A potted History of Matakana

Before the arrival of Europeans to the district, there were Maori settlements at Tawharanui (Ngati Raupo), Omaha to Pakari (Ngati Manuhiri) and Mahurangi (Ngati Rongo).

In 1841 a large tract of land known as the Mahurangi Purchase was bought by the Crown from Hauraki tribes of the Marutuaha confederation, who claimed the land through earlier conquests in the 18^th century. The few European who lived on this land prior to 1841, had negotiated their right to reside with local Maori.

Early European settlement was at Sandspit (Lower Matakana) at the river mouth, where a few settlers squatted on the land. In 1845 Maori ransacked five settlers’ homes due to problems over land dealings which brought about a “Proclamation” by Governor Fitzroy for the deliverance of the chiefs of the offending Maoris’ tribes.

Timber resources in Upper Matakana ( now Matakana Village) resulted in settlers moving up the river about 1848 and squatting on the land until it was surveyed in the 1850’s. By 1853 John Heydn was operating a saw mill at the falls on the Matakana River and he and Peter Campbell obtained timber licenses in the area a year later.

During the mid 1850’s flax was also being harvested in Matakana area and a mill was established by a Mr. Whitelaw.

Although most relationships between local Maori and the settlers were harmonious there was some alarm when a group of escaped Maori prisoners broke into local resident Mr. Mieklejohn’s house in 1864, looking for food. These were Maori prisoners from the Waikato wars who were sent to Kawau Island and later escaped and built a pah on Mt. Tamahunga. By January 1865 the people of Matakana were becoming increasingly uneasy and a public meeting was held at which 72 people signed a partition to Governor Grey. This was the largest public meeting in Matakana to date.

1864 saw the establishment of the first public building in Matakana Village. This was the Presbyterian school which served as a church on Sundays. The church now resides at the ‘Matakana Country Park’ and is still in use. In 1868 the first store and post office was established by Mr. Cruikshank and a well patronised library was running in1875.By 1881 the population in Matakana was around 150 and the village had 3 stores, a church/school, boarding house, public hall, post office and small library. One of the stores had a gum store attached which served the Dalmatian gumdiggers who worked on Omaha Flats. These gumfields had earlier been worked by local Maori as early as 1863. This land was owned by Auckland merchants John Logan Campbell and William Brown and leased to Messrs Cruickshank.

By the mid 1880’s all the Kauri in the district had been cut and agriculture and farming took over with fruit being an important industry. As early as 1886 Peach wine was produced and in the 1940’s Lemora wine was made from local oranges and lemons by Russian immigrant Alexis Migounoff. By the end of the 19^th century and early 20^th fruit growing gave way to dairy farms (ironically many dairy farms have now been converted to vineyards since the 1970’s when winemaking returned to the area). A dairy factory was established in Matakana in 1902 which in 1914 won the Wedell Cup for the highest quality export butter from the Auckland Province. The boarding house opposite ( now Matakana House Hotel) housed many of the workers. The remains of the Matakana Dairy Factory is still being used today as a design & gift store.

During the late 19^th century the first tourists came to Matakana to see ornamental gardens established by the Mathews brothers who held university degrees in arboriculture and horticulture. After their deaths the gardens became neglected and were eventually replaced by pasture, but the remains of some of the wonderful trees can still be seen travelling down Matakana Valley Rd. on the left towards the Whangaripo valley.

Electricity came to Matakana in 1936, but the area still has no water system to date. Great difficulty was had when in 1938 a flood washed away the bridge connecting Matakana to the north and throughout the 1930’s there was still a need for the steamers which transported fruit and dairy produce to Auckland. 

One of the resources in Matakana that is still being used today is clay. Clay from the area was made into bricks at the factory in Brick Bay near Sandspit. In 1978 Anthony Morris and Sue James set up their pottery which grew to become one of the town’s largest employers and 30 years on one of its main tourist attractions.