Onslow Historical Society Inc.
Established 1968
About Us
Committee Members
President (Acting): George Walter
P: 027 438 9133 E: gwalternz@gmail.com
Secretary: John Galloway
P: 04 478 7603 E: jghgalloway@slingshot.co.nz
Treasurer: Liz Newport
P: 021 815 846 E: liz.newport@outlook.com
Our area
Geographically, we cover a large area of Wellington’s north-western suburbs and adjoining rural land. This includes the original Onslow Borough, hence our name. We spread from Kaiwaharawhara and the Hutt Road up to Wadestown and Wilton, across to Makara, along the west coast of Ohariu Valley and north and east to the Tawa boundary; to Grenada and Newlands, down the Ngauranga Gorge and the Hutt Road back to Kaiwharawhara – and everything in the middle! – including the suburbs of Crofton Downs, Ngaio, Khandallah, Johnsonville, Grenada, Woodridge, Glenside, Churton Park and the rural land of Makara and Ohariu Valley.
A Ngaio-Khandallah scene, 1928. On the left is the Khandallah Automatic Exchange building, 86 Khandallah Road, after the
building had been extended in 1925. This interesting scene contains so much activity. The steam train, on the main trunk line, belches smoke and maintains speed along the track running parallel with Khandallah Road. It is early morning, has passed Ngaio Station and is approaching the Simla Crescent crossing. The entrance to Ngatoto Street is just discernible to the right of KATE. It curves alongside Colway Farm’s boundary of Macrocarpa trees. There is a glimpse of the Khandallah Masonic Lodge building on Ngatoto Street, behind and to the left of the Exchange. In the distance there is a view of the Tarikaka Street housing development. Railway workers' cottages are under construction, built by the New Zealand Government Railways for their employees. This was former Aplin farmland; 93 houses were built on 20 acres of land. Today the settlement is a noted heritage area.