Porirua is a city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It almost completely surrounds Porirua Harbour at the southern end of the Kapiti Coast. Pauatahanui Inlet, the eastern inlet of the harbour, is notable for its world-class estuarine values. The population at the June 2015 estimate was 54,300.
The name "Porirua" has a Māori origin: it may represent a variant of pari-rua ("two tides"), a reference to the two arms of the Porirua Harbour. In the 19th century the name designated a land-registration district that stretched from Kaiwharawhara (or Kaiwara) on the north-west shore of Wellington Harbour northwards to and around Porirua Harbour. The road climbing the hill from Kaiwharawhara towards Ngaio and Khandallah still bears the name "Old Porirua Road".
In the 19th century a small European settlement grew up, partly because of the need for a ferry across the harbour. At the time a small Māori settlement already existed.
Porirua was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate in the North Island. It existed during two periods; from 1860 to 1870, and then from 1963 to 1996.
This electorate is based on Porirua City, north of Wellington.
The electorate was first created in 1860 for the term of the 3rd New Zealand Parliament. It existed until the end of the 4th Parliament in 1870.Alfred Brandon was the representative during that period.
The electorate was recreated in 1963 for the 34th Parliament. In 1996 with MMP, the electorate was replaced by the new Mana electorate. The holder of Porirua, Graham Kelly chose to become a list MP.
From 1963 to 1996, the electorate was held by three Labour Party representatives: Henry May,Gerard Wall, and Graham Kelly.
Key
Last night as I lay dreaming of pleasant days gone by
Me mind being bent on rambling, to Ireland I did fly
I stepped on board a vision, and I followed with a will
'Til next I came to anchor at the cross at Spancil Hill
It being on the 23rd of June, the day before the fair
When Ireland's sons and daughters and friends assembled there
The young, the old, the brave and the bold came, their duty to fulfill
At the parish church in Clooney, a mile from Spancil Hill
I went to see me neighbors, to see what they might say
The old ones were all dead and gone, the young ones turning gray
But I met the tailor Quigley, he's as bold as ever still
Ah, he used to mend me britches when I lived in Spancil Hill
I paid a flying visit to my first and only love
She's as white as any lily, gentle as a dove
And she threw her arms around me saying, "Johnny, I love you still"
As she's Nell the farmer's daughter and the pride of Spancil Hill
I dreamed I held and kissed her as in the days of yore
Ah Johnny, you're only jokin', as many's the time before
Then the cock, he crew in the morning, he crew both loud and shrill