Croydon Road

Prior to the introduction of a High Commissioner, it was the Agent-General who represented New Zealand’s interests in the United Kingdom. One of the earliest of them – Isaac Featherston – lived in the suburb of Croydon, in London.

Croydon Road in Taranaki is a few kilometres north of Midhirst, in the district known as Waipuku. A small settlement was planned there, beside the main road, and Croydon Road opened up the land to the east. Before long, most of the buildings in Waipuku were moved to Tariki, but Croydon Road thrived.

The area proved suitable for dairying. After the initial rapid development, a dairy factory was built near the intersection with the main road. Settlement continued after the First World War, when ex-soldiers bought and cleared land in the area using the generous financial arrangements offered by the government. Later a school was built.

Opened in 1925, the school was at the intersection with Manganui Road. A swimming pool was added in the 1950s. Soon, however, the school roll began to fall. With the building of a substantial bridge over the Manganui River in 1963, a bus route into Midhirst became viable so the school closed in 1970 and the building became a community meeting place.

Today the old school building and the surrounding land has a new lease of life, being used by the Taranaki Off-Road racing club. The dairy factory on the main road, closed in about 1960, has been Doughty’s concrete tank factory for many years.

Croydon Road is named after Croydon in London. The town of Featherston, and Featherston Street in Wellington, are both named after Isaac Featherston.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.