We met our SLG friends in Naenae for lunch on Thursday. Yes, it is a rather strange name, and this is what it means: “Naenae is a translation from the Māori, meaning "mosquito" or "sandfly", recalling a time prior to the draining of the area, when the mosquito population predominated”.
Naenae started life as a State Housing area. Even before the war had ended the state began to invest in housing to cope with the return of the men from overseas and to cater for the expected baby boom, with a large state housing project that involved the construction of some 1,100 houses and a community centre. Naenae was based on garden-city ideas with all the houses built by the State, placed on curvilinear streets and surrounding a amenity and shopping area. The chief designer was Ernst Plischke who had in mind European cities built surrounding a central square. The design included New Zealand first pedestrian mall, Hillary Court. A rail station provided easy commuter access to Lower Hutt and Wellington. Naenae Olympic Pool was the jewel in the crown when it was added to the mix, closing in 2019 thanks to earthquake safety concerns.
We were lunching at the Naenae Bowling Club Café. This is a huge building and features both an indoor and outdoor bowling green.
Enter this way
Huge indoor bowls area
Our friends all arrived, we found our reserved table and settled down. There was a blackboard menu to read, what to eat today? Most chose battered fish and salad, which really looked delicious, while two of us had the roast of the day. The helpings were very generous indeed. Several rather large ice cream sundaes were delivered to our table, at only $3 they certainly seemed a bargain. A friendly patron from an adjoining table kindly took a photo for us.
Ashley, Robin, Trish, Helen, Calvin, Yvonne and Jenny
As usual, there was catching up to do, and plenty to chat about, upcoming holidays included, and Robin’s knee op too. Calvin was able to give Robin some helpful tips on what to expect,speaking from his own experience. Finally, we said our goodbyes, and headed homewards. Many thanks to Calvin for arranging this lunch date to work around Robin’s hospital date.
What’s happening here, I wondered, at the huge mounds of earth and a big digger or two? It was the site of the original Naenae Olympic Swimming Pool, now dug up, and a new one is in the works. I can remember, as a young teenager, coming to this pool with my boyfriend many moons ago. Those were the days! Its good that the pool is being replaced, it is a real asset to the community.
New swimming pool in progress
We drove back home along Transmission Gully road, it’s always rather busy but the traffic just whizzes along with no problems. Heading along the final downward slope, we caught a glimpse of Kapiti Beach.
Kapiti Beach
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