Mercer, New Zealand

Mercer
village
Mercer
Coordinates: 37°16′S 175°03′E / 37.267°S 175.050°E / -37.267; 175.050Coordinates: 37°16′S 175°03′E / 37.267°S 175.050°E / -37.267; 175.050
Elevation 20 m (70 ft)
Population (2006 census)
 • Territorial 105
  Mercer is covered by meshblocks 0843000 and 0843100 NZStats interactive map
Time zone UTC+12 (NZST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+13 (NZDT)

Mercer is a village in the Waikato District Council area of the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is 70 km north of Hamilton and 58 km south of Auckland, on the east bank of the Waikato River, 2 km south of its confluence with the Mangatawhiri River.

Mercer has a primary school and its shops and cafes continue to fill the role of a midpoint refreshment stop between Hamilton and Auckland, which its railway station refreshment room once did.

History

The first attack in the invasion of the Waikato took place on 17 July 1863, when about 15 Māori defenders were killed at Koheroa (a kilometre north – see 1:50,000 map). The village was named after a Captain killed at Rangiriri in November 1863.[1] The navy river gun-boat Pioneer was wrecked on the Manukau bar in 1866 and one of the gun turrets forms part of the war memorial.[2]

The North Island Main Trunk railway opened to Mercer on 20 May 1875. A crash in 1940 killed the driver and fireman. Until 1958 many trains stopped for refreshments.[3] The station closed in 1986.

The beached hulls of steamers operated until 1976 by Caesar Roose can be seen on the west bank of the river just south of Mercer.[4] W. Stevenson & Sons Ltd bought the remains of the Roose sand dredging business in the mid 1980s[5] and, after dredging ended in 1997, redeveloped 2.5 ha (6.2 acres) of its yard with a petrol station and a food court.[6]

Bridge

In 1965 Roose offered $100,000 towards the $343,000 bridge to replace the Mercer ferry. The 480 ft (150 m) long single span concrete [7] Caesar Roose Bridge was opened on 18 November 1972[8] by Roose's daughter, Jeanette Thomas, with the Minister of Works, Percy Allen.[9]

Former residents

See also

References

  1. ↑ "2. – Waikato places – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  2. ↑ Te Ara Mercer war memorial
  3. ↑ "Refreshments – The North Island main trunk line – NZHistory, New Zealand history online". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "2. – Waikato places – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "Waikato River Commercial Shipping". New Zealand Ship and Marine Society. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  6. ↑ TAYLOR, COLIN (2004-10-14). "Service centre part of a global trend". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  7. ↑ page 184 Raglan County Hills and Sea 1876–1976
  8. ↑ Thomas, Jeanette. "Caesar Roose". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  9. ↑ "Caesar Roose Spectrum | RNZ". Radio New Zealand. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
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