Waima is a small bay situated in the north-eastern curve of Tokomaru Bay. The district was once called Toka-a-Namu, (abundance of sandflies - namu). The principal hapu is Ngati Porou and the first people who settled in the district were tribal groups thought to be descended from ancestor Toi te Huatahi. Henare Potae (?-1895) was a prominent leader in the area. He encouraged settlement at Tokomaru Bay by granting long-term leases to graze blocks of land as sheep runs. Farming was to become the primary enterprise within the Tairawhiti region, and there was an almost total reliance on shipping and horses for transport due to poor road networks. Waima was transformed in early 1911 with the erection of the Tokomaru Bay Freezing Works. At the same time the existing wharf was extended and improved and the Tokomaru Harbour Board was established. By 1912 the New Zealand Shipping Company Offices and Wool Store had also been erected at the Waima end of Tokomaru Bay.
The New Zealand Shipping Company Stables (Former) were constructed at a similar time to the wool store and were built with the same type of bricks. Bull Bros., a Napier company, won the contract to erect a large ‘wool-shed’ for the New Zealand Shipping Company and it is believed that Bull Bros. also constructed the stables. Both the freezing works and the wool store utilised the wharf in order to ship their produce overseas, with horses being an integral part of getting much of that cargo to the wharf. The Freezing Works were built on two levels on the hillside. On the lower level, a small rail ferried cargo, however the upper levels relied on horse transport to move cargo around. The poor quality of East Coast roads and uneven terrain meant that horse transport was still being used extensively throughout the East Coast region long after other areas were utilising motor transport.
In 1927 the Tokomaru Harbour Board purchased all the New Zealand Shipping Company property at Waima, including the New Zealand Shipping Company Stables (Former). In 1963 the Harbour Board was dissolved and its powers were transferred to the Waiapu County Council (amalgamated into the Gisborne District Council in 1989). The New Zealand Shipping Company Stables (Former) are on the same title as the New Zealand Shipping Company Offices and Wool Store (Former) and were sold in 1992. The stables are currently used as a storage area by the inhabitants of the New Zealand Shipping Company Manager’s House (Former) (Register No. 3479).
List Entry Information
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
3478
Date Entered
5th April 1984
Date of Effect
5th April 1984
City/District Council
Gisborne District
Region
Gisborne Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes part of the land described as Pt Lot 1 DP 1815 (RT GS5C/1236), Gisborne Land District and the building known as New Zealand Shipping Company Stables (Former) thereon.
Legal description
Pt Lot 1 DP 1815 (RT GS5C/1236), Gisborne Land District
Location Description
Located on the eastern side of the factory, near the New Zealand Shipping Company Manager's House (Former), 102 Waima Road.
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
3478
Date Entered
5th April 1984
Date of Effect
5th April 1984
City/District Council
Gisborne District
Region
Gisborne Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes part of the land described as Pt Lot 1 DP 1815 (RT GS5C/1236), Gisborne Land District and the building known as New Zealand Shipping Company Stables (Former) thereon.
Legal description
Pt Lot 1 DP 1815 (RT GS5C/1236), Gisborne Land District
Location Description
Located on the eastern side of the factory, near the New Zealand Shipping Company Manager's House (Former), 102 Waima Road.
Construction Professional
Name
Bull Brothers (H.J. and E.J. Bull)
Type
Architect
Biography
H.J. and E.J. Bull were ‘Builders, Contractors, Timber Merchants’, and proprietors of the Napier Brickyard. The brothers were apprentice builders to Mr John McColl, of Newmarket. They relocated to Hawke's Bay in 1887 and two years later they established Bull Bros. Later the firm took over the Napier Brickyard and employed about 100 people. Bull Brothers constructed many large projects in Napier including the government offices and large wool stores at Port Ahuriri, both of which were destroyed in the Napier earthquake. Remaining known examples of their work are the Hastings Municipal Theatre (Record no. 1096) and Scinde Building, Napier (Record no. 4814). Source: Information Upgrade Report for New Zealand Shipping Company Offices and Wool Store (Former), Linda Pattison, NZHPT, 13 Jun 2013
Construction Details
Start Year
1912
startYearCirca
Type
Original Construction
Construction Materials
Brick, timber
Construction Professional
Name
Bull Brothers (H.J. and E.J. Bull)
Type
Architect
Biography
H.J. and E.J. Bull were ‘Builders, Contractors, Timber Merchants’, and proprietors of the Napier Brickyard. The brothers were apprentice builders to Mr John McColl, of Newmarket. They relocated to Hawke's Bay in 1887 and two years later they established Bull Bros. Later the firm took over the Napier Brickyard and employed about 100 people. Bull Brothers constructed many large projects in Napier including the government offices and large wool stores at Port Ahuriri, both of which were destroyed in the Napier earthquake. Remaining known examples of their work are the Hastings Municipal Theatre (Record no. 1096) and Scinde Building, Napier (Record no. 4814). Source: Information Upgrade Report for New Zealand Shipping Company Offices and Wool Store (Former), Linda Pattison, NZHPT, 13 Jun 2013
Construction Details
Start Year
1912
startYearCirca
Type
Original Construction
Construction Materials
Brick, timber
Historical and Associated Iwi / Hapū / Whānau
Completion Date
13th June 2013
Report Written By
Linda Pattison
Information Sources
Cyclopedia of New Zealand, 1908
Cyclopedia Company, Industrial, descriptive, historical, biographical facts, figures, illustrations, Wellington, N.Z, 1897-1908, Vol. 6, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, Wellington, 1908
Mason, 1984
Mason, Helen, Waima of Tokomaru Bay, Tauira Crafts 1984
Other Information
This place was identified as significant under previous legislation with different information requirements. It remains significant under the current legislation. There is opportunity under our legislation and policies to add to this information. Further information about this place may be available from the Lower Northern Office of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. A fully referenced Upgrade Report is available from the Lower Northern Area office of NZHPT. Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rarangi Korero identifies only the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety, including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary conditions.
Historical and Associated Iwi / Hapū / Whānau
Completion Date
13th June 2013
Report Written By
Linda Pattison
Information Sources
Cyclopedia of New Zealand, 1908
Cyclopedia Company, Industrial, descriptive, historical, biographical facts, figures, illustrations, Wellington, N.Z, 1897-1908, Vol. 6, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, Wellington, 1908
Mason, 1984
Mason, Helen, Waima of Tokomaru Bay, Tauira Crafts 1984
Other Information
This place was identified as significant under previous legislation with different information requirements. It remains significant under the current legislation. There is opportunity under our legislation and policies to add to this information. Further information about this place may be available from the Lower Northern Office of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. A fully referenced Upgrade Report is available from the Lower Northern Area office of NZHPT. Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rarangi Korero identifies only the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety, including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary conditions.
Current Usages
Uses: Accommodation
Specific Usage: Shed/store - Residential out-building
Former Usages
General Usage: Trade
Specific Usage: Stables - commercial
Current Usages
Uses: Accommodation
Specific Usage: Shed/store - Residential out-building
Former Usages
General Usage: Trade
Specific Usage: Stables - commercial
Location
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