ITL Building/Te Ara Lodge (1912)

This building at 435 Devon Street East underwent a major refurbishment by the engineering company ITL (International Technology Limited) in 2011.

It was originally built as a private residence. A building permit was issued to a Mr Parker on 21 May 1912 for a house on Devon Street. The architect was Mr John Healy of Stratford and the estimated cost was £4,000 - a considerable sum for the time. The New Plymouth historian Fred Butler, in one of his scrapbooks (Puke Ariki collection), describes Parker as the "Fitzroy Millionaire". In the  'Stones" directories of the early 1900s George Parker is listed as a dentist in Eltham. 

George Parker died in 1931 and it appears his wife continued to live in the large house in Strandon. It's likely that it was during this time that the house gathered its reputation for "spooks, seances, and hidden tunnels". According to Mr Harland Charteris, who bought the house in 1945 (Mrs Parker died in 1943), for some years she lived alone and neglected the garden which became quite overgrown. Mr Charteris confirmed he had never sighted the ghost of a nun rumoured to haunt the building.

Mr Charteris sold the house in 1959 and soon after the building became a boarding house known as Te Ara Lodge. In 1960 the upper level was extensively renovated to include six bedrooms - plans drawn by the builder R.Gamer.

Mr Phillip Jefferies and his wife Judith bought the building in 1970. In 1984 they spent about $1 million on a major redevelopment of the building to house an 80 seat restaurant and 30 tourist units. The Jefferies also bought some pieces for the refurbishment from the auction held following the closure of the Criterion Hotel.

The R.S.A. purchased the building in 1987 for $220,000 but did not move in until January 1991. At the time "Barracks Family Restaurant" also operated from the building.

In 2008, in the face of mounting financial problems, the R.S.A. sold the building to the brothers Steve and David Crow for $1.9 million. The relationship between the two parties rapidly deteriorated forcing the R.S.A. to close its clubrooms. At the end of 2010 the building was bought by ITL.

Related documents:

Neighbours opposed to strip club (Taranaki Herald 17 February 1976)

Restaurant with old world style (Taranaki Herald 8 Nov 1984)

No ghost but still a presence at city restaurant (Taranaki Herald 9 January 1986)

Wall Wars - Mural vandalism (Daily News 7 April 2001)

Playful dolphins added interest to wall (Taranaki Daily News 11 May 2013)