Business and Shops

When Wainuiomata became a settlement the people worked as farmers, the land was swampy and the soil was rich.

Two very well known early settlers, Richard Prouse and Hugh Sinclair, were some of the first to start the sawmilling business in the valley. It was to help build the early homes in Wainuiomata.

In the 1880's people came to work on the waterworks. It was to pipe water to the greater Wellington region.

There was a cheese factory built in the 1920's to provide work for settlers.
After the second world war housing was cheap and there was a baby boom.
Plans were made in 1968 for a shopping centre and work was completed in 1970 it cost $1,500,000.

This is taken in the 1940's it was the Lovegrove Store

This was where the Lovegrove Store was it is now the Wonderland Records taken in 2012