Naenae

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Naenae, a major suburb of Lower Hutt in the North Island of New Zealand, lies on the eastern edge of the floodplain of the Hutt River, four kilometres from the Lower Hutt CBD. A small tributary of the Hutt, the Waiwhetu Stream, flows through the suburb.

Naenae has a population of around 8,000 - 10,000. It hosts several schools, including Naenae College (the second-largest High School in the Hutt Valley), Naenae Intermediate School, Naenae Primary School, Rata Street School, St. Bernadettes' School and Wa Ora Montessori School.

The Naenae railway station (on the Wairarapa/Upper Hutt railway line) adjoins Naenae's main shopping-centre.

Naenae's shopping-centre contains a major Olympic-size swimming-pool, first constructed at a time when New Zealand hosted the international diving championships. The pool has three diving boards.

Naenae as a basic translation from Māori means "mosquito" or "sandfly", recalling a time prior to the draining of the area, when the mosquito population predominated.

[edit] History

As Lower Hutt expanded in the post-War years, the Labour government of Peter Fraser selected Naenae as an ideal site to become a "designer community", a model suburb of sorts, where a suburban state housing estate would supplement a substantial community shopping-centre. This community centre would serve as a social hub for the greater area. The planners hoped that ideal nuclear-family life could manifest itself in such a grandiose scheme.

But due to the increasing urbanisation of the New Zealand, demand for housing outstripped the need for community-centres, leaving the scheme ultimately only partially realised. Ironically, as the population grew, so did the demand for community amenities.

Ernst Plischke, the renowned Austrian architect/town-planner, designed Naenae's community centre. Plischke made a major contribution to New Zealand and Austrian architecture of the twentieth century, having spent over twenty years of his career producing designs whilst living in New Zealand. A modernist at heart, he designed community-centres that did not fit the traditional formula of emulating British villages, rather embracing the evolving modern identity.

The design and subsequent development of the Naenae civic centre allowed Plischke to expand his ideas. Many people believe that Plischke took as his inspiration the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square) in Venice, embodying the belief that by creating a public space for people, one would animate the town.

All the buildings in the community centre opened out onto a plaza, intended to form three independent squares performing separate roles that encompassed foot-traffic for shops, al fresco dining and entertainment, and lastly civic functions.

In 1966 Naenae's post-modern Post Office officially opened, paying homage to the Art Deco era Main Post Office in Lower Hutt town centre.

In the 1960s a re-zoning of Naenae wmade it a partly industrial, but principally residential area. At its peak, Naenae boasted two manufacturers with strong Dutch connections:

1. Philips, which produced television and radio sets. This industry closed down during the 1980s: Resene Paints now occupies the buildings that once housed Philips
2. Rembrandt Suits Ltd, formed following the Second World War by Dutch tailors. It now exports mainly to Australia, as well as holding major contracts throughout the world.

[edit] "Modern" Naenae

Despite considerable investment and think-tanks on how to bolster the faltering local economy, Naenae has faced a steady decline since about 1980. In recent times the demographics of the suburb have shifted significanty. Following the post- baby-boom period, many of the parents of these children remained in Naenae, eventually progressing to pensioner status. As these people died, many migrants, predominately Pacific Islanders, replaced them. National economic difficulties have seen teenagers and young adults prone to violence and other criminal acts.

Naenae now has a stagnant population. Statisticians predict minimal growth over the next decade, combined with an overall lower-average household income in comparison to the greater Wellington region.

According to the 2001 census, Naenae has approximately 7,150m² retail floor-space, four times the economically viable amount sustainable by the local population.