Sunley Street

Sunley Street in Westown’s Borrell Industrial Park rather curiously celebrates a supermarket that was never built.

The potential of the swampy valley was noticed by construction company Riddick Bros & Still in the 1950s. Over the following years the area was developed by the company, culminating with the official opening of Borrell Avenue on 17 October 1970 by Mayor Denny Sutherland.

In 1980 an equally ambitious project saw the creation of 30 industrial lots on the newly-formed side roads of Gilmour and Sunley Streets. Council records are silent on the origin of the latter name and it was left to Willie Still in the 2011 book Still Building: the Willie and Rosalie Still Story to reveal why it was chosen.

Willie explains that Sunley was a shortened version of ‘Sun Valley’, the name that had been suggested for a planned supermarket. On 5 October 1984 the Daily News reported that Progressive Enterprises were about to lodge plans for a 2708 square metre supermarket with 338 car parks located in the industrial park. Whether this was related to the Sun Valley proposal or a completely new development is unclear but neither ever eventuated.

What did appear ten years later was a golf driving range. The 20-bay range opened on 11 March 1995, a project spearheaded by former professional golfer, American Paul Scimone. Within weeks the range was subject to a torrent of complaints from Sunley Street businesses. More than 1000 balls were lost in the first week of the operation, local businesses had windows smashed and a Daily News reporter was even hit by a stray ball.

Determined to keep the range operating, Scimone tried using ‘limited flight’ golf balls, as well as aligning the bays away from Sunley Street. All this proved futile and in August 1995 the Planning Tribunal stepped in to close the short-lived venture. Undeterred, Scimone sold his land in Westown and moved the operation out to the Quality Hotel (now PIHMS) in Bell Block.

Sunley Street is home to a range of businesses today, including the long-standing Western Automotive Services, Timberco, Tranzit and Juno gin.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.

Related documents:

Plenty of drive for golf scene soon by Mark Dwyer (Daily News 28 October 1994)

Golf range opens this week (Daily News 31 March 1995)

Golfers drive neighbours wild by Sonja Slinger (Daily News 8 April 1995)

Golf range operators surprised at response by Lisah Henry (North Taranaki Weekender 9 April 1995)

Golf range causing neighbours problems by Carley Olley (Daily News 20 July 1995)

Golf range may be reduced to putting (Daily News 22 July 1995)

Troubled range to try limited-flight balls by Neil Ritchie (Daily News 7 August 1995)

Golf driving range closed down by Antony Paltridge (Daily News 10 August 1995)

New greens for NP golf range by Neil Ritchie (Daily News 19 October 1995)

Golfing move covers a wide range by Neil Ritchie (Daily News 30 November 1995)

NZ's longest golf driving range opening early 1996 by Hazel Broomhead (North Taranaki Weekender 3 December 1995)