This home originally started life as a villa constructed for, and designed by, New Plymouth builder W. F. Brooking, with plans for a "residence" on Part Town Section 693 (the original villa) granted by the Borough Council in early January 1910 - estimated cost £520. Parts of the original villa can still be seen and are particularly noticeable on the Robe Street frontage.
Ian Pritchard, in his book about Frank Messenger, notes that additions and alterations were undertaken on this property by the firm Messenger, Griffiths and Taylor. A permit was issued on 4 May 1927 for this work, the builder was G.M. Bennett and the estimated cost £900. The client was Dr. P. C. Davie.
In the late 1980s the property was the New Plymouth premises of Budget Rent a Car franchise.
A tree on the Robe Street boundary, a Eucalyptus Ficifola or Scarlett Gum, was removed in 2012.
Related items:
Town Section 693, Taranaki Land Deed Index I3 page 205. (Archives New Zealand)
Taranaki (Lot 1) DP4706 (1926), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)
Draft Heritage Assessment, Davie House, 19 Robe Street New Plymouth (Hamish Crimp, 2019)
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