MAKE A STOP IN PAEROA THIS YEAR
Peter Dragicevich searches out the best places for a pit stop on a classic Kiwi road trip. In Paeroa, he ponders the mysteries of Kiwiana
It’s an odd predicament being “world famous in New Zealand”. It’s hard to know if it’s a blessing or a curse. I mean, have you ever tried to explain the appeal of Paeroa to an international visitor?
“So why is it famous?” “Because it’s where L&P comes from.” “What’s that?”
“It’s a home-grown fizzy drink that used to be called Lemon & Paeroa and is considered an icon of Kiwiana. I used to drink it with Southern Comfort when I was a teenager — until I got horribly sick on it one night in the Mission Bay carpark.”
“Classy. So it’s famous because it’s a successful New Zealand business. Support local — that kind of thing?”
“Not really. It’s now owned by CocaCola.”
“But it’s made in Paeroa?”
“No, it’s actually made in Auckland. It used to be made from mineral water that bubbled out of a spring in Paeroa.”
You have to agree it’s a hard sell. But stopping at the giant L&P bottle in Paeroa has been a rite of passage for generations of Kiwi kids. That’s because the Big L&P Bottle is the granddaddy of New Zealand’s “big things”. Before there was a Big Carrot, Big Doughnut, Big Fruit Bowl, Big Shearer or any species of Big Fish, Paeroa’s Big Bottle was the last word in New Zealand bigness.
The bottle got its start as a rocketship built out of concrete water troughs for a Christmas display in 1967, at the height of the Cold War space race. The following year the rocket transitioned into the bottle, which proved so popular that it became permanent. When the hordes of camera-clicking tourists made it a traffic nuisance, it was moved to riverside Ohinemuri Park on the southeastern approach to town. Decades later it miraculously cloned itself, and a second big bottle now stands in the stark carpark of a heavily L&P-branded cafe on the other side of town. If you’re going to stop at either, the original is more photogenic — with the added advantage of public toilets nearby.
Paeroa sits at the junction of state highways 2 and 26. These summer holidays you’re most likely to pass through if you’re heading between Auckland and Waih¯ı Beach, Tauranga and
Thames, or Hamilton and Whangamata¯ .
Even before the highways existed, Paeroa was a major transit point, being positioned where the Ohinemuri River flows into the Waihou River. Nga¯ ti Hako first settled here in the 15th century, before being edged out by Nga¯ ti Tamatera¯ in the 17th. Three major pa¯ once guarded the riverbanks.
The iwi managed to keep gold miners out of the area until 1875. When the floodgates opened, more than a thousand prospectors descended and a canvas shanty town sprang up. Paeroa became the main service town and processing hub for the goldfields. It seems incredible now, but steamers used to stop at the bottom of Wharf Rd, making it the furthest inland port in NZ.
Those hoping for a quick fortune were soon disillusioned because the gold was embedded in quartz, which needed to be pounded into grit and extracted using cyanide. Before long, the grit had silted up the Ohinemuri River — forcing the wharf to move further downstream to where the
Historical Maritime Park and Museum now stands — while the cyanide finished off any remaining aquatic life. The river is doing much better these days, although the nitrogen levels could be better.
Aside from the L&P connection, Paeroa is now best known for its many antique shops, and heralds itself as “the antiques capital of New Zealand”. If you’re a Crown Lynn collector or you’re in the market for an old wagon wheel to add a touch of rusticity to your man cave, Paeroa is the place for you.
Our pick of the eating options is The Refinery, housed in the old National Bank gold refinery building in Willoughby St (built in 1914). After lunch, cross the road and have a stroll through the Domain and up Primrose Hill to tick off those two stalwarts of Kiwi small towns, the band rotunda (1906) and cenotaph (1930).
If you’re stocking up for the bach, there’s a decent-sized Countdown on the main drag. Grab a bottle of L&P if you must, but just remember that it hasn’t been made here since 1980.
Stopping at the giant L&P bottle in Paeroa has been a rite of passage for generations of Kiwi kids.