Whitford, New Zealand

Historical facts

• Whitford is traditionally home to the Māori of Ngāi Tai descendants of the Tainui waka which moored at the Turanga river. Ngāi Tai also had the Pā sites Mangemangeroa, Moananui and Awakarihi.
• Whitford's first European settlers, George and William Trice, started a popular and productive farm on Clifton Road near the village settlement in 1843. Most of the following settlers arrived in the mid-1850s.
• The Nathans' “Whitford Park” estate provided feathers from its ostriches for use in the fashion trade from 1869 until the 1920s. Racehorses were also trained there; this practice still occurs today.
• The town's Granger's brickworks operated from the 1878 until 1920. The Trices goldmine was converted to a landfill. Today, metal is quarried from there.
• Transport usually occurred via water until the 1920s, when roads and motor transport were improved.
• Today, Whitford has a real estate agent, accountant, dentist, service station, restaurant, gift shop, a hair salon and a furniture restoration establishment. Lifestyle blocks for city workers now occupy some farms. Beef, sheep, dairy, and timber are the chief economic activities.
• Ayrlies Garden, one of New Zealand's best-known gardens, is located in Whitford. In the areas surrounding the gardens is a lifestyle estate subdivision expected to be completed in the year 2022.
• Due to modern advancements in infrastructure in the surrounding areas such as Beachlands and Ormiston, the Whitford village area has seen a substantial increase in traffic flow. This is expected to further increase in the future.