Newton Street

It may be hard to imagine now but in the early 1900s Fitzroy was not part of New Plymouth.

However, as the demand for residential sections grew these "suburban" areas began to be sub-divided to offer people an alternative to the "high-priced borough sections".

In May 1902 Mr J.W. Foote's 31.5 acres in Fitzroy was divided into 159 sections and initially half were offered for sale at £45 each.

The substantial development created four new streets - Record, Richmond, Sackville and Newton - with Barriball as the southern boundary of the estate.

Callaghan & Co. were presented with the opportunity to market the property and they anticipated prices doubling quickly when Fitzroy was amalgamated with New Plymouth (1912).

Not surprisingly, they also thought progress would be rapid once the "planks over the Henui River" were replaced with a bridge (1904).

When Newton was chosen as the name for one of the streets it replaced what, at least on paper, was another Newton St on the other side of town. It was decided that two streets with the same name would be too confusing and so the street in Moturoa was renamed Whiteley, after the well-known clergyman killed at Pukearuhe in 1869.

This Fitzroy street was named after one of New Plymouth's most influential figures of the time, the businessman Newton King. He was born in 1855, the fourth child of Thomas and Mary King. One of his brothers was Frederic, later known as Sir Truby King, founder of the Plunket Society.

At the age of 23 Newton went into business on his own account in premises on the corner of Devon St and Brougham Street, where the King's Building stands today. The company he established, Newton King Ltd, was a vital part of the Taranaki economy for over 100 years until it collapsed, like so many others, after the share market crash in 1987.

Newton King died suddenly in 1927, only a week after his 72nd birthday. His funeral was the largest New Plymouth had ever seen and was attended by dignitaries from throughout the country.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.