Pinehaven

Pinehaven Reserve taken c1980

Pinehaven is a suburb of Upper Hutt City in the lower North Island of New Zealand. It is at the southern end of the city, tucked into the hills east of Silverstream. Pinehaven is a beautiful valley centred around a large reserve and beautiful piece of native bush. Clustered around the reserve are a number of community facilities:

• Pinehaven School, opened in 1954
• Pinehaven Tennis Club
• Pinehaven Playcentre, opened in the 1970s ^[2]
• Pinehaven Library, which started in 1954 with a small collection of books kept in a resident's home.
• Pinehaven Scout Hall built in 1972
• Pinehaven Progressive Association Community Hall, built with recycled materials by Pinehaven locals during the 1940s. The land was generously gifted to the community in perpetuity by Mr Goodwin.

Pinehaven Community Hall, taken 2004

History

The hills of Pinehaven were first planted with their trademark pine trees in 1928 by Sir Francis Chichester and Mr G.D.M Goodwin. Most of the streets in Pinehaven are named after members of their families, Wyndham (Road) was Goodwin's son, Jocelyn (Crescent) his daughter and Elmslie (Road) his granddaughter. Of course Chichester Drive is named after Sir Francis himself.

Originally Pinehaven was a community of small baches where residents of Wellington city escaped to for weekends and holidays. Pinehaven has a strong history of community togetherness and since the 1940s the residents' association, the Pinehaven Progressive Association, has actively fought for local issues and organised social functions.

External links

• http://www.ppa.org.nz/ Website of the Pinehaven Progressive Association

References