Wilson Road (Ōpunake)

Wilson Road in Ōpunake appears on the first maps of the town, with the cemetery already designated for its southern end.

However, both street and cemetery were slow to be developed. The first recorded burial was that of an infant, Bessie Prosser, on 30 October 1883, and this encouraged the Town Board to start improving road access to the cemetery. The following year the surface was cleared, fences erected and 250 ngaio trees planted – sadly soon eaten by wandering pigs.

The first residential development occurred in 1904 when farmers Abraham and Elizabeth Clough had 16 sections surveyed off from the corner of Wilson Road to Heaphy Road. Stamped on the survey plan is the name “Abraham Town”, presumably attached to the area in honour of Mr Clough.

Once again progress slowed and a 1950 aerial photograph shows only one house on the corner of Wilson Road and South Road (now Tasman Street) and a farmhouse on the western side. However, by 1970 that solitary farmhouse was surrounded by new homes, and Wilson Road had been linked with Halse Place.   

Uncovering the origin of the name has proved elusive. Historian Jack Stronge, writing in The Clearing: A History of Ōpunake, admitted that it was a “knotty question” but suggested three probable candidates: the Reverend John Alexander Wilson, his son Captain John Alexander Wilson and Doctor Peter Wilson.

Reverend Wilson was praised for his courageous humanitarian work during the First Taranaki War in the 1860s and his son served with distinction during the New Zealand Wars.

Doctor Wilson arrived in New Zealand in 1841, settling first in Whanganui. In 1847 his family moved to New Plymouth when he was appointed surgeon at the Colonial Hospital – now The Gables in Brooklands Park. This no-nonsense Scotsman came to play a significant role in the emerging settlement, not only in the medical field but also as a school inspector, bank trustee and founding member of the Taranaki Book Club. He died on 18 December 1863 aged 72 and was buried in Te Hēnui Cemetery.

Just who the road was named after may never be confirmed, but Jack Stronge had a clear preference, plumping for the “lovable Dr Wilson” who often travelled the coastal route to Whanganui helping isolated communities along his way. 

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.

Postscript: Following publication it was suggested that the road may have been named after Dr Peter Wilson's son, Patricio Wilson. He worked as the Government's "native agent in the early days of Opunake". (Taranaki Daily News 2 May 1944)

Related items:

Taranaki SO7699 Sheet C (1867), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)

Taranaki DP2259 Sheet 1 (1904), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)

Taranaki DP6822 Sheet 1 (1950), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)