1. History
     Origins   Karori gold rush  Growth and subdivision  Karori Borough, 1891–1920  List of Mayors of Karori Borough  Amalgamation with Wellington, 1920  Karori sport teams 

2. Facilities
    Parks and reserves  Karori pool  Shopping   Library    Community garden    Churches and cemeteries  

3. Public transport

4. Education
    School enrolment zone  University  Secondary school  Primary schools  Preschools 

5. References

History

Origins

The name Karori means "the rope of bird snares" in te reo Māori.^[3]

No Māori lived in the area^[4] when the first European settlers came to Karori in the 1840s, having bought the land from the New Zealand Company. The first settler in Karori, John Yule of Glasgow,^[5] cleared 20 acres of forest on his section with his younger brother Moses and advertised its sale in December 1841.^[6]{{rp|9}} By 1845, ten 100-acre sections were being taken up and sub-divided, and Karori recorded 215 inhabitants – 109 of them under the age of 14 years.^[6]{{rp|11}}

In 1845 a group of armed police from Wellington constructed a small fortified post that became known as "The Stockade" in response to fears of attacks from nearby Māori insurgents. While there were no attacks, the stockade was used for a church service and to grind grain.^[6]{{rp|15}} The stockade was located on Mr Chapman's land, about halfway along what is now Marsden Avenue.^[7]

The first mental hospital in Wellington was built{{by whom|date=April 2018}} in 1854.^[6]{{rp|17}} By 1871 it had 23 inmates and was run by untrained staff, which resulted in the first matron and her husband being dismissed in 1872 because of cruelty.^[5] In 1873 the asylum moved from Karori to the site of present-day Government House in central Wellington.^[5] Karori School took over the asylum site in 1875.^[6]{{rp|23}}

Frederick Mackie in his book Traveller under concern described Karori in the 1850s:

"The walk was highly romantic. The road is cut out of the sides of steep hills covered with forest. The ever-winding road, the steep declivities, the forest above and below you, and the continual murmur of streams concealed in the depths below were very pleasing, as every few yards a new scene and fresh objects were brought to view. In one spot I obtained a view of the harbour, which today was like a bright glassy lake, and beyond it were the lofty ranges of the snow-clad Rimutaka and Tararuas, partly glistening in the sun and partly shrouded in cloud."^[8]

Karori gold rush

Karori experienced a gold rush when the valley of the Upper Kaiwharawhara Stream became subject to intensive gold-mining activity between 1869 and 1873. This activity eventually led to the building of the lower Karori Dam in 1873.^[9] At the height of the rush about 200 men worked the claims, driving shafts and drives up to 500 feet in length into the hills.^[6]{{rp|29}}

Growth and subdivision

In 1888 a syndicate purchased section 34, which was the closest to town (running from present day Ponsonby Road to Cooper Street). The new owners prepared the land for sale by building roads and naming them after the members of the syndicate and their families, and by running a marketing campaign, including providing free buses from Manners Street and writing poems:

In far-famed New Zealand, the evergreen free landMost favoured and beautiful Queen of the wave,Where the sun ever smiling, bad weather beguiling,Brightly shines on the face of the honest and brave.Tho' for Europe's bold races there are plenty of placesAdapted as homes for the great and the small,Yet, for onward progressing and bountiful blessingThere is one whose position is far before all.So haste where kind Nature's arrayed in her glory,

To pleasant, romantic, suburban Karori.^[6]{{rp|30–31}}

Karori Borough, 1891–1920

Karori was declared a borough in 1891 following a petition in favour of forming a borough with 123 signatories. A counter-petition garnered 41 signatories.^[6]{{rp|31–32}}

List of Mayors of Karori Borough

Amalgamation with Wellington, 1920

Both Wellington and Karori expanded towards each other, the two urban areas becoming gradually connected, aided by the construction of the Karori tunnel in 1901,^[10] and the Borough of Karori amalgamated with the City of Wellington in 1920.^[11]

Karori sport teams

Waterside Karori association football club founded when Karori Swifts and Waterside ( a club based in Kaiwharawhara) merged.

• Karori United Tennis Club based in Karori.^[12]
• Karori Amateur Athletics Club^[13]
• Karori Cricket Club ^[14]
• Karori Netball Club ^[15]
• Karori Bowling Club ^[16]

Facilities

Parks and reserves

Karori Park, on Karori Road features a football and cricket sports ground, all-weather track, changing rooms and play area.^[18]

Ben Burn Park, on Campbell Street features a football and cricket sports ground, changing rooms, athletics, play area and artificial cricket surfaces.^[18]

Wrights Hill Reserve in southern Karori features mountain bike and walking tracks and the historic Wrights Hill Fortress with a network of tunnels and gun emplacements overlooking the valley.^[19]

Karori pool

Karori pool is a modern indoor swimming complex with a 25-meter heating pool, learners' pool, toddlers pool, spa pool and a 30-meter hydro-slide.^[21] The pool was originally an outdoor facility first opened in 1936.^[22] The pool was converted to an indoor pool in 2001^[23] and additional work in 2010 added the hydro-slide.^[24] The pool is home to the Karori Pirates swimming club.^[25]

Shopping

The centre of Karori contains a shopping mall, café, and other amenities.

Library

Karori Library first opened in the 1840s, operating out of the community hall at the site of the present day library on Karori Road. In November 2005, the current two level library and cafe was opened.^[26]

Community garden

Karori also has a community garden, started in 2015.^[27]

Churches and cemeteries

Karori Cemetery is the second largest and second oldest cemetery{{Dubious|date=April 2016}} in New Zealand.^[10] Opened in 1891, it replaced the cemetery at Bolton Street as the main burial ground for the inhabitants of Wellington. It covers 100 acres / 40 hectares. The Small Chapel contains excellent stained glass windows designed by Wilhelmina Geddes. The cemetery contains the war graves of 267 Commonwealth service personnel of World War I and 123 of World War II, in separate plots for each war, the plots being linked by the Wellington Provincial Memorial (in the form of a marble archway) which commemorates 65 World War I and 20 World War II military personnel from the Wellington Military District who died abroad and have no known grave (most were buried at sea).^[28] Karori Cemetery "closed" in 1965 for the establishment of new burial plots but interments in established graves continues.

Other churches in Karori include:

• Karori Anglican Church^[31]
• Karori Baptist Church^[32]
• Catholic Church St Theresa^[33]
• St Anselms Union Church^[34]
• St Ninians Uniting^[35]
• St Mary's Anglican Church.^[36]

Public transport

Until 31 October 2017, the full length of Karori Road was served by the Karori Park trolley bus route, which replaced the former tram service in 1954. For many years vehicles on this route ran as route 12 to Courtenay Place, but are now designated as route 3 and through-routed to and from Lyall Bay via the city. The weekday 10-minute service is the most-frequent of all Wellington routes. Other routes serving the suburb are route 17 which runs through Kelburn to Thorndon and the Railway Station, route 18 which serves the eastern side of the suburb and runs through Te Aro, route 21 that runs up Birdwood St, and down Campbell St, and route 47 that runs to the Johnsonville shopping centre.

Additionally there are express buses, Karori South and Karori West buses.

Education

School enrolment zone

Karori is within the enrolment zones for Wellington College, Wellington Girls' College, Wellington High School, St Oran's College, Karori West Normal School, and Karori Normal School.^[37]

University

The former Karori campus of Victoria University of Wellington on Donald Street was the home of the Faculty of Education until 2016 when the Faculty moved to the Kelburn campus.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}

Secondary school

Primary schools

There are three primary schools in Karori.

Karori Normal School is a decile 10^[38] full state primary school in Donald Street which serves the eastern and central part of the suburb. It was founded in 1857 and is the second largest full primary school in New Zealand with a roll of 745 in 2014.^[39] It has an artificial turf, two playgrounds, 35 classrooms in approximately four buildings, a concrete field, and a grass field. Students from Year 1–8 attend. The author Katherine Mansfield attended the school from 1895–98^[40] and there is a memorial to her at the school on a concrete field called the Katherine Mansfield field, located in front of a tree she wrote about in one of her stories.

Preschools

There are a number of preschool education providers in Karori, including:

• Karori Playcentre
• Marsden Preschool
• Karori Kindercare^[41]
• Donald Street Preschool^[42]
• Karori Kids Preschool^[43]
• Karori Childcare Centre^[44]
• Karori Plunket Creche
• St Mary's Early Childhood Education Centre^[45]
• Sunshine Kindergarten
• Kiwi Kids Preschool

References

• Billie Dawe
• Billie (disambiguation)
• Billie Evans
• Billie-Eve
• Billie (film)
• Billie Fox
• Billie Frank (disambiguation)
• Billie Frechette
• Billie Gene Kanell
• Billie Godfrey
• Billie Goodson
• Billie halliday
• Billie Harvey
• Billie Holiday Sings
• Billie Hoskins
• Billie Hughes
• Billie jean
• Billie Jean 2008
• Billie Jean Horton
• Billie Jean King career statistics
• Billie jean king career statistics
• Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
• Billie Jean, Look at Me
• Billie Jean, Look At Me OST
• Billie jean look at me ost