Plimmerton

The township of Plimmerton surrounds one of the more congenial beaches in the northwest part of the Wellington urban area in New Zealand. Its census population (including Hongoeka Bay) of usual residents was 2058 in 2006, little changed from 2052 in both the 1996 and 2001 counts. The static population may indicate that little scope exists for growth, at least without damaging the environment. The largely Māori (Ngati Toa) settlement at Hongoeka Bay to the northwest is part of Plimmerton for most practical social purposes. North of the industrial area is the Taupo Swamp, a flax swamp, one of the largest of its type in the southern half of the North Island. State Highway 1, also known as St Andrews Road, separates Plimmerton and the late-20th-century suburb of Camborne. A shopping area about two blocks long adjoins a railway station and includes two churches, a medical centre, Plunket rooms, a craft shop, a beauty salon, a realtor, a grocery store and several eateries. School, kindergarten, and tennis courts are close. A tiny branch of Porirua City's library system occupies a one-room-sized building near the school. Southwest of the shopping area is a fairly sheltered, gently graded beach, which has been a popular recreation area for over a century. The water is popular with windsurfers; some world champions have trained there. Another popular beach is Karehana Bay, at the foot of the Airlie Road/Cluny Road valley about 1.5 kilometres northwest of the shops. Poet Denis Glover mentioned the settlement in his poem Threnody: "In Plimmerton, in Plimmerton,, the little penguins play, and one dead albatross was found at Karehana Bay." Graphic sourced with thanks from www1.istockphoto.com