry of Social Development (end of 2005). This is down significantly from the end of the 1990's, when the unemployment number in Papanui was 1,713.^[8]

[edit] Education

The main educational institute in Papanui is Papanui High School. This school is located next to Northlands shopping centre. There are also several other schools in the area, including many primary schools and intermediates.

[edit] References