History of Hāwea Flat
Hāwea Flat was originally the main settlement in the area. It was sited at the northern end of the road from Cromwell, and, before bridges were built, gave access to the punts across the Clutha River; at Newcastle (now called Albert town) via Newcastle Road, on Camphill Road and at Luggate, (now crossed by the Red Bridge).
Aerial photo of Lake Hāwea, 1951.
Hāwea Flat was divided into ‘hundreds’ during the 19th century; ‘hundreds’ being the size of land estimated to support one hundred people. Unlike the high country runs around and north of the lake (which were under pastoral lease), the hundreds were freeholded to their farmers.
In the early farming days, Hāwea Flat was considered to be a grain basket, producing wheat for the Dunedin bakeries, barley for the Dunedin brewery and oats for the local horses. Farming changed to the production of seed, and finally, to dairying.
Several of the roads are named after the early European settlers, or their land: for instance, McLennan, Lachlan, Butterfield, Paterson, Loach, and Kane Roads (after early families), and Partridge (Partridge peas were grown here) and Camphill Roads (Camphill is the name of Bert Butterfield’s property).
The McLennan family were early settlers, building their house, “Blairnhall” – named after the place in Scotland where their third child had been born – on the Hāwea Back Road, which was the first link between the settlement and the lake. The McLennan family donated the triangle of land between Kane and Camphill Roads and St Ninian’s Way to the community. The school was established here in 1882, and it remains the primary school serving the communities of both Lake Hāwea township and Hāwea Flat.
Hāwea Flat School, 1907.
The school population swelled during the late 1950s, when the dam was being constructed at the outlet of the lake, then it was reduced for some years, but in the early 21st century the number of pupils swelled again, as more families have come to live in the two communities, and new classrooms have consequently been added. The Post Office was also built in the triangle of land mentioned above, becoming a playcentre eventually as the mailboxes were moved to the Lake Hāwea township store. St Ninian’s Presbyterian church was built here, opening in 1938. An Early Childhood centre was also built here in the early years of the 21st century, and the Hāwea Hall was built on St Ninian’s Way, opposite the school and playcentre, so this triangle of donated land still contains the central institutions of the community.
St Patrick’s Catholic church, in St Patrick’s Way, was the first church built in the district, and was deconsecrated in about 1980, becoming a private dwelling.
During the early days of the settlement three hotels could be visited there, but today none of these remain. Newcastle Road was the main road to the punt crossing the Clutha River (Mata-Au) at Albert Town.
Windmill corner, where Kane Road takes a sharp turn at the northern entrance to the settlement, now contains a non-working model of the original windmill, erected c. 1900 to pump water due to a lack of streams. This was used by the public for many years, but in 1940 electricty arrived in the region and the windmill became obsolete.
The replica (pictured below) was erected in 2008 by the Upper Clutha History Society.
