Townsend Road is located just outside the Bell Block industrial zone, a short distance from where the railway line crosses Paraite Road. It was named after Reginald Townsend, who was born in Wales on 17 December 1896. He was the son of Sidney Townsend and Kate Chamberlayne and a descendent of John Townsend of Corsham, Wiltshire, England (1784-1822).
Reginald was a farmer and since production was vital to the British economy, he avoided conscription during World War One. Soon after the war ended he sailed to New Zealand aboard a Shaw Savill boat of 12,000 tons called the Athenic, travelling through the Panama Canal.
Once settled in Taranaki, Reginald spent nearly thirty years farming a property in Bell Block on a road that would eventually carry his name. He specialised in breeding and exhibiting Clydesdale horses.
In 1934 he married Mary Kathleen Rowe, the daughter of William and Florence Rowe. Reginald and Mary had only one child, a son Trevor, born in 1936. Trevor married in 1962 and had four children.
Reginald was a great collector, including cans, bottles and polished stones. Mary was an accomplished pianist, gardener and artist.
From 1957 to 1984 the couple lived in one of the historic ‘Hen and Chickens’ houses on Pendarves Street until just before their deaths, only months apart in 1984.
This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.
Related documents and plans:
The metalling of Townsend Road (Taranaki Daily News 6 Nov 1934)
Paritutu Survey District, Block VI SO36-8B, ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)
Paritutu Survey District, Block VI/2 SO13809, ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)
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