The Central Hawke's Bay village of Ongaonga is celebrating 150 years this year.
The Central Hawke’s Bay rural village of Ongaonga is set to host a three-day celebration to recognise 150 years since it was established in 1875.
The village, which is said to be named after the tree nettle, is set to come to life and go back in time on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with markets, a parade, and even a golf tournament, according to the chairman of the Ongaonga Historical Society, Dennis Schaw.
The long-time resident said he took on the organisational role and has been working on it for the past 12 months.
“It all begins on Friday the 17th where there is a welcome in the Onga town hall and there will be a performance by the Ongaonga School.”
Schaw said an important part of the celebration was to hold a meet and greet for all current and former residents, and they would get the oldest living resident to cut the celebratory cake.
“It’s a town with a population of between 150 and 160, it has a lovely little store and cafe, and we classify it as a historical village and it’s very unique in Central Hawke’s Bay.”
He said in the past five years, the Gardner and Yeoman Mill boiler had been placed at the corner of SH50 and the entrance to Ongaonga as another proud historical marker.
“We see the boiler as being a memorial for all those hard-working mill families that had hardships we will never experience.”
He said the village was originally surveyed off by Henry Hamilton Bridge in 1872 to establish the village on his large estate, Fairfield, with the main street later named Bridge St.
“H.H. Bridge really did play a big part in the development of Onga, that’s for sure.”
The village is also home to the “iconic” Coles factory which opened in 1878.
For 86 years, it was a working factory executing a wide range of trades and skills, including building, joinery, cabinet making, and coffin making.
In 1913, 23 men worked in the factory, but the subsequent world wars affected trade and manpower and the operation was cut back. The factory eventually closed in 1964.
“They were the everything that locals needed to go to for building and maintenance...it was really the hub of the village at that stage...they built many houses throughout Hawke’s Bay that are still standing.”
He enjoyed the opportunity to showcase and celebrate the rich history as a lot of work had gone into preserving the area.
“We are so lucky that in Onga, people are protective of the history that is about there.”
On Saturday, Schaw said there would be a parade down Bridge St beginning between 9.30am and 10am that would start with three chimes of the bell of St Oran’s Church and a moment of silence to reflect on those who came before and the soldiers who never returned home.
“There will be traction engines, Clydesdale horses, the odd vintage car, people marching in their groups, we have got the old hospital board ambulance from Waipukurau...the CHB museum are parading and the show committee are parading.”
He also said locals would be attending on their horses, and they wanted to transform the place into what it might have been like all those years ago.
“There will be some modern vehicles too, we thought we could showcase some of them and that gives people an idea of where we have actually come from.”
Schaw said there would also be a market with more than 60 stalls on Saturday at Bridge Park, and the art gallery next to the Ongaonga General Store would be open to visitors.
A special church service would be held on Sunday at the Church of the Good Shepherd on Bridge St, followed by an open day at the museum.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.