Walking around the Coromandel town of Paeroa, history lies at your feet.
Downtown, you'll see cast-iron pumps that once sucked Paeroa's prized spring water from the ground.
Not far away is the vacant Innes tartan factory where the classic Kiwiana drink Lemon & Paeroa was produced after 1963.
Rino Wilkinson (Ngāti Tamatera) grew up in Paeroa. He worked as a broadcaster at Nga Iwi FM for 33 years and in 2019 was the first Māori elected to the Hauraki District Council.
Rino used to take his glass bottles and fill them up at the water pumps, back before the well was closed off.
He remembers being a teenager in the floods of 1981 when the Ohinemuri River burst its banks and his family had to be evacuated from their home.
Rino Wilkinson at one of the old mineral cast iron water pumps in Paeroa. Photo: Justine Murray
What Rino didn’t hear much about growing up were stories about the longer name of Paeroa - Te Paeroa a Toitehuatahi - and how that relates to a waka race and a Māori ancestor.
In this episode, Te Kehukehu Patara shares the story behind the name ' Te Paeroa a Toitehuatahi'.
You’ll also meet Laurie Smith, who’s worked for the Paeroa District Museum for eight years and spent his whole life in the town. From gold mining to mineral water, local prohibition and the impact of the railway, Laurie knows all the local stories.
Laurie Smith at the Paeroa Historical Museum, his family moved to the area in 1916. Photo: Justine Murray
