A Brief History of Benneydale/Maniaiti and Benneydale School

Benneydale/Maniaiti is in the King Country, 35km southeast of Te Kuiti, three hours’ drive from Auckland and a five-hour drive from Wellington. Coal was discovered here in 1931 and in 1940 the government bought the mine. A township was then developed to house the many people and service industries that worked in or supported the mine. An English name was created for the town making it the second (first being Barryville) King Country settlement without a Māori name: Benneydale.

Hītori o Maori

Benneydale/Maniaiti is located within The King Country boundary. The King Country, or Rohe Potae,( tribal lands) was originally a large tract of the western central North Island and comprised the tribal lands of Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Rereahu. This area was the home of the first crowned Māori king Pōtatau Te Wherowhero in 1858, who was a renowned warrior and leader. In 1860 Pōtatau Te Wherowhero died and was succeeded by his son, later known as Tāwhiao. Tāwhiao was brought up by his grandparents and was considered a religious figure and a man of peace. He was baptised a Christian in the Anglican church by the Reverend Samuel Marsden, was a student of the Bible, as well as being well versed in the ancient rites of the Tainui priesthood. His reign lasted for 34 years, through the most turbulent era of Māori–Pākehā relations.

By 1863 the demand for land, by European settlers, in the Waikato area, was great, putting pressure on politicians to make more land available for farming and settlement. Grey (the governor at that time) on the pretext that the Waikato tribes were preparing to attack Auckland and that some of the king’s followers had participated in the Taranaki wars, issued a proclamation directing Waikato Māori living in the government-controlled area south of Auckland to swear allegiance to the Queen or return to the Waikato. A second proclamation dated two days later warned those ‘in arms’ that they would forfeit their right to their lands if they did not comply: Chiefs in the Waikato had no time to read or even answer the proclamations, therefore, could not respond before British troops invaded.

On 12 July 1863, a force of 12 000 British troops commanded by Lieutenant-General Duncan Cameron crossed the Mangatāwhiri Stream, a tributary of the Waikato River near Mercer which marked the aukati (border, the line that should not be crossed) between the Kīngitanga lands and the government-controlled area to the north signalling the start of the Waikato Land Wars.( Read full article) The Kingitanga force comprised of 4000 men and was drawn from tribes all over the North Island creating a situation where they were outnumbered three to one. The battle lasted for over 10 months with Māori taking heavy defeats in key battles. The final action took place at Ōrākau. Cameron attacked with 1200 soldiers and the Māori warriors fought with courage under adverse conditions. When Cameron offered surrender on April 2 the reply came back “Ehoa kotaki anake kupu a te Maori, ka whawhai ki a koutou, ake ake, ake." ("Friend, the Maori will fight you forever and forever and forever.”). Finally the numbers were too great to defend their lands and the site was overrun. Out of the 300 defenders over 160 people were killed. The defeat at Ōrākau – ‘Rewi’s last stand’ brought the Waikato war to an end.

Because Tāwhio had “engaged in rebellion against the crown” Grey initiated the New Zealand Settlements Act which had just beong recently passed, confiscating 1.2 million acres of land. Tāwhiao and his people were rendered virtually landless forcing them to retreat as “wandering refugees”.

Tāwhiao retreated south from the Waikato plains to the region of hills and mountains controlled by his relative and ally, Rewi Maniapoto with many of Tāwhiao’s people following him into exile. Tāwhiao declared the Pūniu River, which flows just south of the towns Kihikihi and Pirongia towards the Tasman Sea, his new aukati and became known as Te Rohe Pōtae, or the Country of the Hat. To define his new boundaries a story suggests that Tāwhiao placed his top hat over a map of the region, declaring the land his, Pākehā called Te Rohe Pōtae the King Country.

Even though there were no suggested settlements in the Benneydale catchment area, it was considered land significant to Māori.

In 2018 The Maniapoto Māori Trust Board applied to the to the New Zealand Geographic Board, Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa on behalf of Treaty claimants Ngāti Maniapoto for Benneydale’s name to change. The Maniapoto Māori Trust Board asked for the name Benneydale to be changed to Maniaiti. The area had been known by Māori as Maniaiti, which was the land on which the town was situated and the hill nearby. The name originated from Ngāti Rereahu history:

Rereahu’s oldest son Te Ihinga-a-rangi died and his body was being returned to his marae in Waimiha. Maniapoto deputy chair Keith Ikin in May 2019 described what happened:

"When Te Ihinga-a-rangi passed he was brought back home to his marae by his people. As he was being carried back through the rohe, the group slipped slightly, (going up the hill)and that's where the name Mania (mania to slip) and iti (small) comes from.”

There was a lot of opposition to the change of name from the local community and therefore a decision was made to create a dual name for the town Benneydale/Maniaiti (Read Article 1) (Article 2) ( Article 3)

Benneydale School

Benneydale School has seen many changes from the time it was established. It was opened in 1945 when the coal mine was fully operational, and the village was growing rapidly and, at its peak, there were an estimated 1500 residents living in or near Benneydale.

Pre-1945 the children, of the area, were bused to the Mangapehi School, about eight kilometres towards Te Kuiti as there was no established school in Benneydale. As the population of Benneydale grew so did the child numbers and a new school was desperately needed, but the then Auckland Education Board was reluctant to establish anything more than a two-room primary school. The local community started to protest. ( See article)

The Benneydale students, who went to Mangapehi School, had also had enough. Frustrated with the distance they had to travel every day and the overcrowding in the school which had students learning in the local hall down the road, the students went on strike in 1943 (See article). There were also robust parent meetings as parents wanted a district high school built, rather than a primary school, (See article), but the Education Board would not move off its original proposal of a two-room primary school. Land was purchased from the local farmer Bill Bates and two classrooms were built at the northern end of School Road.( Photo)

The population continued to grow and a secondary school became necessary. In 1961 the community got its wish and a district high school was opened on Mine Road adjacent to the primary school. (Photo) The primary school stayed in the same buildings it started with and the District High School was built on additional farmland. This allowed the students of Benneydale to have their entire schooling locally. At its highest enrolment level over 600 students were attending both the primary school and high school with an estimated staff, both teaching and administrative of approximately 30. (See Article )

Over the next 17 years with the closing of the mine and mills meant that the population started to decrease. The District High School was transformed into the Benneydale Area School in 1978 with a role of 216. The primary school on School Road was closed and the primary students transferred up to the District High School buildings. Two buildings were joined to establish a hall for the Area School with the other building being pulled down.

With the completion of the Poro-o-tarao tunnel project (for the North Island main trunk line) and the cessation of native milling in the Pureora Forest meant another major role drop for the school and the roll continued to slowly decline. By 1996 the Ministry of Education decided to change the classification of the Benneydale Area school to become the full primary school it is today (Year 1-8). Five teachers lost their jobs, and 30 senior students went on to enroll at Te Kuiti High School or Pio Pio College. ( See article) (See article)

Today Benneydale School is a small rural primary school catering for students in Years 1 to 8. As of 2024, there are three teaching staff and four support staff. The student body is predominantly Māori (98%) and Polynesian with most students’ whakapapa to local iwi. Most of the student population live within the bounds of the Benneydale township; however, there is a bus that does pick up students from the surrounding area. The school is very proactive in conservation and regularly supports local forest restoration projects, it has its own gardens and orchard. The role is stable in the 30s to 40s and role numbers could increase with the redevelopment and restoration of the Benneydale township.

Benneydale Township

The first European settlement in the valley started in October 1912 when the Crown (Lands and Survey Department) opened a block of approximately 2000 acres and divided it into seven farms. These were then offered to soldiers, returning from the war as a farm ballot( see advert here) At this stage there were no roads and only a bridle track through the area. The legal road ended just a short distance from the Mangapēhi track for people to access neighbouring areas. The land was of poor quality, infertile, and lacking in cobalt for farming and stock; that and a lack of roading, saw many of the original farmers leave the land. Slowly different farmers took over the land, with greater success, and the area began to open up.

In 1940, after the opening of the mine, the government developed the village, that was there, into the township of Benneydale with land purchased from a local farmer Angus Clark. As is commonly known Benneydale’s name is a combination of two surnames Mr Charlie Benney( photo left), (the under-secretary of mines at the time), and Mr Tom Dale, (the first Benneydale mine superintendent) At its peak the town had a population of close to 1500 people with a butchery, bakery, hospital,(See article) a picture theatre (See article) and, as stories are told, a very active and somewhat boisterous pub ( photo). ( photo) (photo)

There was also a thriving timber industry in the area with as many as twenty-eight mills operating in the area since the early 1900’s. Benneydale was surrounded by mill townships such as Mangapēhi (Photo) and Ōngarue (photo) which were bustling places when the mills were operating. Sawmilling provided a livelihood for many King Country residents and the sounds and smells of the mills were a distinctive part of everyday life.

Milling of native timber peaked in the 1950s, but in the later part of the 20th-century timber supplies were diminishing, and the small mills which had characterised the industry closed. In the late 1970s state-owned forests such as Pureora became protected after major public protests (Read Article) with logging ending permanently in 1989.

After the closure of the mine and the restrictions on milling native timber the population of Benneydale and surrounding towns declined rapidly to a point where the current day population (2024) is approximately 200 permanent residents. Many of the houses were removed, or have fallen down, leaving empty sections and empty streets.

Benneydale now mainly operates as a farm service town and it is also the closest town to the Timber Trail in the Pureora Forest Park (a one to two-day cycling journey through the Pureora Forest) The local meat works (Crusader Meats) which opened in 1992 provides employment and support for the community with farms and DoC also providing additional jobs. Benneydale still has a primary school, dairy, petrol station, police station, Saint Johns, Rural Fire service, and café; but empty houses stand out.

Just a kilometre out of Benneydale there is a sign that indicates the spot is thought to be the centre of the Southern Hemisphere and the centre of the North Island

Benneydale Mine

Coal was discovered in the area, it is suggested, by three hunters in 1931. The mining of the coal started and then the government purchased the mine in 1940. The mine flourished for over 20 years at one stage producing 10 000 tons of coal annually which was used in the steel industry and for power generation. This had a direct influence on creating the town of Benneydale. However, in 1961 there were three major explosions at the mine, which occurred while the men were dealing with a fire “900 feet” (274 meters) underground. (Article)

Miner Bill Christie explains “The first explosion was bad enough, but the second and third were really severe. Great clouds of smoke bellowed from the mine mouth”.

“You couldn’t see a foot before your eyes for the coal dust. Everything around me was burning and I was really scared. (Read Article).

The company was unable to put the fire out and therefore it was decided to close that entrance.

The coal mine continued to work, as a mine, at different times, on different seams for another 20 years between 1978 and 1998, but on a much smaller scale. In 1998 the mine was finally closed for good. (See Article) and this too affected the population of Benneydale as the last group of miners left. ( Article)

Summary

The Benneydale/ Maniaiti area is drenched in history both pre and post-European settlement. Iwi was heavily involved in the Waikato land wars and establishing themselves as part of Te Rohe Pōtae, the King Country. It is the centre of Māori royalty in New Zealand and proudly so. Local iwi Rereahu and Maniapoto originate from the Tainui Waka that landed in Kawhia many hundred years before and have established themselves as forward-thinking as well as being true to their tikanga

Over the last 100 years, Benneydale/ Maniaiti has embedded itself in the archives of New Zealand’s colonial history. Its rapid rise for over 40 years and its just as rapid decline is typical of many small towns during that period. Starting off as farms for returning soldiers to the finding of coal and the vast native forests that were so integral for building a developing New Zealand Benneydale/Maniaiti has played its part.

At its peak, Benneydale was a vibrant, booming town, with sports clubs, a swimming pool, a movie theatre, a pub, shops a vibrant modern school, and plenty of work. Many people in New Zealand have a story to tell about Benneydale.

Benneydale School was also a victim of the economic changes in the town. Dropping from a roll of around 600 Benneydale School now functions on a much smaller scale. But what they lack in numbers they make up in energy, enthusiasm, and commitment to provide the best education possible for those in their care. Benneydale School is in the developing GOOD People business and continues to flourish in many ways. Come and visit us you will always be welcome.

Published April 2024

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