Wainuiomata

Wainuiomata
A view of Wainuiomata as seen from above Sunny Grove looking North.
Nickname(s): Nappy Valley (historic)
Wainuiomata Wainuiomata within the Wellington metro area
Coordinates: 41°15′41″S 174°57′3″E / 41.26139°S 174.95083°E / -41.26139; 174.95083Coordinates: 41°15′41″S 174°57′3″E / 41.26139°S 174.95083°E / -41.26139; 174.95083
Country	New Zealand
Region	Wellington
Territorial authority	Lower Hutt City
Elevation	86 m (282 ft)
Population (2013 census)
• Total	16,786
Postcode	5014
Website	www.wainuiomata.co.nz

Wainuiomata (/ˌwaɪnjuːiˈoʊmɑːtə/) is a large suburb of Lower Hutt, in the Wellington Region of New Zealand's North Island. At the 2013 census, Wainuiomata had a population of 16,786.

The word 'Wainui-o-mata' is a Māori name made up of the words Wai = water, Nui = big, O = of, and Mata – which could refer to a woman's name. The origins of the word are disputed, but one commonly accepted translation refers to the women who came over the Wainuiomata Hill to evade marauding tribes from the north, and who sat wailing by the stream after the slaughter of their menfolk. From this we have 'faces streaming with water' or 'tears' although it could equally refer to the large pools of water which lay over the swampy surface (face) of the northern end of the Valley, or the river itself which is known to flood the Wainui (Coast Road) valley.

Wainuiomata occupies a basin at the headwaters of the Wainuiomata River, between the eastern Hutt hills and the Orongorongos. There is little evidence of Māori occupation of the area before 1840, probably because it was covered in dense forest and large swamps. The 1855 earthquake raised these swamps and encouraged European settlement. The earliest settlements were based around the river where the timber mills supplied the Wellington region where the demand was great in the 1850s and '60s. Today this area is known as "The Village" though it is also known as "Homedale". The isolated nature of Wainuiomata was a problem for early settlers. Narrow hill routes into the settlement were the only access during the 1850s and 1860s. By the end of the 19th century there were two roads in the valley, Main Road and Fitzherbert Road (known locally as "Swamp Road").

The town's economy in these early days was largely based around timber milling from the forests around the Wainuiomata River. In the 1850s Sir William Fitzherbert started a flax-milling business in the north of the valley, but this proved to be economically unviable.