Riddiford Street (Hāwera)

Riddiford Street is a cul-de-sac running off Princes Street in Hāwera.

The street was surveyed in 1919 for Terence Gormley, proprietor of the Egmont Hotel located nearby on the corner of High Street and Princes Street. Gormley had purchased the land from the “Riddiford Estate” and this is why the name was chosen for the short street.

The length of the street was a cause for debate at the time with some residents hoping that, rather than a cul-de-sac, access through Tattersall’s Stables to High Street would help “relieve the congestion” on the main thoroughfare. In the end, access via the stables was declined and the council had no option but to approve plans for the road as it is today.  

The “Riddiford Estate” had held on to the land for nearly twenty years after the death of Frederick Riddiford in 1901. Born in Lower Hutt in 1850, he returned to New Zealand after being sent to England for his education and purchased land in Hāwera in the early 1870s; this was to be his home for the rest of his life.

A talented sportsman, in 1877 Riddiford was selected to play for the Taranaki cricket team against Lillywhite’s All England XI at the Recreation Reserve (now Pukekura Park) in New Plymouth. England won the toss and in the first innings compiled 80 runs. Rather unusually – and an indication of the gap in ability between the teams – Taranaki was allowed to field 22 players. Unfortunately, the locals were unable to take advantage of this numerical superiority, all out for only 32 in the first innings.

Taranaki fared slightly better in the second innings, scoring 47 runs, but this still left them one shy of England’s first innings total. Riddiford was not alone in finding the English bowlers intimidating: a respectable three runs in the first innings were followed by a duck in the second.

Aside from his sporting endeavours, Riddiford was a valued member of several local organisations including the Egmont A & P Association, Egmont Racing Club, the Hunt Club and he served on the inaugural Hāwera Borough Council.

Frederick Riddiford married Alice McGregor in 1880 and the couple had three daughters and a son. The last 12 months of his life were plagued by a serious illness, and he died on 27 February 1901 aged only 50.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.

Related items:

Taranaki DP9 Sheet 1 (1877), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)

Taranaki DP3822 Sheet 1 (1919), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)

Taranaki DP4922 Sheet 1 (1927), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)

Taranaki DP6891 Sheet 1 (1950), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)

Riddiford Street - Letter to the Editor (Hawera & Normanby Star 29 November 1919 p.4)

Riddiford Street: Question of right-of-way (Hawera & Normanby Star 4 June 1922 p.4)