Maratahu Street

Maratahu, means 'a bountiful garden' in Māori and is their name for the area surrounding Maratahu Street. Developed in two stages, the original street, often spelt "Marutahu", overlooked Rugby Park.

By the late 1920s, New Plymouth had grown rapidly. Housing sub-divisions extended along Tukapa St and trams were running all the way to David Street. But much of lower Westown was still farmland. A sizeable chunk of it was owned by Florence O'Callaghan and her husband. Successful farmers, they decided to sub-divide some of their holdings off lower Tukapa Street. In 1929 Florence commissioned registered surveyors Lysons & Wilson to plan a subdivision.

The 'Marutahu Estate', as it was named, was originally a short no-exit roadway off Tukapa Street. It was advertised as "21 choice freehold building sites" and "situated on the tram route... adjoining the Taranaki Rugby Union playing grounds".

Mortgage money was severely restricted then, so finance terms were offered by the land owner to purchasers.

The owner would accept three payments of 10 per cent over the first 12 months. Then the balance owing could be left in the property for up to three years at 6 per cent interest.

Any new property owner keen on rugby had to wait, though, as it wasn't until May 1937 that Rugby Park hosted its first match, a club game between Tukapa and Stratford. Later the O'Callaghans, who lived in Sanders Avenue in the 1940s, gradually sub-divided more land and the area filled in to take its current shape.

Initially the street only went as far as section number 19 and it wasn't until the late 1960s that the street linked up with Frankley Road. A 1960 survey of the area shows a proposed 'Park Terrace' connecting to Maratahu Street and running south into the area that subsequently became the Westown Hotel.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.