Old Porirua Road
The Old Porirua Road was the main road north from Wellington to Porirua in the 19th century. It followed a Māori track through Ngaio Gorge and past Johnsonville and Tawa to Porirua Harbour. The track wasn’t good for wheels, and early travel was slow and hard.
In the 1840s the New Zealand Company and William Mein Smith widened and cleared the route. By 1843 the road was widened to six feet, with space cleared to ten feet on each side so carts could pass. Workers were paid modest wages, and most lived in tents because there weren’t many houses yet.
When Ngāti Toa protested land purchases in 1845, they damaged bridges and blocked the road. The government sent more troops, and after negotiations Ngāti Toa received compensation.
After the Maori scare, the road was upgraded again. Governor Grey had the route from Porirua to Wellington widened to 15 feet and rebuilt with the help of soldiers and Māori labourers. The work began in 1846 and opened in December 1847, finishing in 1848. Visitors at the time noted the change—from a dangerous forest path to a smooth, pleasant road.
Along the road stood several stockades for defense: Clifford’s Stockade in Johnsonville, Middleton’s Stockade near The Halfway, McCoy’s Stockade and Leigh’s Stockade in Tawa, and Fort Elliott in Porirua. There were also sentry posts on Mount Misery and other spots.
Today the Old Porirua Road above Ngaio Gorge is a local road. The lower Ngaio Gorge Road, built in 1902, became the main route to Ngaio and was upgraded in the 1920s for motor traffic. It is now Cockayne Road, which leads to Box Hill and joins the Bridle Track to Kaiwharawhara.
The stretch from Box Hill to Johnsonville was built by government surveyor Thomas Henry Fitzgerald, with civilians using basic tools to finish the job. Access to Khandallah improved with Onslow Road in the 1920s and Burma Road to Johnsonville in 1936, replacing Fraser Avenue.
Through Johnsonville the road went down Bassett Road, past a steep section called “Russell’s Folly.” A horse-drawn wagon carrying cannon rolled off, and the cannons later ended up in the Waiouru Army Museum and Trentham.
In 1850 the community met at The Halfway to complain about the steep and dangerous roads. Tenders in 1854 led to Middleton Road, and a Ngauranga Gorge road opened in 1858 to join Johnsonville Road.
The section from Khandallah was renamed Fraser Avenue in 1941. In Tawa, McCoy’s Stockade and Leigh’s Stockade marked junctions, and today bronze plaques in the footpaths mark the old route. Tawa was known as Tawa Flat until 1959.
Fort Elliott moved after flooding in 1846. The Old Coach Road was the main Johnsonville–Ohariu Valley route until 1908, when Ironside Road was built. The Old Porirua Road is one of the earliest roads registered by the NZ Historic Places Trust.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 12:39 (CET).