Author: jennyrat

The Haewai Houghton Valley Community Association (HHVCA), formerly known as the Houghton Valley Progressive Association, is our local Residents’ Association. It supports the community by:

• Providing updates of what has been happening in and around the community and notifications of wider community issues;
• Keeping the community owned hall maintained and fit for use by the community and recreational groups, including the InStep Dance Studio;
• Facilitating the organisation and hosting of community events;
• Providing funding support for approved local projects;
• Giving you the right to have your say and vote on community issues at General Meetings and elections at Annual General Meetings.

Membership is $10 per person and the membership year starts on 1 April. For membership we need your name, street address and email address.

To become a member contact: admin@haewaihoughtonvalley.org

To book our Community Hall contact: hallbookings@haewaihoughtonvalley.org

History of the Association

The Houghton Valley Community Garden is a small plot on the back of a Housing NZ section and sits between the School and regenerating bush. There are several beds, which are communally managed and harvested. The general philosophy is come and help and then share in the day’s harvest. Currently work is done when people can make it rather than a particular time, the group communicates through WhatsApp.

How to get to the gardens

To help in the gardens contact: admin@haewaihoughtonvalley.org

More information

Te Kawakawa Commons is a community garden in Hornsey Road, up behind the bus stop near No 44, which is part of the Mt. Albert Reserve. Before 2012 it was a blackberry covered gully. Local residents cleared the area and planted fruit trees and made a seating place and vegetable garden, as well as planting natives and making tracks through the neighbouring forest.

Over the years the garden has hosted working bees, community gatherings and art exhibitions. The forest has grown and the garden is now a sheltered and peaceful retreat, complete with its own black Pīwakawaka.

To help in the gardens contact: admin@haewaihoughtonvalley.org

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Te Raekaihau (the headland that eats the wind) is a 21.6 ha reserve on Wellington’s South Coast, incorporating the headland dividing Lyall Bay from Houghton Bay, and overlooking Cook Strait.  It includes Te Raekaihau Point and runs back to View Road South, just before Hungerford Road.  Some of the fringes are privately owned, but the majority of the headland is owned by the Wellington City Council.

For a long time the place was a little known treasure with slowly regenerating bush and stunning views over Cook Strait. Over the last 50 years several individuals and groups have helped care for the headland, including making tracks and replanting the land with endemic forest cover.

Te Ohu o Te Raekaihau is the most recent of restoration groups for this special place and is laying the foundation for more permanent kaitiakitanga. Around 2,000 trees are planted every year over the winter months to diversify the vegetation amongst the monoculture of native karo. The rest of the year is spent culling invasive weeds and generally caring for the forest, the wildlife and the tracks in collaboration with the Council.

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Te Raekaihau is one of our local reserves and is a special place to visit. It has a rich history of people who were inspired to look after it, including the passionate environmentalist, Kae Miller. In 1981, the area was pretty neglected and Kae Miller adopted it and formed the View Road Park Society to look after it. She built a small building in 1985 and named it the Alice Krebs Lodge after her friend Alice, who survived two years in a concentration camp.

Kae lived in the lodge as a caretaker of the park, planting many trees in the name of conservation and peace. When Kae left in 1990 to live in a home, other caretakers looked after and hired out the Lodge for short stays. The Kae Miller Trust was formed in 2007 to honour and continue Kae’s vision, planting trees and looking after the lodge. The Alice Krebs Lodge is now use as a retreat for those seeking quiet contemplation or spiritual practice.

To enquire about staying at the Lodge contact: brendacheyne@gmail.com

The Kae Miller Trust, the Lodge and the Peace Grove

Detailed History of Alice Krebs Lodge

Kae Miller’s incredible life

Te kura o Haewai Houghton Valley School is a large part of the Houghton Valley community. Being a small school in a large natural environment, it has a reputation for a country feel and the students enjoy many outdoor as well as indoor activities. The annual fair makes the most of this country feel with pony rides and field activities as well as great music, food and stalls.

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Houghton Valley Playcentre is tucked below Houghton Bay Road, up from the school and next to the Community Hall. There are five morning sessions a week, including a Te Reo Māori session on Tuesday and Thursday mornings where parents stay and learn alongside their tamariki.

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