The Orewa – Puhoi area has a long history of human settlement and has been occupied since the first period of Maori settlement that took place approximately 800 years ago. Most settlements were around the Wenderholm Regional Park and Waiwera areas. Orewa was used as a base for fishing and gathering shellfish but it is believed there were no permanent settlements on the flats.
European settlement began on the 29th June 1863 when 83 young immigrants arrived at Puhoi from Staab, Bohemia (present day Czech Republic) with the promise of a 40-acre land grant for each adult and a 20-acre grant for each child over five years old. Life for the settlers was difficult; the initial ‘settlement’ at Puhoi consisted of two nikau huts surrounded by dense bush.
Development in the area accelerated in the 1920’s when speculators began subdividing land at the southern end of Orewa for holiday homes. Advertisements for the sale of land highlighted the “resort feel” and beach environment of Orewa.
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