Silver Street

Silver Street used to run between Powderham Street and Devon Street West, where the courthouse is today.

The name does not appear on the original 1841 town map, making it a relatively recent addition to the grid. It is thought to have been taken from an old thoroughfare in the borough of Saltash, Cornwall – with the majority of early European settlers to New Plymouth hailing from that part of England, their descendants often looked to those regions when naming roads later on.

The small block in between Silver and Robe Streets became known as “the market place” where locals sold fresh produce, and was used as a campground for British troops during the Taranaki Wars. In 1872 a post office was constructed there, facing down Queen Street. This was replaced five years later by a much larger building that housed the chief postmaster, letter delivery facilities, a savings bank, customs office, lands and survey department and a telegram office. The Sergeant of Police had his offices and a jail on Silver Street until 1910, and it was also the location of an ornate wooden courthouse built in 1895.

As well as all the government departments, the little street was home over the years to Reginald Pike’s cordial factory, the Rarawa boarding house, Tom Francis’ plumbing works, William Clinton’s motorcycle shop and George Beer’s boot repair store. New sewers were laid along the street in 1908 and footpaths added in 1912, five years before the road was sealed with tar and crushed stones from local quarries.

The 1960s saw the complete redevelopment of the area. Robe Street was widened, a new court house replaced the wooden one, the post office and its iconic clock tower were demolished and the Atkinson Building was constructed to house the city’s civil servants. Silver Street was closed off for good in November 1963 when the transformation of the old market place into a public park began.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.