A long time resident wrote these reminisces about Waiatarua for the 50th anniversary exhibition.
Picture this – Two direct bus services to Auckland central every morning and two again in the afternoon/evening on a return journey from the city four days a week.
How about adding-in an extra bus that departs the city at 6pm which travels all the way to Piha on a Friday night, not to mention a Sunday service to Piha on a Saturday morning, departing the coastal settlement city bound at 4pm after a day lazing on the beach, or for the thrill seeker, a butt-clenching climb up to the summit of Lion Rock?
To continue our look into ‘the future’ there’s a fuel stop and a local shop that serves refreshments at the junction of Piha Road and Scenic Drive, also there’s a choice of two restaurants within less than a kilometre of each other and a couple of swimming pools, each with its own adjacent tennis court just to add to the mix.
Did I suggest this was a look into the future, well actually, it was just a teaser because all (or at least most) of these amenities were on offer to our community just prior to or about the time the community centre was built. My how we’ve regressed!
Half a century or so ago the local fire brigade was in its infancy, having started out as a rural fire party with its only inventory being an exceptionally noisy two-stroke Wajax brand pump that could often be heard from as far away as Titirangi when the wind was in the right (or wrong) direction, and a rudimentary collection of waterway equipment. This equipment was transported to fire calls in private vehicles until circa 1968 when a decommissioned Auckland City Council 1955 Austin A55 Ute became available via the Waitemata County Council.
It was at this stage of proceedings that a large shed was built immediately to the left of the current fire station. In 1970 the fire party became a fully-fledged fire brigade under the auspices of the Titirangi Volunteer Fire Brigade which at the time had been in existence for 25 years. The shed then had to be relocated and placed on a concrete block base to give it the height to accommodate a 1948 Ford V8 open-top fire appliance. Interestingly, the shed remained in place until the early 21st century, having provided sanctuary for many fire appliances that would look familiar to current-day Waiatarua residents.
Waiatarua on the Bus
Fun facts from the past In the days when the New Zealand Herald wasn’t the only game in town, The Auckland Star was a newspaper that was delivered in the afternoon on weekdays by the Auckland Bus Company (ABC) drivers who literally threw rolled-up copies of the paper out of the bus as it drove up West Coast Road and down Forest Hill Road. This required a high level of driving skill, as papers had to be thrown through the narrow doorway on the left side of the bus and out through the window on the driver’s side. It has to be said though, that the ‘target’, i.e. the customer’s driveway wasn’t always hit, often to the receiver’s chagrin, as the ‘roll-ups’ as they were referred to weren’t wrapped in plastic and sometimes wound up in a nearby ditch. While the practice of throwing items from a moving vehicle wouldn’t be tolerated in the 21st century, we should bear in mind that even in the 1970s when this form of newspaper delivery ceased, there weren’t so many cars on the road as we see today.
Still speaking of bygone bus travel, it wasn’t uncommon to see passengers being treated to the contents of a bag of lollies handed out by some happy soul who freely walked up and down the aisle of the bus as it climbed its merry way to the top of the hill at the corner of West Coast and Forest Hill Roads.
Other reminiscences
The local store, ice cream shop and petrol bowser/pump was located at the ‘Elevation’ site and was owned by Mick and Flo Chester from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s and following that by Bob and Irene “Reenie” Langley who carried on the tradition until circa1981.
Icecream at the Waiatarua Store and Tearooms opposite the Piha Scenic Drive intersection where fuel could also be bought..
An Auckland Bus Company bus bound for Piha is crossing the Nihotupu Stream bridge on the Piha Road.