Eureka

A CHALLENGING scene confronted Eureka's pioneer farmers as they settled in the community at the turn of the century.

ALONE tractor putters from Seddon Road, the dust trail following its waning whirr. Dust? From land once likened to an inland sea? All around the lush pastures touch the horizon... the great Piako Swamp, 1984. 
Back in the forties the manuka forest reached for the sky. Hawks nested in the vegetation and rabbits multiplied on the ground. At night the terrain was blanketed in fog. In summer the black peat smouldered, the tiniest ember sparked off large-scale fires. 

WHILST hewing a livelihood from the scrub and flax the settlers tolerated many hardships. Amenities were few and money was scarce. The constraints of their lifestyle no doubt caused so many social activities to flourish in the little farming district. 
Those were days when people made their own fun, whether a barn dance or a picnic or a game ofcricket. Everybody joined in, anyone who could swing a bat or hit a ball. Eureka soon developed quite a reputation for its rugby team, tennis club and in later years its badminton and indoor bowling clubs. 

SPENDING winter camping out would be considered somewhat eccentric in today's world. The chill winter mornings, the Waikato fogs and the dismal rain were only a few of the hardships endured by the Shine family when they moved to Eureka. 

PERSEVERANCE paid in many ways for the settlement's pioneers. One of their many success stories is Eureka School. 

LIKE the mythical phoenix, the Eureka Butter Factory has continued to rise anew s

ALL the needs of the district, whether personal or for the farm, came by train and it was a friend indeed, a haven for many a bird-nest or a childish love affair...'1

Perched atop the Hill, the Eureka homestead has always commanded a panoramic view of the surroundmg district. For more than three decades after its erection the homestead was the focal point for the flourishing little community.

THE saga of Eureka's pioneers spans nearly eight decades. Even in the late thirties the Waverley Islands still provided a backdrop of marsh and manuka to the Eureka scene. Developement of this area started in earnest after World War II.
Many of the early settlers stayed but a few years and then sold their land. As they came and went each contributed through their hard work and adventurous spirit to the breaking in of the farmland and the building of the community.

JUST east of Eureka a 35 kilometre straight line of fences and hedges can be seen from vantage points on the hills of the Pakaroa Range.