A chance to explore Te Puke's history

There's a chance to delve into the district's past next month when the Local History Day hits Te Puke.

The Western Bay of Plenty District Council-run event is held annually in a different part of the district, with this year's history day in Te Puke on November 9.

The morning will be taken up by speakers, with an afternoon bus trip around Te Puke, Maketū and Paengaroa.

The council's community heritage services co-ordinator Sandra Haigh says the Local History Day has been run since 2011 and was last held in Te Puke in 2012.

''Last year it was in Waihī Beach. It's run in different locations each year and this year we thought we would encompass Maketū as well.''

The morning speakers will be Kelsi Lawrence and Chrissy Keepa from Maketū talking about a project focusing on seeing history through the eyes of tamariki. Richard Hart, author of Te Puke Flaxmills, will talk about the book and the industry.

Sandra says the event will be informal with people able to come and go as they please.
They will also be asked to contribute, if they can, to the archive's bank of knowledge

''Over the years in the Te Puke archive, we have been gifted many many photographs by the good people in the community, but they haven't given a single piece of metadata to go with them, so we are going to take some of these photographs out and we are going to invite the attendees of Local History Day to see if they can have a go at identifying when they were taken, who is in there, what is that building - that will be quite fun.''

After the talks people will have the chance to explore Te Puke before the bus trip leaves at 1pm.

Local historian Christine Clement will point out many of the historical sites and buildings on a route that will include parts of Te Puke, Waitangi, Maketū and Paengaroa.

Sandra says some of the bus trips run in conjunction with past history days have proved extremely popular.

The tour costs $10, a fee set to cover bus hire costs, and can be booked at Te Puke Library and Service Centre. Only cash will be accepted.

Any remaining seats will be made available on the day.

Sandra says people can attend the talks in Te Puke Memorial Hall Settlers' Lounge, or the bus trip or both.

She says with history becoming a core subject in the classroom in 2020, Local History Day is an ideal opportunity to find out more about the history of the district.