Aytoun Street (Ōpunake)

Aytoun Street in Ōpunake was once a much longer road, at least on early survey plans. A map of the town drawn in 1865 shows it extending from Domett Street out past the edge of town.  

This part of Ōpunake developed slowly and eventually the section of Aytoun Street furthest from town became Brennan Place, honouring the first mayor of Ōpunake, Arthur Brennan. Then in 1983 what had been a railway reserve, and part of Aytoun Street, became Waiaua Crescent, named after the nearby stream. All this left of Aytoun was a short stretch from Domett Street across State Highway 45 to King Street, a mix of commercial and residential buildings.

The reason the unusual name was given to the street has proved elusive. The writer of a newspaper article about local street names in 1948 was unable to shed any light on the source and sought help from readers. Later, in The Clearing: A History of Opunake, historian Jack Stronge wrote that the only person with that surname he could find was a Waitara-based contractor named Christopher George Aytoun, an unlikely candidate and in fact his last name was spelt Ayton.

It turns out to be an uncommon street name – there is one in Dunedin and another in Manchester, England. A researcher with the Heritage team at Dunedin Public Library tells us that there is no clear answer as to who their Anderson’s Bay street was named after. Two possibilities are the Scots poet Sir Robert Aytoun (1570-1638) or poet and professor at the University of Edinburgh William Edmonstoune Aytoun (1813-1865).

Manchester’s Aytoun Street is named after British soldier Roger Aytoun (c1749-1810), known as ‘Spanking Roger’ because of his love of fighting. In 1769 he married the Manchester socialite Barbara Minshull, 45 years his senior, and was said to be so drunk at the wedding he had to be held up by his friends. A pub named in his honour, The Spanking Roger, was located not far from Aytoun Street but closed in 2011.

Of these three options, the most likely appears to be poet and professor William Aytoun. His death occurred around the time the street was named and two thoroughfares running parallel to Aytoun Street, Longfellow and Tennyson, are also named after literary figures.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.

Related items:

Description of Road to be Closed, (Hawera & Normanby Star 9 June 1884 p.3)

Taranaki SO7699 Sheet 1 Opunake D (1867), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)

Taranaki SO7837 Sheet 1 (1939), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)

Taranaki SO9125 Sheet 1 (1959), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)