Paitawa House (1850s - 1965)

This gabled cottage was located on the northern corner of Vivian and Carrington Streets. The site is now a carpark behind 'The Mill'.

The house was originally built for the Hughes family in the 1850s and was located a little further up Vivian Street toward Brougham Street. In 1898 the house was moved down the hill, across the railway line (which was moved in 1908), and onto the corner section. In order to move the house over the railway line the contractor decided to do the work on a Sunday. At a time when this was supposedly a day of rest, objections were raised and the contractor, Robert Coleman, was summoned to court and charged that, "on Sunday 25 September, in a public place - to wit, Vivian Street - work at his trade." Common sense prevailed and the Magistrate dismissed the charge. (Taranaki Herald, 30 September and 1 October 1898)

The small section of land (town section 722) has an interesting early history. It was purchased by Henry Govett, later Archdeacon, in 1855 and stables were built to house a donkey and other animals. Apparently it was common for Mrs Govett, who suffered poor health, to be seen travelling around town in a cart pulled by a donkey. A little later the section was the site of a boys school (Paitawa House School) run by Mr Charles Beardsworth. After he shifted the school to Robe Street, an Inspector of Schools, Mr Murray, lived in the former schoolhouse.

The house was purchased by the New Plymouth City Council in 1960 and in 1965 it was burnt to the ground by the New Plymouth Fire Service as a training exercise. 

(Note: The house is named after a large boulder located in the Huatoki Stream. Pai-tawa and another boulder further upstream, Pai Arei, were important boundary markers for Māori fishing rights in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Pai-tawa was blown apart in 1934 during a programme to remove obstructions in the stream.)

Related items:

Town section 722, Taranaki Land Deed Index I1 p.24. (Archives New Zealand)

Taranaki DP4945 Sheet 1 (1928), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)

Taranaki DP6141 Sheet 1 (1944), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)

Once Blocked Railway Lane (Taranaki Herald June1961)