Bridge Street, Ongaonga, wins Waipukurau Rotary’s Street of the Year Award

Residents of Bridge St, Ongaonga, celebrate winning the Waipukurau Rotary Club’s Walter Matthews Memorial Street of the Year Award.

Bridge St, Ongaonga, has won the Waipukurau Rotary Club’s Walter Matthews Memorial Street of the Year Award.

Bridge St was named after HH Bridge, who in 1872 surveyed off 79 village sections, running east to west.

It was the main street of Ongaonga for years and is a spectacle in autumn, spring and summer.

Anyone entering from the Waipawa end of Bridge St in the autumn travels through a corridor of colours created by the many autumn leaves, looking toward the snow-capped Ruahine Range.

Entering from the Highway 50 end of Bridge St attention is immediately drawn to the museum complex with historical buildings and passing by original buildings well kept by residents.

Bridge St, Ongaonga, in the 1920s.

Further down the street is the garage that has operated for years, then the two historical general stores.

The Coles brothers built many of the buildings in the village and wider area, and almost directly opposite the present-day store is the recently restored Coles Brothers building, listed as category one with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.

Back across the road is the old post office, also built by the Coles brothers in 1910 and still well cared for today.

Further down the street is St Oran’s Presbyterian Church where Mr and Mrs Ted Bibby conducted their Sunday School lessons in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as church services, weddings and funerals.

Beside St Oran’s is the schoolhouse, originally built as a manse for the Presbyterian church and purchased by the police department in 1947. It closed as a police station in 1955 and was purchased by the education board.

Then comes the village hall, built in 1900 by the Coles brothers, where there were many sad farewells for soldiers in World War I and II. On each Anzac Day, locals meet at the hall and are piped down Bridge St to the Cenotaph.

Bridge St residents say they are delighted to win the Street of the Year Award and will be working hard to be strong contenders again next year.