Wairere Waterfall

Wairere Falls, Whakatane. Photograph by C.G. Caisley (No 153)
Published by Frank Duncan & Co., Auckland (PM 1919)
Collection of Justine Neal

Tumbling down the cliffs immediately behind the township tall, skinny Te Wairere occupies a cool nook and a place in the early history of Whakatane. The falls were one of three landmarks given to Toroa, captain and navigator of the Mataatua waka, by his father Irakewa, in his search for Whakatane. The other two being Te Ano o Muriwai (Muriwai’s Cave) and Te Toko o Irakewa (Irakewa Rock). As well as being a sacred landmark Te Wairere Falls were a source of fresh water for the Ngati Awa people living at Te Whare o Toroa Pa. When the town itself was still small the falls were used for the setttlement’s first water supply and the stream continued to supply water to the Whakatane township until 1924.

The Fulloon whanau had land below the waterfall and it was here in 1865 that James Francis Fulloon was first laid to rest beside his mother’s grave. James was a native interpreter. In 1865 he was commissioned as a captain in the militia and set off by sea in the Kate for Whakatane to recruit a company of Ngati Awa to counter Pai Marire influence in the Bay of Plenty. His own people, however, had embraced the Pai Marire faith and James and most of his shipmates were killed. In 1913 his remains were moved by his sister to a new burial site at the Domain Road Cemetery.

Wairere Falls, Whakatane. Photograph by C.G. Caisley (No 159)
Published by Frank Duncan & Co., Auckland (no date)
Collection of Justine Neal

The falls are also associated with early industry. Flax mills need a lot of water for washing the fibre and soon after 1870 a mill was built at the falls; it was wrecked by a flood in 1875. In 1878 the government purchased the old flax mill buildings and machinery at Wairere for a flour mill site. The mill was driven by a Pelton Water Wheel and the water was piped from the top of the falls where there was a small concrete dam to pond the water.

On December 18th 1879 the large hall at the old flax mill site caught fire. The flames quickly caught hold and nothing could be done to stop it. Fortunately the plentiful water supply from the Wairere Falls saved the sawn timber for the Ngati Awa flour mill which had been stacked near the burning building.

By 1890 wheat growing had declined so much that there was not enough to keep the mill going and it was converted into a flax mill which burned down in 1910.

In 1907 the Rotorua Motor Coaching Company built stables at the foot of the falls for their horses, the stables were later used for a garage when cars replaced horses. A fire in 1928 destroyed the garage.

The site was made a scenic reserve in 1971, a peaceful place with the water cascading down the cliffs the way it always has long before Toroa first sighted it.

References
Whakatane Historic Trails
Papers Past
A Man of Two Cultures, W.T. Parham
www.whakatane.com