Moera

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Moera

Moera is a suburb of the city of Lower Hutt in New Zealand and urban district of the city of Wellington.

1 Location
2 History
3 Influence
4 Features
5 References

[edit] Location

Located at the south-eastern end of the Hutt River, the suburb's name Moera is thought to be a simplification of Moe-i-te-ra, meaning "sleeping in the sun".

[edit] History

Prior to European settlement the Moera area was part of a large tidal estuary at the mouth of the Awamutu and Waiwhetu Streams. The southern side of Waiwhetu Stream contained a number of Ngati Ira villages.

In 1843 William Trotter settled in the area and established a fruit garden and nursery. A large earthquake in 1855 raised the Hutt Valley from 1 to 2 metres thus draining the swampy estuary. The area remained farmland up until 1926 when the Petone Railway Workshops were moved to Moera.

[edit] Influence

To house the workers almost 600 kitset homes were built to a simple 5 room layout. The whole project was completed by May 1927. These provided a template for State housing developments in later years.

Many of the current houses are original Railways Department built prefabricated cottages dating from that era.