Rahui – Pokeka / Huntly
In the early 1850s a mission station was established at Kaiotehe, on the western bank of the Waikato River opposite Taupiri, by the Rev. B. Y. Ashwell. It is stated that Ashwell was the first to use coal from local outcrops for fuel. After 1863 the Waikato River gunboats used coal from outcrops at or near Huntly. The battle of Rangiriri, the first major engagement of the Waikato War, took place some 12 km north of Huntly in November 1863. Waahi Pa, on the western bank of the Waikato River, was the home-base settlement of the Tainui until the death of Rata Mahuta Potatau te Wherowhero in 1933, when the King movement's home marae was then established at Ngaruawahia.
Very little was known of Huntly’s early days. The original name for the area was Rahui Pokeka, although the Post Master who served in the town from March 1870 to August 1877 changed the town’s name. James Henry emigrated from Scotland to NZ in 1868, having been born in Huntly, Aberdeenshire and lived on a property called Huntly Lodge in Scotland. On arriving in Rahui Pokeka, James Henry named his new home Huntly Lodge. He had brought with him his stamp with the words Huntly Lodge on it, which he used to stamp all correspondence in his role as Post Master. By the 1870’s this small settlement of 39 inhabitants was known as Huntly Lodge. In 1877 the railway reached Huntly and in 1879 the Post Office was transferred to the Railway Station. The “Lodge” was then dropped from the name.
Huntly rapidly grew as a coal-mining centre. The industry was established on a commercial basis about 1876 and the first mines were in and around the present site of Huntly town. Ralphs Mine at the site of the present Bank of New Zealandl, was the scene of a tragic disaster in 1914 when 43 miners lost their lives. The graves of all these men are at the Kimihia Cemetery two kilometres north of the town shopping centre
Huntly became a town district in 1908 and in 1931 was constituted a borough. A further change occurred in 1979 when the Waikato District Council merged all the communities in their area and thus the Huntly Community Board was established
Whilst the history as portrayed above is very limited anyone with further confirmed information is most welcome to contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and submit such details that they may be able to supply.
Sources:
• 'HUNTLY', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 16-Mar-2005 URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/1966/H/Huntly/en.htm
• Waikato Coalfields Museum records
