Cunningham Lane (Ōākura)

Ōākura’s Cunningham Lane, a short cul-de-sac off Wairau Rd, is one of the newer roads in the seaside village and is about to witness further expansion, a sign of the town’s increasing development and popularity.

The street was formed in 2008 and was named after the developer and Ōākura resident, Paul Irwin Cunningham, who also left a significant impact on the appearance of the village’s main street, before his death in 2019.

Paul arrived in the district in the 1970s after serving with the Merchant Navy and emigrating from England. He married Pat and set up a successful construction firm, Cunningham Construction, which became a leader in scaffolding and rigging and was in much demand with Taranaki’s burgeoning petrochemical construction projects during the 1980s and 90s.

Paul also owned a section of land on Oakura’s South Road and over the last decade began a life-long dream to develop this piece of land into a hub for the local community. After Paul’s death his family continued the project and in 2021 the complex, called The Village Mews, was opened on the town’s main street. The development includes a mix of residential and commercial units and was the designed in the hope of providing quality commercial spaces and townhouses. A plaque in Paul Cunningham’s honour was laid outside the complex after his death.

In 2022 a new residential sub-division on a 5.4 hectare site at the end of Cunningham Lane was announced by EB Developments which will include 35 lots for sale. Alongside preparing the area for housing sites the developers also launched a partnership with various other organisations and local iwi Ngāti Tāiri, to create two wetland areas, develop riparian plantings and link up to a public walkway to Ōākura beach. Building of homes wasn’t expected to begin until 2024. It was the first development of its kind in Ōākura for 20 years.