Palmer Road in South Taranaki was named after Alfred Pickering Palmer.
Born in England, he was educated at Cambridge University. Keen for a more adventurous life, he travelled to New Zealand about 1859. He was attracted to the west coast of the North Island.
Palmer moved about frequently as a member of several defence forces in the area. He then settled in Wellington, working for the Evening Post newspaper. Around this time, he married Grace Cobham.
Working in Wellington soon lost its allure and the young couple went to Pātea, where, keen to teach, Palmer started a school. He also rejoined the military forces, forming a volunteer company named the Pātea Rifles in which he was subsequently appointed to the rank of captain.
Captain Palmer died in fighting at Te Ngutu-o-te-manu in September 1868, leaving behind his wife and an infant child.
By the 1880s land along Palmer Road was being subdivided and cleared. Dairy farming has subsequently dominated for many decades.
In the 1950s several large onshore and offshore gas fields were discovered in Taranaki. One was in the Kapuni area. Prominent on Palmer Road today is the Kapuni gas plant, which started production in 1970.
This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.
Related plan:
Taranaki SO342 Sheet 1 Palmer Road: ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)
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