History – Welcome to “Little Scotland”

On the road south from Warkworth, the farms, orchards and vineyards present a pleasing spectacle to view in any season, saved thus far from residential development.

Early settlers called the area Little Scotland and mostly arrived in the 1860s to take up Crown grants, build homesteads and experience the hardships of breaking in the land and making it fruitful.

Mr and Mrs Wilson came as newlyweds on the ship Joseph Fletcher, leaving Scotland in May 1859. They purchased a farm near the present satellite station. Farmer Wilson, as he was known to avoid confusion, was well known to cattle drivers who looked forward to resting a night on the Wilson farm before continuing their journey. Mrs Wilson ran the property for some years after their parents died.

Patrick Forbes Russell from Banffshire in Scotland was one of the first to take up a Crown grant in the area. He selected 80ha where the majestic redwoods now grow. With his son he was an early roadmaker, tendering for contracts.

The ship Flying Foam brought the Shaw and Perry families to New Zealand in 1864 and they became neighbours at Little Scotland. In 1874 William Shaw married Miss Perry and they raised a large family on their “Burnside” property. The land was developed as an orchard and nursery. It was also a coaching stop and housed the post office and telephone exchange. The house, which was built using burnt lime, survives as one of Warkworth’s historic homes.

“Luggie Bank” was the name the Perrys gave to their farm on Perry Rd.  Eventually it became Perry and Sons Jersey Breeding Stud.

Jonathan Morrison King, an Englishman, was a relative latecomer, arriving in 1879 and settling near Thompson Rd. Kings Bush is named in his honour.

When it became apparent that a school was needed between Warkworth and Puhoi it was Mr King who corresponded with the Board of Education. Land was available on the Russell farm and the board agreed to send a plan, plus doors, windows and iron for the roof, leaving the parents to find the timber.

In March 1899, Mr King wrote to the board: ” The materials are to hand and the building erected.  Kindly forward the furniture for Huhue school by steamer to Warkworth.”

Mr Jaffrey, the first teacher, faced a challenging task. Each week he taught three days at Huhue before riding his horse over 8km to Mahurangi West School where he taught another three days.

The register, now at the Warkworth Museum, gives the family names of children attending as Barker, Jones, King, Mead, Miller, Perry, Russell, Shaw, von Ziano, and Wech. In 1916, the name of the school was changed to Pohuehue.

A Public Works camp was set up near the school in 1928 with 60 to 70 men housed in a canvas town. The road was to be realigned through the school playground. Some readers will remember the old road which veered to the left to avoid the deep gully now spanned by the viaduct.

Hugging the natural contour of the land, it featured a waterfall that spilled down over a stone outcrop. In the coaching days a trough caught the water and horses were allowed to drink their fill before the effort of dragging the coach up the steep incline of Coachman’s Hill.

Pohuehue School operated from a new location on the Wech farm until consolidation closed the small schools. The little one-roomed building gave more than half a century of service.