The literally named Main Road runs down the centre of the suburb and provides access to the smaller suburban streets.

As a result, trains are a significant component of Tawa's public transport, but the suburb is also served by a bus route linking Porirua and Johnsonville.

Despite these bus and train services, a substantial area on Tawa's fringes remains over 400 metres from public transport, particularly in Redwood, Greenacres and Linden.

[6] Measured this way, while the parts of Tawa near the railway and Main Road are among the best-served suburbs in Wellington in terms of public transport, these areas on the fringes are among the worst served.

The trail comprises a combination of new paths following the Porirua Stream and rail corridor, and some widened existing footpaths.

As others living in the area gave their address in the 1854 roll as "Porirua Road", it is possible that John Woodman was the originator of the name.

In 1846 the British Parliament passed the first New Zealand Constitution Act which reformed the provinces and the Tawa area became part of New Ulster which now included all of the North Island.

The Hutt County covered all the area south of the Waikanae River and West of the Remutaka Ranges that lay outside of Wellington City.

The new Makara County included Porirua, Tītahi Bay, and Tawa Flat, and all of the area to the south lying to the west of Wellington City outside the areas covered by Wellington City and the new and independent boroughs of Miramar, Karori, Onslow, and Johnsonville.

Ngāti Toa Rangatira have had parcels of land in Tawa and Linden returned to them as part of a housing partnership with the Crown.

[24] Though Māori people had not previously settled in the Tawa valley, they would have passed through it when travelling between the centuries-old established populations at Porirua and Te Whanganui a Tara.

[25] As with the rest of Wellington, Tawa was colonised by the New Zealand Company in the mid-19th century under the direction of Edward Gibbon Wakefield.

During construction of the road in 1846-47, the road-making soldiers used two stockades, built a kilometre apart from each other, to sleep in[27] and for protection from potential attacks.

While there were early efforts at housing subdivisions, first in 1896 and in 1906 with the establishment of the Tawa Land Company, they failed to attract much interest.

Tawa didn't grow significantly until just before World War II, when it began to lose its semi-rural character.

From June 1937, the double-tracked Tawa Flat deviation diverted the North Island Main Trunk railway from Thorndon through Kaiwharawhara and two significant new tunnels to the Tawa valley to provide a shorter faster rail route with easier grades and higher speed curves.

Electrification of the North Island Main Trunk was completed from Wellington to Paekakariki in 1940 and a modern automatic signalling system was installed to enable trains to operate at frequent intervals.

From 1940, the shorter and faster train service to Wellington using passenger cars hauled by electric locomotives made Tawa a more desirable place to live.

[13] The second section, from Takapu Road to Porirua, was opened about five years later and the Johnsonville bypass connecting the south end of the motorway to the top of Ngauranga Gorge about the same time.

Land was at a premium in the steep terrain of the Wellington region and the flat areas and moderate hills of Tawa were attractive.

The Tawa microclimate, sometimes up to five degrees Celsius warmer than Wellington when the foehn effect occurs at the tail end of a southerly wind, was an added attraction.

State housing subdivisions at Kenepuru and Hampton Hill in the late 1950s and early 1960s added to the population growth.

[13] During the 1970s, Tawa experienced significant residential growth, Redwood and parts of Sundale in particular expanded outward.

By the turn of the 21st Century, most of the greenfield residential growth in Tawa has occurred to the east of the Motorway, mainly spreading eastward up toward the parallel Takapu Valley in the direction of the Belmont Range.

Voting to become "wet" allowed the purchase of alcohol within the suburb for the first time and since then several pubs and bars have opened.

There is also a Christadelphian Ecclesia in Linden, as well as a traditional Catholic chapel, run by priests from the Society of St. Pius X, who are based in Whanganui.

[56] Along with Outlet City, much of Tawa's current retail and manufacturing businesses are located along the Main Road.

Also present in along the Main Road are the Mervyn Kemp Library, medical centre, dentists, banks, many restaurants and takeaway shops.

Tawa St is home to the North Wellington Badminton Association, which boasts a 6 court tournament class stadium.

[58] Along with built facilities, Tawa also boasts a large number of landscaped and natural parks, many of which contain play areas and open spaces.