Vehicles plying for hire were required to be licensed. 'Every licence for any such vehicle shall bear some distinguishing letter or number, or both, which shall be the licensed number of such vehicle.' One of the many building bylaws was one forbidding the use of roofing materials 'other than metal, slate, earthenware tiles or other non-flamm- able material'. The following day Shuttleworth Brothers, timber mer- chants and importers, advertised in the town's two newspapers that they had plentiful supplies of corrugated, and plain iron, and builders' ironmongery, 'Slates, Firebricks, Portland Cement and all kinds of building material ... and Greymouth coal.' The penalty for any person offending against any of the provisions of these bylaws was $10 for every such offence. The bylaws were signed by 'L. H. Cholwill, Town Clerk' and it must be assumed that by virtue of his dedication and business acumen, he would have done a great deal of the work in formulating the bylaws. Cholwill had come to Taranaki from Australia in 1864 and had undertaken a business as accountant and general commission agent. Some idea of his dedication to his job as town clerk may be obtained from a minute in the council's affairs in 1877. It was reported that the council was overdrawn and one councillor refused to sign any more cheques until the situation was rectified. Cholwill (who at that time was also the borough treasurer) and another councillor canvassed the town, collecting all the outstanding' rate' money they could. But it was insufficient to meet all liabilities, so Cholwill advanced $200 from his own pocket in order that essential work could proceed. The problem, which arose from a late payment of a Government subsidy, was eventually overcome, and a minute records the council's 'grateful thanks to the Good Samaritan we have in our treasurer'. Cholwill died in 1884, aged 54, while still town clerk. Meanwhile, the borough council was following Carrington's plan in the development of the town, but although the surveyor had designed Devon Street and Eliot Street to be the widest and main thoroughfares, for the first 30 years, it was Brougham Street which was the town's centre. As long ago as 1841 preferences for ballots for town sections were centred on this area. Of the first five sections allocated, four were in this street. Ten years later Devon Street owners were still wondering if they had been wise in their purchases. At a public auction in November, 1851, the top price was $104 for a section on the Brougham Street - Powderham Street corner (now occupied in part by the Radio Taranaki building). Devon Street was not a pleasant area. That part under the present Mall was low-lying; muddy in winter, dusty in summer, and swept by the prevailing westerlies. The Huatoki Stream was as liable to flood then as it was 150 years later, and Superintendent Brown recorded that in 1863 he had seen a team of bullocks trying to haul a dray along lower Devon Street. Although the load was not heavy, the dray sank into the mud and could not be hauled out. It stayed there so long that it became a feature of the street .11 The scene had changed dramatically by 1876. On the seafront between Brougham Street and Queen Street the boating service was in full swing, ferrying immigrants and their belongings to the shore. Immediately in the rear of the boating service sheds rose Mount Eliot, on which stood 'the bonded store, an imposing flagstaff, the signal station, the pilot and signalman's houses, and the headquarters of the Armed Constabulary Force. These stood within the central part of a once-great Maori stronghold, Pukeariki (which extended from the present Cenotaph in Queen Street to the junction of Queen and Brougham Streets). This was a beauty spot of early New Plymouth, with the meandering Mangaotuku Stream on its inward base and the then picturesque seashore on its northern front, the whole covered with a luxurious growth of our native flora.' 12 (Mount Eliot was subsequently demolished to provide filling for the area on which now stands the railway station and other buildings, including Richmond Cottage. This is fitting because the park Skinner refers to was a popular recreational area, named Richmond Park, after the man who planted it and laid it out, Superintendent Henry Robert Richmond.) Also on Mount Eliot were the provincial and central government buildings, the office of the superintendent, treasurer, lands and survey officers, the deeds registration office, a meteorological observatory and the residence of the officer in charge of police. 'Two outhouses did service for a whole government staff at that period until one night, with a roar and a flash, one of these useful, if non-ornamental structures, went skyward, aided by a powerful charge of gunpowder, the work of a larrikin of old New Plymouth.'13 In Brougham Street in 1876 there was a grocery, a drapery store, a jeweller's shop, a chemist's, a boot and shoe shop, a saddlery, a plumber's store, and several prominent citizens' houses. In April, 1843, William George opened his cob-walled Seven Stars Inn on the corner now occupied by the Bank of New Zealand. The inn's large room upstairs proved ideal for meetings and social gatherings. It had in its time some distinguished guests, one of whom was Lord Robert Cecil, later the Marquis of Salisbury and Britain's Prime Minister, who arrived by schooner in 1852 and later walked to Wanganui by the coast road. Throughout the 1850s Brougham Street consolidated its position, and when military necessity required the levelling of the top of Marsland Hill and the erection of a military barracks on its crest, this increased traffic.
This building served its purpose in wartime, but by 1876 it was being used for the more peaceful purpose of a depot for immigrants who were arriving in increasing numbers from Europe.
Brougham Street was an imposing thoroughfare. In addition to St Mary's Church, there was a Freemason's Hall and three of the four hotels in the town-the Royal (formerly the Taranaki Hotel), the Masonic Hotel (formerly the Seven Stars) and the Commercial Hotel on the corner of Brougham Street and Vivian Streets. The Masonic Hall was opened in 1865 and for nearly 70 years this imposing structure, with its massive columns, served Freemasons and public alike. It stood opposite St Mary's churchyard, about halfway between Vivian Street and Hempton Street. It was demolished in the 1930's following a fire, and the ruins were bought by Mr F. Amore who believed some records had been deposited during its construction in December, 1864. He searched in vain, until a 12-inch puriri pile was split. In a square pocket cut into the timber was a sealed tin which contained a parchment recording the 1864 event and a copy of the Taranaki Herald of December 27, 1864. On the parchment (at present held by the Taranaki Museum) were several names, including that of H. A. Atkinson, the man who in 1855 was one of those who drove bullock carts up Brougham Street carrying posts and rails for the Marsland Hill stockade, and who later became Prime Minister of New Zealand. His post at the time of signing the parchment was 'Minister of Colonial Defence'.
In the 1870s Brougham Street's era of fame and influence was giving way to the inevitable ascendancy of D~von Street. This was the period when, under the proprietorship of William Cottier, the Taranaki Hotel reached a peak of popularity perhaps unique in the history of New Zealand trade. Among the 259 signatures petitioning for a renewal of the licence in 1874 were those of the leaders of the methodist and temperance movements .
14 The 1870s brought other stirring events to New Plymouth: The arrival of the first coach; the first telephone; the first telegraphic connection; the first gas light (which wasn't lit until 1880). By the mid 1880s there was a rapid decline in the importance of Brougham Street, as new construction spread along Devon Street and other adjacent streets. Old-established businesses moved out, shops were converted into offices and the overall picture was one of plain wooden fronts bearing an unmistakable air of pioneering days. Perhaps this was because the street seemed to escape the serious fires which occurred elsewhere, and thus bypassed the 'new look' which so often arises from ashes. The final indignity came in 1922, when New Plymouth acquired its first underground men's convenience. This was a subject of controversy even before it was built. It had been planned in 1914, by which time there were several legal offices in Brougham Street and the strongest of opposition was voiced against such a 'monstrous' undertaking.
The matter was taken to court in 1919 after the borough council had disclosed its estimate of $2000. The judge refused an injunction 'concerning placing a toilet equidistant between properties on either side of the street'. The council decided to let tempers cool. Three years later, when it considered placing the toilet nearer one footpath than the other, it was again threatened with legal action. The council tried unsuccessfully to have the Municipal Association fight the issue as a test case. Shortly afterwards the council accepted a tender of$I135 for the construction of a toilet to be erected 'on a site i!:_l Brougham Street to be determined by a committee'. Construction started two days later. So from 1922 until 1970, when it was demolished, 'New Plymouth Underground Men's conveniences' served a very useful if much maligned purpose .
By the turn of the century the town had developed to such an extent that there was little room for further growth within the original borough area as designed by Carrington, who had drawn his plan on the concept that sections were to be 'half an acre in extent', and the question of boundary extension was becoming urgent. High on the list ofthose who realised this, and who was in a position to do something about it was F. T. ('Fin') Bellringer, town clerk between 1902 and 1952. He was born in New Plymouth in 1877, son of James Bellringer, mayor of the town between 1889 and 1893; his mother was a daughter of Samuel James, who arrived on the Essex, the last of the 'first ships' in 1842. 'Fin' Bellringer was a man of vision; an expert in administration. During his remarkable 50-year career he instituted a system of publishing the annual reports of the various departments of the borough council in pocket-book form. These are models of concise information, in which he recorded any significant events and developments occurring during the year, together with his own comments on any subject that he considered should be examined by the council. He urged the council to acquire suitable land for reserves 'before its cost became too prohibitive' .15 His recommendations were acted upon. The East End Reserve, Paritutu Centennial Park, Belt Road Motor Camp, Waiwakaiho Park, Pukewarangi Recreational Reserve, Ngamotu Domain and Brooklands Park are among areas which Bellringer either secured or initiated. His memorial is in the name Peringa Park (Peringa is the Maori derivation of Bellringer), A man noted for his unfailing kindness and courtesy, he initiated, among many other things, the annual spring clean-up day when citizens were invited to leave their winter's rubbish on the pavements for collection by council workers. He was the driving force behind acquiring land for the developing of New Plymouth's first airport, and for this he was given the 'freedom of the airport' in 1938 (the only previous recipients of this honour were transTasman aviators Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm). But it was for his growing awareness of the necessity for modern town planning that he is best remembered.
The census of 1910 revealed that New Plymouth had a population of 5238, an increase of 18.9 per cent in 10 years. There had also been a sharp increase in the number of houses built in this period (from 927 to 1208) with the result that the number of residential sections was dwindling. It was because ofthe council's intention to install some form of public transport within the town that Bellringer saw the need to enlarge the borough as a matter of urgency; he felt that such a system, to be run efficiently and economically, must extend into the town's suburbs. For these reasons, therefore, a 'Greater New Plymouth' scheme was envisaged. Polls were held in the various districts to ascertain whether residents were in favour of merging with New Plymouth, the first being in the Fitzroy Town District on August 16,1911.16 This was carried by 244 to 131 and consequently this district was added to the borough on December 1, 1911, being named the Fitzroy Ward. The next poll, in the Vogeltown, Frankleigh Park and Westown areas, was held on March 19, 1912. This area also favoured the move and was added to the borough on March 31, 1912. A similar poll held in the St Aubyn-Moturoa districts was defeated by 107 votes to 102 and this district was excluded from the Greater New Plymouth Scheme. But it was not long before H. Okey, MP, was appointed as mediator, and as a result the area was merged on September 2, 1912. Another small area of the St Aubyn district (l2ha) was included in November, 1912, while the abattoir areaof30ha near the mouth of the Waiwakaiho River was added on February I, 1913. Thus, by early 1913, the Great New Plymouth area covered an area of 1000 ha. Its valuation was $3,303,564 and its population was 7538.
17 This changed the form of the town considerably. The most striking feature was the sharp contrast between the uniform layout of the original Carrington plan with the piecemeal, straggling layout of the new suburbs. This was inevitable, as Carrington had planned the town as a whole, whereas the subdivision of the former suburban sections had occurred spasmodically without any set plan, apart from being governed to a certain extent by the rectangular layout of the suburban sections drawn by Carrington.
In 1913 this framework was very much in evidence, although some of the original roads had been closed because they were in unsuitable positions. The streets which replaced them were laid out more in conformity with the topography and, as streams in the borough converged towards the centre of the town, this had resulted in the main suburban streets forming a radial pattern along the ridges (notably South Road, Tukapa Street, Frankley Road, Carrington Road and Avenue Road, now called Coronation Avenue). Because of the more difficult terrain in the gullies, cross-connections between these main routes were almost non-existent, and most of the suburbs were therefore separate entities centred round their own particular radial road.
One of the disturbing features of the newly-enlarged borough was the fact that reserves in the new suburbs were almost completely absent. There were no recreational reserves, apart from Sanders Park, the Abattoir Reserve, a prison reserve at Moturoa and a harbour reserve along the foreshore. The addition of the new suburbs had greatly increased the borough's area' so much so that no substantial additions were necessary for nearly 50 years. In this respect, therefore, the amount of land included in the borough was felt by many to be excessive, but at least it enabled the development of those areas to proceed more smoothly than they would have done. From a town having a high proportion of its land in reserves, the enlarging of the borough had reversed this situation. Since then, this has been rectified. As long ago as 1914 Bellringer wrote: 'The people of New Plymouth are realising that the seafront, if not the greatest, is one of the most important assets to the town,' and he stressed the need for the development of the foreshore so that any improvements would conform to this overall plan. Consequently he recommended that an overseas town planning expert should be asked to prepare a report on the best method of laying out the whole of the seafront. The result of this recommendation embraced a much wider field than the development of the seashore. W. R. Davidge, an English consultant, visited New Plymouth in 1915, and in March, 1916, the council considered his lengthy 'Report and Suggestions for Preliminary Town Planning for the Borough of New Plymouth'.
In it he stressed the need for the reclamation of beaches using groynes, the protection of cliffs subject to sea erosion, and the landscaping and developing ofthe whole sea front generally. There should be high and low-level roads, walks, gardens, shelters and band rotundas, a pleasure pier, a stadium, sea baths, a canoe pond and an exhibition area. He saw the need to shift the port railway in order to accomplish these things. A grandiose design was shown for the central business area of the town where a large civic area was to be created and around which important public buildings were to be sited. This would have meant serious disruption of the existing commercial centre.
Davidge's report also suggested a loop road linking Moturoa, Lyn- mouth, Westown, Vogeltown, Welbourn, Lower Mangorei and Upper Fitzroy to be used as a bus or tram route.
The report was fully published in the Taranaki Herald on March 21, 1916, but little interest appears to have been taken by the public. An editorial did not discuss the report as a whole, but instead commented on two aspects-the necessity for removing the railway along the foreshore, and the desirability of providing walks along the Huatoki Stream and Te Henui River. It was more than 60 years before these walks became reality; the railway still follows its seaside route; the seashore is still an undeveloped area and as the years pass, erosion-and concern-have increased. The city centre has been talked of many times, and by the mid-1970s part of Devon Street was closed to traffic and the pedestrian mall constructed in spite of objections by many residents and businessmen. If it did little else, Davidge's report made the citizens of New Plymouth more aware of the concept of town planning and by 1926 a committee had been formed to advise on the preparation of a town plan for the borough. It was not until 1939 that a land use map for the borough was completed. This was compiled from the records of a dwelling survey carried out in 1937 as required by the Housing Survey Act of 1935. This was quite an historic event. For the first time, every dwelling in New Plymouth was inspected and the information-which included its type, construction, physical condition, sanitary and domestic equip- ment, number and size of rooms, lighting and ventilation, occupancy and details of open spaces round the structure-was recorded on individual cards. Also in 1939 planning gained fresh impetus following a visit to New Plymouth by the Government town planning officer, J. W. Mawson .
In an interview with the Taranaki Herald on June 14, 1939, he stressed that although the borough possessed parklike qualities, it was very dispersed and consequently had much uneconomic development. 'The New Plymouth Borough Council would be well advised in future years to encourage a more compact form of development. This could be done to a considerable extent through the medium of a statutory town planning scheme.' Mawson was shown a scheme drawn up by the borough Engineer, Ray Mainland, on suggestions by Fin Bellringer, which, among other things, provided for development of Robe Street to a wide, planted carriageway once the planned Government buildings were completed. He was much impressed, but it was not until 30 years later that the scheme, much amended, was finally accepted. Meanwhile the nation's technocrats were busy formulating town planning legislation. When in 1954 the Town and Country Planning Act came into force, one of the first actions by the city council (it had achieved that status in 1949) was to appoint a town planning committee with E. P. Allen as chairman and the newly-appointed deputy town clerk, W. J. Connor (who retired from the town clerk's post in 1978) as secretary. An architect, E. P. Borrell, was consultant. Ajoint planning committee was set up with representatives of the city council and Taranaki County Council, and in 1961 a central area district planning scheme and ajoint planning scheme were enacted. In the same year the city council released its town plan for central New Plymouth. The latter was criticised as much as it was praised. The Daily News described it as 'a conservative answer to the city's problems twenty years from now.
The invisible underground development, too, has had its difficulties over the years; out of sight perhaps but not out of mind. Among the major tasks facing the borough council on its inauguration was the supply of water. Carrington's plan made no mention of it, and it was left to the citizens to provide their own means of obtaining it, by wells, by rainwater tanks, and, in the beginning, using the 'pure natural water which abounds in the streams', as Wicksteed put it. But soon need was seen for an alternative .
On November 5, 1877, the council decided to hold a competition for the best scheme using the Huatoki Stream as a source of a town supply. This was held, but on February 16, 1878, the council rejected any of the proposed schemes. Marsland Hill had been suggested as a site for a reservoir, but a letter from 'Aquarius' in the Daily News claimed that Marsland was too narrow for a reservoir and anyway it was only 155 feet above high water mark. In the meantime, having obtained approval of the ratepayers to raise a loan of $50,000 for a waterworks and improvement of roads, it was decided to advertise for an engineer. The Dunedin firm of Barr and Oliver was appointed, and on June 3, 1878, it outlined four possible schemes, recommending the cheapest, which the council approved on June 7. This was for the Waiwakaiho River to be tapped nearPuketotara, near the present Merrilands Domain. Here a dam would be built, and water was to be raised by two turbines to the summit of a high hill on which a concrete reservoir would be built.
On March 1, 1883, the scheme was completed and the turbines began to lift the water, 'slowly to avoid any mishap', said the Taranaki Herald. But 17 days later, while the reservoir was still being filled, a crack 42 metres long appeared in the wall and the pumps were stopped. Intensive argument ensued between the council and the contractors, the latter refusing liability on the grounds that the works had been handed over and were already in operation. The council went to the ratepayers for a loan of $20,000 to repair the damage and for the excess in total cost over the estimate. The loan was raised and the scheme completed, which remained operative until the turn of the century, when it became evident the quality and quantity of the water would have to be improved. In 1902 it was decided to improve the situation and combine the water supply with an electric light plant. This was accomplished by construct- ing a tunnel from the Waiwakaiho Tunnel to the Mangorei Stream at a cost of$48,000. It came into operation, and power was switched on at 8 p.m. on January 19, 1906. The disused reservoir was popular with motorcyclists who used it as a 'wall of death.' It was demolished about 1950. The growth ofthe town necessitated continual expansion of the water supply and in 1922 190 ha of land surrounding the Mangamahoe Valley were bought and contracts let for another tunnel to feed the Waiwakaiho Stream.
The system became operative in 1924. But there was still insufficient water, and under the supervision of C. Clarke, the borough engineer, a 135-metre concrete-cored dam was completed in 1931 at a cost of $270,000. Thus Lake Mangamahoe, now a renowned beauty spot, was formed. Tree-planting around the lake had begun in 1925 and by the 1970s these came into profit, bringing in more than $40,000 a year. In 1962 the large reservoir on the corner of Junction and Mangorei Roads bulged and cracked, spewing out thousands of litres of water, gouging a two-metre-deep channel and tunnelling through a clay bank to shatter the seal on Mangorei Road. With the completion of a new reservoir even the inadequate filters were by-passed and this accelerated the use of a modern treatment facility. Consultants were called in in 1965 and it was decided to invest in a $1 '4 million water treatment station near Lake Mangamahoe. This was completed in 1971 and was opened with due ceremony when it was promised the high grade of water which left the plant for the town would remove the foul taste. The station supplied what the World Health Organisation categorised as Grade A water which measured minimal sediment. Nevertheless the bad taste was still there. The city engineer reported the taste problem 'has been overcome at the plant and within the major portion of the city'. But this was not the case. In 1975, after much criticism and discussion, $65,000 was voted to try to obviate the smell over a ten-year period. By 1978 it was still a hardy annual, appearing more prominent during summer months. Numerous theories have been put forward, and exhaustive tests and analysis have been made. One thing is certain. Whatever the cause of the bad taste, it is no health hazard. The Mangorei power scheme was a significant development for New Plymouth, for it brought electricity to the town long before the State could supply it. Over the years this generation capacity, now merely a supplementary supply, saved ratepayers a small fortune by reducing peak demands from the national grid, which is the basis of State supply tariffs. Originally there were 2200-volt transmission lines from Mangorei to the substation in the town. This building is still in existence, situated in Liardet Street opposite Lemon Street, and the wire entry rods are still visible. In 1915 a new substation was built on the corner of Liardet and Leach Streets. This building is now occupied by the city council administration centre and until 1979, when the building was refurbished, the strong-room floor, which was lined with lead, still bore indentations marking the site of the heavy batteries needed to supply power. Additional buildings were erected on this site in 1929,1939,1951, and 1961, and across the road in Leach Street in 1979, another complex serves as a base where all the city council activities are centred.