Tarawera Road – Whittlesea

An old brick house known as “Tarawera” still stands in Lime Street Whittlesea. It was erected about 1861.

It was not built by James Morris as ascribed in some histories, as James never owned the land. His son, Frederick James Morris, born in 1864 did however live in “Tarawera” for over forty years.
The house consists of six rooms, veranda on three sides and a corrugated tin roof.

There is also a Tarawera Road in the Laurimar estate in Doreen, named after this house (other streets in Laurimar are also named after local properties). The name obviously comes from Lake Tarawera in new Zealand, being a Māori name translating as ‘Tara’ bird spears and ‘wera’ burnt. A Māori chief had left his bird spears in a hut but upon returning the following year found all had been destroyed by fire.