Charles Gray as a Developer

When the railway opened in 1886 access to Pukerua became very much easier. Wellingtonians began coming out for camping weekends and later built unofficial shacks, huts, weekend cottages, seaside whares or weekend whares. Pukerua gained a reputation as an ideal seaside location for summer holidays or weekends away from the city. It was also renowned for the number of rabbits and weekenders were often given one or two to take home. Charles Gray supplied ammunition free to anyone who wanted to go rabbit shooting. Gray would have been particularly keen to get rid of rabbits as his mother Christina Florence (she had remarried in 1875) and brother James had been charged in 1900, along with James Wall and Jacob Joseph, with having failed to destroy rabbits on their properties. The steps they had taken were not nearly enough according to the rabbit inspector and Jacobs was fined £20, Wall and Christina Florence were fined £1 each and the charge against James Gray withdrawn. (Evening Post, 24 July 1900, p4)

The Social Gossip column of the Free Lance described camping at Pukerua in 1906:

“One of the most enjoyable ways of spending a holiday — provided the weather is fine — is “camping.” At Pukerua, beyond Plimmerton, a delightful time was spent by a number of friends, who say the “spot” chosen was ideal. The proximity of the Maori pah and an old burying ground gave an air of romance and picturesqueness, and at times, in the evening, the Maori children, who were tremendously interested in the camping party, sang their quaint and musical chants, or danced a subdued “haka.””

(Free Lance, 20 January 1906, p8)

Gray is perhaps best remembered today as the developer of sections that began European Pukerua Bay. Gray Street is named after him and Elizabeth Street after his wife. Kotipu Place was originally named Charles Street until a meeting of the Pukerua Bay Progressive Association made the change in 1963. The unofficially named Gray’s Common is where daffodils from the Gray Estate are growing. Grays Road on the northern shore of the Pāuatahanui Arm of Porirua Harbour was named after the Gray Family.

Near the end of 1915 the first of eight sections were subdivided at Pukerua and the name “Pukerua” approved by the Minister of Lands. The Surveyor General had asked the Wellington Chief Surveyor H. D. McKellar why that particular scheme of sections had been chosen. The response from Middleton and Smith the surveyors was:

“In making this scheme of Subdivisions, consideration was given to the configuration of the land, which is hilly and step in places. The boundaries, as shewn by us, are so placed as to afford a good sea view for each section, without the risk of being built out by an adjacent owner. Although the subdivision shewn by you in pencil is the better scheme on paper, it is most unsuitable on the ground.” (Townships – Pukerua. R21030937 Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga.)

The eight sections were at what is now the northern end of Te Pari Pari Road. Many of these sections were subsequently severely reduced in size when Centennial Highway was constructed. Pukerua was now the “official” name and the European township had begun.

On 14 February 1917 Gray’s Extension No.1 to the Town of Pukerua was approved by the Department of Lands and Survey. These sections were at the southern end of Te Pari Pari Road with some in the eastern side of Toenga Road, originally called The Avenue. These sections would all have been sold by word of mouth to weekenders visiting Pukerua. In April 1918 H.G. Rutter and Company, Land and Estate Agents of Panama Street, Wellington began advertising splendid sections for weekend whares alongside the railway line overlooking the sea at Pukerua for £45 each. (Evening Post, 11 April 1918, p10)

Gray’s subdivision known as  ‘Town of Pukerua Extension No. 2’ was filed on 18 January 1921. It included two sections at the north end of Te Pari Pari Road, six sections that were later taken for the construction of Centennial Highway and eight sections in Toenga Road. Thirteen days later Roderick Mulhern filed an application for a subdivision on Muri Road which he initially also called Town of Pukerua Extension No. 2 but this was subsequently changed to Extension No. 3. He had included in his plan a site for a possible future Post Office and asked for the application to be treated as urgent so he could take advantage of the summer.

Mulhern raised the bar significantly when he began advertising an auction of his sections in Wellington and Manawatu newspapers. He even paid for a professionally designed coloured flyer. Potential buyers were invited to the Plimmerton Schoolroom on 26 March 1921 to bid on “26 choice seaside sections, comprising some of the best sites at this exclusive resort. Magnificent view, well sheltered, shooting, fishing, boating, bathing. These sections are close to the station and handy to the beach. Practically every section is a good flat site, and the land is clean and free from weeds, scrub, etc.” (Evening Post, 19 March 1921, p8)

In April 1922 the Chief Surveyor applied to the Surveyor General for approval on Gray’s behalf for 33 sections in his Extension No.4 subdivision. The application included the statement “The object of the subdivision is to provide sites for holiday and week-end shacks, and it is unlikely, in my opinion, that it will become permanently residential.” (Townships – Pukerua. R21030937. Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga.) The sections were along Ocean Parade.

Gray followed Mulhern’s lead with an advertising flyer:

“PUKERUA BAY

28 Sections Available

Terms can be arranged, and further information available from Mr Chas Gray, at Pukerua Bay or from Longmore and Co., 207 Lambton Quay, Wellington.

These sections are the last on the beach front to be offered in the ideal seaside resort of PUKERUA BAY, and dwellers in the City wishing to purchase a section for the purpose of either building a permanent home or week-end residence, in a climate unrivalled in New Zealand, will act quickly.

PUKERUA BAY lands were favoured haunts of the Maori in years gone by, the land producing abundantly and the sea abounding with fish. These conditions prevail today.

PUKERUA BAY beach is safe for bathing at all times. Good tennis courts have been constructed, and a flourishing tennis club has been established. A good nine hole golf course will be laid out with very little expense.

PUKERUA BAY is one of the most favoured spots on the West Coast, protected from the southerly winds.

The air at PUKERUA BAY is dry and bracing. Winter mild and equable and as a health resort, is specially so for invalids, is unsurpassable.

The historical Island of Kapiti lies a few miles to the North, and from a section, in PUKERUA BAY, a magnificent view of the far stretching coast is obtainable.

PUKERUA BAY is within easy distance of Wellington, and with all the advantages of climate and sport can claim to be the ideal spot so many are asking for.

Buy a Section at PUKERUA BAY

Build a House at PUKERUA BAY

And be a Home at PUKERUA BAY.”

Seven months later Gray’s application was lodged for Extension No. 5 with 25 sections on the north side of Haunui Way and 15 sections on the east side of Pukerua Beach Road. A comment from the Acting Surveyor General stated “The steep slopes will prevent roads being laid out, but in these cases narrower reserves for walking tracks are often valuable for access for fire breaks, and should be put in, say, 25 links wide. They may be called plantation reserves to avoid the lengthy procedure required to create narrow rights of way.” (Townships – Pukerua. R21030937. Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga.) Late in 1922 Harry A. Shepherd, real estate agent of Customhouse Quay was advertising ideal seaside lots at Pukerua Bay from £50 to £85. (Evening Post 30 December 1922 p8)

In November 1925 advertisements began appearing in Wellington, Wairarapa and Manawatu newspapers for a forthcoming auction of 60 beautiful sections at Pukerua Bay on behalf of Charles Gray Esq. The advertisements mentioned the invigorating climate, sunny aspect, fishing and bathing as well as the splendid soil for early crops.

The auction was successful:

“There was a good attendance and the bidding at times was spirited, it being evident that those who had visited Pukerua Bay and inspected the property were determined to take advantage of the opportunity of acquiring a Section in this most desirable locality. Not only the climate, balmy to a degree, but the beautiful view and bright sunny prospect generally appeals to all who have viewed the country that Mr Gray is sub-dividing. A good percentage of the allotments were disposed of under the hammer, several more being sold before leaving the Saleroom and further sales have since been effected by the Auctioneers. The prices realised must prove very satisfactory to the Vendor and at the same time reasonable to the purchasers. Several options have been given and it is anticipated that practically the whole of the sections offered by Mr Gray will be dispensed of very shortly. Not only are the sections desirable from a residential and seaside holiday-making point of view but the terms given by Mr Gray are exceptionally easy.” (Manawatu Times, 21 December 1925, p11)

In February 1926 advertisements in the Evening Post noted that there were a few sections still available at Pukerua Bay “The healthiest Seaside Resort in Wellington, owing to its elevation ideal for lung and chest troubles. Price £90 each, £10 deposit.” (Evening Post, 6 February 1926, p5) The following month when it was announced that the Prime Minister, the Hon. J. G. Coates, had accepted the invitation of the Pukerua Bay Ratepayers’ Association to open the new roads in the Bay it was remarked that Pukerua Bay had increased significantly in popularity as a seaside resort over the last few years.

Early in 1927 Gray’s Extension No. 8 was approved. This was the subdivision that included five acres for Pukerua Bay School. There were also sections on the main road, Te Motu Road and Te Ara Road.

Newspaper social columns recorded people who were holidaying at Pukerua Bay such as this one in the Wanganui Chronicle: “Mrs Cleland and her small daughter left Wanganui on Saturday for a fortnight’s holiday at Pukerua Bay” (Wanganui Chronicle, 31 August 1926, p10) and in the Horowhenua Chronicle: “Mrs F. E. Parker and family are leaving for Pukerua Bay, where they intend to spend the balance of the summer holidays” (Horowhenua Chronicle, 6 January 192,7 p4) and the Otaki Mail: “Mr. and Mrs. J. Warnock, of Otaki, are at present at Pukerua Bay on holiday.” (Otaki Mail, 6 May 1927, p2)

In 1927 Gray commissioned R.P. More to take photographs of Pukerua Bay, possibly as a promotion. Robert Percy Moore (1881 – 1944) was New Zealand’s greatest panorama photographer who travelled throughout New Zealand with his camera, was commissioned by the New Zealand Tourist and Publicity Department and photographed royal visits and tourist scenes. He used a Graflex Cirkut camera with a clockwork motor which rotated the camera from left to right during each exposure which could take from 40 to 50 seconds. The negatives are the size of the prints. Moore took two photographs at Pukerua Bay on 2 December 1929, one entitled Panorama of “Pukerua Bay Estate” and the other Beach front of Pukerua Estate. These two highly detailed photographs form a valuable record of Pukerua Bay at the time.

If a section purchaser missed a payment Gray was renowned for repossessing the land. He was also known to have sent his workmen to put pick axes through the water tanks of residents who had annoyed him.

After Gray died in 1943 his family continued subdividing and selling sections. Many of the earlier residents of Pukerua Bay did not regard these later developments as the “real” Pukerua Bay.

By Ashley Blair