The first settlers on the Te Puke Block arrived in 1879 and included Peter Grant and his wife Caroline (nee Moon), William Bird and his wife Sarah (nee Leitch), Joseph Malyon and his wife Sara (nee James) amongst others. The first of the Vesey Stewart settlers arrived in Tauranga directly from London on the Lady Jocelyn on the 2 January 1881.
In July 1880, work commenced on the Tauranga to Te Puke Road, via Welcome Bay. It was constructed by the Armed Constabulary and local Maori who worked on their land. Before this, access to Te Puke was made across the Papamoa Hills from Ngapeke to Manoeka, following an ancient Maori trail. Peter Grant had been contracted by the Tauranga County Council to form this track in to a bridle path in 1879.
Stores, and also passengers for the town could also come from Tauranga by boat, first to Maketu, then up the Kaituna River to Canaan Landing and then by Maori canoe up the Waiari Stream to the site of the present road bridge just to the south of the town.
By late 1881, Te Puke boasted 25 wooden buildings including two hotels, two general stores, a butcher, a post office and a smithy. The settlers quickly settled upon the land and by 1884 had established a butter factory. Draining of the swamps began and the area was found to be very suitable for crops, and maize and wheat were grown extensively. Later much of the farming land was found to be “bush sick” but was cured with the use of cobalt in the 1930s.
Flax milling had begun in the 1870s and became a major industry in the area until the early 1940s. Saw milling began in 1905 and is still a major industry in the area. In 1883 gold-bearing ore was discovered on the Papamoa Hills and during the 1920s a gold mine operated at Muir’s farm on No 4 Road. With the building of the railway a large Public Works quarry operated in Te Puke and was a major employer. The freezing works at Rangiuru opened in 1968 and HortResearch opened on No 1 Road in 1971.
