Warangi Street

Warangi Street is a short cul-de-sac near New Plymouth Girls' High School. It is named after Pukewarangi pā which is located at the end of the street.

The well-preserved pā is one of three in the surrounding area. Parihamori and Puketarata lie west of Pukewarangi, across the valley. The historian, S. Percy Smith, writing in the Journal of the Polynesian Society in 1908, records that in about 1770 these pā were occupied by the, ' Ngati-Tu-pari-kino hapu of Āti- Awa.'

Pukewarangi translates as, 'hill of the warangi'. Wharangi (the 'h' is common in botanical texts), Melicope ternata, is a round coastal shrub which grows to a height of about five metres. Although it produces an edible gum used for sweetening the breath, its nectar can be fatal if eaten.

The block of land the pā sits on was purchased by the New Plymouth Borough Council in 1948. This was largely thanks the foresight of long serving Town Clerk, Mr F.T. Bellringer.

He and the owner of the land, Mr A.S. Hill, had a 'gentleman's agreement' that if the property was sold, the council would be offered the opportunity to purchase the pā site. When Mr Hill decided to subdivide the block he kept his promise and declared that he was as determined as Bellringer to preserve the historic site. While access to Pukewarangi pā from Mangorei Road had been possible for many years, it was not until about 1960 that a road was officially formed and named Warangi - or should it be Wharangi?

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.