Naenae
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| Suburb: | Naenae |
| City: | Lower Hutt |
| Island: | North Island |
| Surrounded by: | |
| to the north | Taita |
| to the east | Wainuiomata |
| to the south | Epuni |
| to the west | Avalon |
| Other Details: | |
| Electorate: | Rimutaka (#45); held in 2005 by incumbent Paul Swain with a majority of over 8000 votes. The Labour Party maintained the predominance that it has traditionally had in this area. |
| Location: | Naenae lies within Lower Hutt |
Naenae (occasionally spelt NaeNae), a major suburb of the city 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 to 10,000 people. It hosts several schools, including Naenae College (the second-largest High School in Lower Hutt), Naenae Intermediate School, Naenae Primary School, Rata Street School, St. Bernadettes' School and Wa Ora Montessori School.
The Naenae railway station (opened 1946) on the Hutt Valley section of the Wairarapa 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. Originally open to the air, the complex gained a roof due to overwhelming public support, making it accessible all year round. A hydroslide constructed adjacent to the main pool attracts more punters. The toddlers' paddling pool remained open to the air for a few years more.
The word naenae or nae-nae, in 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 after the end of World War II in 1945, the Labour government under the aegis 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, but 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 made it a partly industrial, but principally residential area. At its peak, Naenae boasted two manufacturers with strong Dutch connections:
- Philips, which produced television and radio sets, see pictures here. This industry closed down during the 1980s: Resene Paints now occupies the buildings that once housed Philips
- 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
The subway smells of urine, a recent article in the local newspaper (The Hutt News) outlined some of the problems with the current subway connecting the Naenae centre to the Naenae Railway station and to Avalon. Many students of Naenae College use the subway as a means to get to and from school. In recent times violent crimes and assaults have occured within the stinky, dirty, graffiteed confines of the subway forcing the Principal Mr. John Russel to often go on the beat taking care to see his students make it to and from school safely.
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 significantly. 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, but later including Somalis — 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.
