Patea

Education is provided by Patea Area School for Years 1–13, along with a Catholic primary school catering for Years 1–6. The town’s LibraryPlus combines full library facilities with a range of South Taranaki District Council services.

Recreational facilities include a public summer swimming pool, athletics club, beach and Patea Golf Club, which enjoys an impressive clifftop setting overlooking the Tasman Sea. The course is also where New Zealand golfer and 2005 U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell, who grew up nearby at Whenuakura, learned to play.

Patea has a rich local history and is home to Aotea Utanganui – Museum of South Taranaki. The historic Patea River breakwaters, first constructed in 1878, are another notable feature of this coastal community.

History: Patea, called Carlyle or Carlyle Beach for a time by European settlers, was originally nearer the Patea River mouth than the present town. During the New Zealand land wars Patea was an important military settlement. General Cameron’s force arrived at the river mouth on 15 January 1865 and constructed redoubts on both sides of the river.

Patea became a market town when hostilities ended. The first of the sections on the present town site were sold in 1870. A local shipping company was established in 1872, and harbour improvements began. The Marton-New Plymouth railway line via Patea was completed in March 1885. The Carlyle Town Board, created about 1877 to administer town affairs, was succeeded by a borough council constituted on 13 October 1881 under the name Patea.

In the 1920s Patea was the largest cheese exporting port in the world. The Grader Cool Store received cheese for grading from all over South Taranaki and as far south as Oroua Downs near Himatangi. After grading it was loaded into coastal ships at the grader wharf for transport to Wellington where it was transhipped into overseas ships for export. The port closed in July 1959.

Patea became known in 1982 as the home of singer Dalvanius Prime and the Patea Māori Club. Their single, “Poi E”, indicated renewed impetus in contemporary Māori popular music The town again came to national attention in 1982 when the main employer, the Patea Freezing Works, was closed.

Patea Freezing Works: In the early 1880s the predecessor to the Patea Freezing Works was established on the eastern bank of the Patea River. Cool stores for handling dairy produce followed in 1901 with later additions evolving into what became known as the Patea Freezing Co-Op, South Taranaki’s primary employer. Strategic reforms, inefficiencies and nationwide over-processing resulted in closure in September 1982. In February 2008 the derelict buildings suffered severe fires. Damage was extensive and with the health hazard presented by asbestos insulation throughout the freezer walls, the town sought demolition. As of March 2010 the site was being split into owners blocks as private property.