The Lowe Family, a pioneering family

In 1919, William Lowe, arrived in Tauranga from Invercargill, where he had returned after spending 12 years farming in Canada. Bringing with him his three sons William, Eddie and Howard, and joined by his brother Edward, he purchased more than 200 hectares of land between Keenan’s Road and Pyes Pa School, on both sides of Pyes Pa Road.

The family initially intended to grow grain, but while oats thrived, wheat proved unreliable due to high rainfall. They became known for operating a chaffcutter and threshing machine across the district, as well as clearing the gorse-covered land to establish productive farmland.

Edward Lowe, who had been a contractor for most of his working life, later established a sawmill at Pyes Pa with his son Bill about 18 years before its closure. Designed and largely built by Edward himself, the mill was considered a model small-scale operation, even attracting visitors from Israel seeking advice on timber milling. Originally set up to process waste timber from the pine export trade, the mill expanded to produce timber for major projects, including the Kaimai tunnel’s eastern portal and the Mangapapa hydroelectricity tunnels.

With machinery such as a decades-old frame saw still in use, the mill served the community for many years. By the late 1970s, however, Edward’s ill health forced his retirement, and Bill found managing both his orchard and the mill too demanding. In December 1978, the mill site, house, plant and stock were auctioned, marking the end of the Lowe family’s sawmilling era in Pyes Pa