Carthew Street (Ōkato)

A right turn at the roundabout in Ōkato as you head south takes you pass the Four Square Store and along Carthew Street. It is one of several streets in the town named after military settlers who were granted land for fighting in the Taranaki Wars. One of these was Captain Edward Carthew, who was awarded section No 7, a block of 122 hectares.

Edward Carthew, the second son of Admiral James Carthew, was born at Tredudwell House in the quaintly named Cornish village of Lanteglos-by-Fowey.

At 15, Edward was articled to the office of Plymouth barrister Henry Woolcombe and he went on to read law at Cambridge University. He also followed his father into the military, joining the prestigious Duke of Cornwall's Rangers.

According to his biographer, Edmund Lysons, "affairs of the heart" led Carthew to leave England and emigrate to New Zealand. He settled in Nelson, where he met the much younger Ida Curtis, who had been sent to Nelson to escape the hostilities in Taranaki.

Captain Carthew moved to Taranaki and the couple were married at St Mary's Church on January 21, 1864. There was little time for a honeymoon because Carthew was leading No 4 Company in the second Taranaki War. After the company disbanded, Carthew returned to work as a barrister, practising in New Plymouth. He died suddenly on August 31, 1875, aged only 55.

His young wife was left to bring up six children - two others had died in infancy - with the youngest, Ethel, only 3 months old. Described as a devoted mother with a strong personality, Ida died in 1922, almost 50 years after the death of her husband.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.