The History of Whitcher Grove

Whitcher Grove is a historically important road that links both Moores Valley and Reservoir Road.

History

Whitcher Grove was named after the developer, Ian Herbert Whitcher (1915-1995). He was a former secretary of Wainuiomata Properties Ltd that had a registered office on Moores Valley Road. The company was dissolved in February 1989.

Whitcher Grove holds notable historical significance in Wainuiomata with roots going back as far as 1867 when House Northbrook was built. The Sinclair family, also ran a steam sawmill on the bluff above the Wainuiomata Stream complete with workers’ huts near where Witcher Grove is located today. Further, a tramway extended from the mill along Whitcher Grove and through Waterworks/Sinclair Valley. It was originally used for transporting logs to the mill and later repurposed to carry passengers to the dam. While is was likely a road after the tramway was abandoned, Whitcher Grove as a street was not yet established. In the gallery below, an aerial photo shows a road here in 1942.

Much further back in the 1880s near Northbrook was a fishing hut called Smiths / Stocks Whare where a James Eman Smith (1862 – 1916) often spent his recreational time fishing with friends. He worked for the Treasury Department before becoming the Resident Commissioner of the Cook Islands and Commissioner of Pensions. This whare was likely built from original workers huts in the Sinclair Mill site.

House Northbrook was built by John Mowlem, it then passed to the ownership of his brothers-in-law, Duncan and John Sinclair, for a brief period. Over the following decades, the home changed hands multiple times. Eventually, it was acquired by property developer Ian Whitcher, after whom the street was named. With 3 Whitcher Grove being built as early as 1968, it is likely that the street was established around this time.

In the past, a maintenance road use to branch off the end of Whitcher Grove that gave access to the old water pipeline. Part of the old dam system located here consisted of a concrete well and tunnel which is routed under the road.

Today

Whitcher Grove remains an important route, providing access to the water catchment area in Reservoir Valley and featuring an entrance to Wainuiomata Regional Park at 10 Whitcher Grove. The properties along this road are mainly farmsteads, with number 6 operating as a function centre known as Rosewood Estate.

From the road, a prominent redwood tree is visible on one of the properties, near the former location of Northbrook. This tree may have been planted by the Sinclair family, as there are three other redwoods on Hine Road, all on land once owned by the Sinclair family. Later, the land came under the ownership of John and Mary Wakeham, whose timeline also aligns with the estimated age of these trees. The redwood species holds the record as the tallest tree species on Earth.