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John Snodgrass had been born in 1814 at Scotston, Renfrewshire, Scotland. He married Barbara Graham and with their family emigrated to Auckland on the Jane Gifford where they settled at Green Lane. In 1873, John leased 17 acres, the western part of the pa site between the harbour and Levers Road and eventually purchased this and here they built their first home, a whare.

The Otumoetai Pa formed part of the lands confiscated by the Government after the battle of Te Tanga. He undertook extensive cultivation and it was reported in the Bay of Plenty Times in 1887 that he had 30 acres in maize, 12 in wheat and 10 acres in oats. He later purchased further land south of Levers Road back to the site of the present Otumoetai School to the end of the Levers Road peninsula and this land remained in the possession of the family until 1941.

John Snodgrass was a dairy farmer and became the first chairman of the Tauranga Cheese, Butter and Bacon Manufacturing Co in 1883 located on Waihi Road. He died in 1912 and his wife in 1914 leaving 6 sons and six daughters.

Third son, Archibald Snodgrass became one of the first settlers in Te Puke. He emigrated to Rhodesia where he first ran a mail contract in Northern Rhodesia and later a dairy farm, however the tsetse fly devastated his herd. He returned to New Zealand where he had a small farm at Te Puna and Snodgrass Road was named after him. He was clerk of the racecourse at Tauranga for a number of years.

John's fourth son Alexander named his son Alexander and he also farmed at
Te Puna.

John's daughter Mary married W H Mandeno. He acquired two properties and broke these in from virgin land - one was later to become the Lochhead farm at Te Puna and the other the Morton farm at Aongatete. He moved in the early 1880's to the Waikato. Research J P Porter
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