Rewi Alley's House

In the upper reaches of the Whenuakura river valley, is a place called Moeawatea, a place with a feeling that is as far as you can get from anywhere.

Rewi Alley was settled here when he returned from WW1, on a block of land that he and his companion Jack Stevens would prove, as had others before them, was impossible to break in.

From his beginnings as a school principal's son in North Canterbury, to his career as an educationalist in Communist China, to his retirement as an international writer and speaker, this was but a stop upon the way. The experiences of six years in this Taranaki valley, are however, credited with enhancing his strength and resolve, and providing material for his publications.

Moeawatea proved to be a bit too far from anywhere for Alley, for he eventually moved to Beijing, after living and working rural Chinese provinces, breaking ground in industrial education. Later, he shared his love of China with the world.