Churchill Heights Cairn and Institute of Surveyors' Memorial

Churchill Heights Cairn

After World War II the elevated northern section of Western Park was named 'Churchill Heights' in honour of the United Kingdom's Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill's leadership during the war. A direction indicator in black marble sits on top of the cairn. 

A bronze plaque reads: This hill is named Churchill Heights to commemorate in perpetuity the gratitude of the people of this district for the faith, courage and resolution inspired by the leadership of the Right Hon. Winston S. Churchill P.C - O.M - C.H. Prime Minister of Great Britain 1940-1945

N Z Institute of Surveyors Centennial Plaque - Trig Caverhill

Churchill Heights is also home to a bronze plaque on Trig Caverhill which marks the Centennial of the New Zealand Surveyors in 1988. The surveyor's memorial was unveiled on 22 July 1989 by New Plymouth Mayor David Lean and Institute of Surveyor's president, Ian Wilson. The original memorial appears to have been a 1.5 metre high brick-faced cairn. This has, at some stage, been removed and the plaque mounted on a much lower plinth. Trig Caverhill was established in 1879 and was named after John Scott Caverhill (1821-97) who was an early run-holder in North Canterbury but came to New Plymouth in the late 1870s and bought land here before moving to Hawera.

Plaque reads: New Zealand Institute of Surveyors, 1888 - logo - 1988, commemorating the Centenary of this Institute and the Contribution of Surveyors to the Development of Taranaki, Trig Caverhill - Est 1879