Pirongia Library (Former)

Franklin Street, PIRONGIA

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Built in 1878 on ‘the beach’ of the Waipa River at Alexandra, and relocated to Franklin Street in 1887, the Pirongia Library (Former) is the only known surviving example of a government funded and built ‘Native Grain Store’. Wheat, root vegetables, and fruit were major crops for iwi in the fertile Waipa hinterland from the late 1840s through to the early 1860s. Maori played a crucial role providing much needed grain and produce to early European setters, including the militia and Armed Constabulary, and also plied the Waipa River transporting supplies to the coast. The New Zealand Wars led to widespread confiscation of Maori land in the 1860s, yet trade continued. In 1878, the Colonial Government funded and built the grain store at ‘the beach’ specifically for Maori use. Its use as a grain store tapered off in the 1880s as Maori sought work constructing the railway. Despite concern by some that local Maori would need the store in the future, in 1887 the building was relocated to the township, where it served as the local library for 105 years. However, during Native Land Court hearings in the late nineteenth century, Maori briefly reclaimed the building for use as temporary accommodation. The library was also used by the community as a social venue and meeting place. After relocation, sympathetic changes were made to the building’s interior including lining the coved ceiling with native timber and adding windows and a fireplace. A small, sympathetic extension was added to the rear in 1963. Since 1995, it has been a craft shop and gallery. The building is a simple timber structure, rectangular in plan, with a gable roof that extends beyond the front elevation to form a recessed porch in the style of a traditional wharenui (meeting house). It features European detailing, such as the rounded terminations to the vertical boards of the overhanging gable. The Pirongia Library (Former) is of special significance for its association with the rise and fall of Maori industrial entrepreneurship in arable farming and shipping operations, and the role played by Maori in the crucial supply of grain and other food to British settlers. It is also of significance for its role as accommodation for Maori attending Native Land Court hearings in the area. It is now the only known surviving example of a grain store funded and purpose built by the government for Maori in support of their agricultural endeavours, and reflects the Colonial Government’s continued reliance on Maori trade to supply produce for the European settlers. It is one of only three buildings that date from around the period of the town’s establishment as a military outpost, which along with the well preserved, post-war Alexandra Armed Constabulary Redoubt, provide a strong educative potential about this period of New Zealand history. The building has strong social values having been a community facility for 105 years serving Pirongia residents as a library, meeting place and temporary schoolroom.

Pirongia Library | L Williams | 30/10/2011 | NZ Historic Places Trust
| L Williams | 30/10/2011 | NZ Historic Places Trust
Interior | G Henry | 08/07/2011 | NZ Historic Places Trust

Location

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List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Place Category 1

Access

Private/No Public Access

List Number

745

Date Entered

6th June 2012

Date of Effect

6th June 2012

City/District Council

Waipā District

Region

Waikato Region

Extent of List Entry

Extent includes part of the land described as Lot 2 DPS 86240 (RT SA68B/232) South Auckland Land District and the building known as Pirongia Library (Former), and its fittings and fixtures. (Refer to map in Appendix 1 for further information).

Legal description

Lot 2 DPS 86240 (RT SA68B/232), South Auckland Land District

Location Description

Pirongia Library (Former) is located beside number 762 Franklin Street and in front of number 702 Franklin Street

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