Liardet Street

New Plymouth's Liardet Street is named after a naval officer credited with saving the life of William Hobson, the first governor of New Zealand, from pirates. Captain Francis Liardet was to become the first Resident Agent in the new colony of New Plymouth.

The captain arrived in Wellington from London on the barque, Whitby, in September 1841, and came to New Plymouth on the schooner, Regina, on 3 October. He was 43 and had seen naval service in North America, Greenland, West Africa and the West Indies.

In the West Indies, in 1823, pirates captured Captain William Hobson, who was in command of a small flotilla attacking their strongholds. Liardet, who had joined the Royal Navy on his 12th birthday, transferred from the schooner Union to take command of Hobson's schooner, Lion. He captured nine pirates and rescued a French ship. Hobson made a daring escape and the Melbourne Argus said, in an obituary about Liardet, that he had saved Captain Hobson's life.

Less than two months after taking up his appointment in New Plymouth in 1841, he lost an eye when a gun exploded at Ngāmotu Beach on November 29, 1841. Unfortunately, Captain Liardet was so badly injured in the explosion that he had to leave New Plymouth. He had been intending to purchase the four-pounder gun recovered from the wreck of the Regina, which had been blown onto rocks south of the Huatoki Stream. While he and an assistant were clearing the gun's vent, the powder exploded, scorching their faces.

During his short stay, the colonists had come to depend on the captain and to respect his courage and generosity. Partially recovered, he left for England in February 1842 and did not return to New Zealand. In 1856, he became one of the captains of Greenwich Naval Hospital. He wrote several books on seamanship, and died in 1863 at the age of 65.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.