Waihoaka is five miles by rail, and four by road, from Orepuki, and lies in the Orepuki riding of the county of Wallace, and in the Wallace electoral district. Not long ago the entire countryside was a dense forest in which considerable clearings have now (1904–5) been made by the settlers. Sawmilling is a prominent industry, and several mills are in full operation. The railway extension to Waihoaka was opened for traffic in October, 1903, and in February, 1904, a post office was established at the local school known as Koromiko school, which is within a short distance of the railway terminus. The school dates from 1893, and the average attendance in 1904 was twenty-seven. The main road from Orepuki to the fishing grounds at the mouth of the Waiau river, and also to the Waiau ferry, passes through the district. A good many farmers in the neighbourhood hold freeholds, up to 400 acres in extent, and the land is said to be good for agricultural and pastoral purposes. The settlement lies between the Longwood ranges and the Ocean Beach and Tewaewae Bay. Waihoaka lies in undulating country, and some of the grades of the main road are remarkable for steepness.

Mr. Thomas Wright , who has been Ganger on the Orepuki-Waihoaka section of railways since October, 1903, was born on the 30th of April, 1869. at Green Island, Otago, educated at Port Molyneux, and brought up to a country life. He joined the railway service on the Kingston section in Southland, in 1897, and was promoted to his present position in 1903. Mr Wright was married, in 1898, to a daughter of Mr A. Melville, of Port Molyneux, and has two sons and one daughter.

Alderson, David , Farmer, “Hopedale,” Koromiko, Waihoaka. Mr Alderson was born in 1857, in County Durham, England, where he was educated. When twenty years of age, he came to New Zealand by the ship “Western Monarch,” and landed at the Bluff. For six months after his arrival, he worked as a ploughman at Merino Downs, Tapanui, and was then employed for nine months by Mr Cowan, of Benmore. Later on, he worked at Lake Wakatipu, and settled, in 1881, in the Orepuki district, where he has since been engaged in mining and farming. His fine farm, known as “Hopedale,” consisting of 400 acres of freehold land, is devoted to dairying and general farming, the milk being delivered at the Te Tua factory. Mr Alderson was married, in 1903, to the widow of the late Mr J. H. Young, of Hopedale Farm. Mrs Alderson had seven sons and three daughters by her former marriage.

Mr. and Mrs D. Alderson.

Armstrong, William , Farmer, Koromiko, Waihoaka. Mr Armstrong was born in 1863, in County Antrim, Ireland, where he was educated and brought up to farming by his father. He arrived at Port Chalmers by the s.s. “Rimutaka,” in 1884, and settled at Gummies Bush, where he resided for three years, working in turn on a farm and at a threshing mill. He afterwards farmed on his own account for some time at Riverton and Waimatuku, and in 1891 bought his land at Koromiko. The property, consisting ofconsisting of 300 acres of freehold, and forty acres of leasehold, was then covered with Lush, with only a track to connect with the outlying country, but 280 acres have already been cleared and 100 acres ploughed. Mr Armstrong engages in mixed farming and dairying, and was one of the founders of the Te Tua dairy factory. He has been chairman of the Waihoaka school committee since its inception. He was married, in 1891, to a daughter of Mr William Hopcroft, of Gummies Bush, and has two sons and one daughter.