Old Pump House (2 Spring Street)

The water supply for Onehunga was originally discovered by a Tainui warrior named Hau at what became known as Te Puna-o-Hau (‘The springs of Hau’), which were blessed by a tohunga to ensure that they would possess health-giving properties. By the late nineteenth century, there was a dire need for a clean water system in order to reduce the numbers of people falling sick to typhus and scarlet fever. But local voters did not want to spend the money, electing Laurence Gerraghty of the ‘No Rates Party’ as their first local government chairman in 1868. The water reticulation scheme was completed twenty years later after the election of a medical doctor as mayor. However, the expense of the project inspired Elizabeth Yates, the British Empire’s first female Mayor, to enter politics in protest.

Continue to the end of Spring Street and then turn right along Princes Street. Cross Princes Street at the protected crossing just beyond Waller Street. Follow the sign to the Onehunga Train Station platform.