55371
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The Tilby Farm in Tauranga
DescriptionAfter the raupatu or land confiscations of 1864, Otumoetai including the area now called Matua, and 200 acres between Levers Road and the sea were granted to two Māori chiefs, who sold them to Dr Joseph Henry of the 1st Waikato Regiment who later sold to W. J. Douglas (1893). Douglas developed the farm and built the homestead that would later be used by the Tilbys. Douglas divided the farm, selling first 32 acres which included the Matua-iwi Pa site. In 1896 most of the farm, 130 acres, was purchased by Nathaniel Dickey, a horse racing enthusiast.
In 1914, after the Tilby farm was purchased, old kumara pits were still discoverable on the higher parts of the property, often after a horse and plough or vehicle sank into the ground. The land that would become Fergusson Park was mostly swampy, covered in manuka, fern, rushes, cabbage trees, sweet briar and wild peach trees likly planted in the mid 19th century by Maori from the nearby Otumoetai Pa. There was evidence that Maori had tried to drain the swamp.
Graham Lever was a farmer from further down the peninsula. It was he who had recommended the farm to the Tilbys. The family included the children Charles, Ivy and Ray, who arrived in Tauranga from Auckland on the SS Ngapuhi on 1st September 1914.
The Tilbys gave up dairying in 1961: the last suppliers in Otumoetai, when the Dairy Company refused to collect cream from them any longer. In April 1963 they deposited a plan of subdivision of their farm for housing. The first building section, on Levers Road, was sold at the beginning of 1965. Construction of Tilby Drive started on the southwestern side of this section in January 1967. The subdivision of the farm proceeded in stages, with blocks of sections offered for sale at different times, until the last was put on the market in 1987. In 1965 discussion arose over the naming of the “Levers Road” peninsula, the Otumoetai West Ratepayers Association expressing a desire for a “more euphonious” name. Matua was decided on, from the Matua-iwi Pa site on the northwestern shore.
SourcesAn archived article at [url=https://perma.cc/K89U-8TGC]https://perma.cc/K89U-8TGC[/url] using from the Tauranga City Council and Historic Places Trust signs about Fergusson Park and the Tilby Farm. These signs had been written in part by former New Zealand Room Librarian, Jinty Rorke (Tauranga Library).
In 1914, after the Tilby farm was purchased, old kumara pits were still discoverable on the higher parts of the property, often after a horse and plough or vehicle sank into the ground. The land that would become Fergusson Park was mostly swampy, covered in manuka, fern, rushes, cabbage trees, sweet briar and wild peach trees likly planted in the mid 19th century by Maori from the nearby Otumoetai Pa. There was evidence that Maori had tried to drain the swamp.
Graham Lever was a farmer from further down the peninsula. It was he who had recommended the farm to the Tilbys. The family included the children Charles, Ivy and Ray, who arrived in Tauranga from Auckland on the SS Ngapuhi on 1st September 1914.
The Tilbys gave up dairying in 1961: the last suppliers in Otumoetai, when the Dairy Company refused to collect cream from them any longer. In April 1963 they deposited a plan of subdivision of their farm for housing. The first building section, on Levers Road, was sold at the beginning of 1965. Construction of Tilby Drive started on the southwestern side of this section in January 1967. The subdivision of the farm proceeded in stages, with blocks of sections offered for sale at different times, until the last was put on the market in 1987. In 1965 discussion arose over the naming of the “Levers Road” peninsula, the Otumoetai West Ratepayers Association expressing a desire for a “more euphonious” name. Matua was decided on, from the Matua-iwi Pa site on the northwestern shore.
SourcesAn archived article at [url=https://perma.cc/K89U-8TGC]https://perma.cc/K89U-8TGC[/url] using from the Tauranga City Council and Historic Places Trust signs about Fergusson Park and the Tilby Farm. These signs had been written in part by former New Zealand Room Librarian, Jinty Rorke (Tauranga Library).
Location
Map Address135/Waratah Street,Matua,Tauranga,3110,New ZealandLocationTauranga, New ZealandLatitude/Longitude[1]
Relates To
Admin
AuthorDebbie McCauleyArchived Kete Linkhttps://perma.cc/ k89u-8tgcType of ContributionCommunity storyTaxonomyStories | Places
Debbie McCauley, The Tilby Farm in Tauranga. Pae Korokī, accessed 26/03/2023, https://paekoroki.tauranga.govt.nz/nodes/view/55371