"Overdale" occupied a prominent position overlooking the lower Huatoki Valley - an area once part of the original 82-acre property. The property has been progressively subdivided since the 1930s, and all that is left is a small amount of land surrounding the house - the beautiful garden and orchards long since gone.
Richard Cock Jnr (1851-1936), the son of Richard Cock Snr (former signal master), was a successful pioneer in the butter industry. He was New Plymouth Mayor 1903-1906, Chairman of the Taranaki Harbour Board, a director of the New Plymouth Sash and Door Company, and trustee for a number of other organisations.
"Overdale" was designed by prominent New Plymouth architect James Sanderson, who placed an advertisement in the Taranaki Herald of 30 May 1889 seeking builders for "the erection of villa residence for Mr R. Cock". "Overdale" appears to have been completed by 1890 when Mrs R. Cock placed an advertisement in the Taranaki Herald seeking a "general servant" for "Overdale", Carrington Street, Vogeltown.
In 1894 the Taranaki Herald published a column detailing the life of Richard Cock Jnr, including a rich description of "Overdale":
"Entering the gate the visitor passes through a literal parterre and then comes to as pretty a lawn as was ever seen. Facing the lawn a structure in the Neapolitan Villa style, with summer houses and ferneries as outposts, gives one an idea of Utopia..."
At the base of an "ampitheatrical hill" was an artificial pond, and above, an orchard with "plums, peaches, apricots, apples, guavas, citrons, lemons, cherries, oranges and other fruit..." behind the villa were "exceptionally well-built stables" and a dairy.
It appears the villa also hosted a good number of parties for the citizens of New Plymouth, with the Taranaki Herald reporting in 1891 that:
On the invitation of Mr and Mrs Cock a large number of friends assembled at "Overdale" the pretty villa residence on the Carrington Road, in order to spend a social evening on Thursday last. The host and hostess entertained their visitors, who numbered about fifty, in a manner that left nothing to be desired. Dancing and other indoor amusements were kept up with unabated vigor till an advanced hour in the morning.
The garden also played host to a number of concerts well into the twentieth century, including in 1901, when a concert was held to raise funds for the New Plymouth Museum, and in 1916 where a patriotic band recital was held by the Citizens Band.
Much later "Overdale" was divided into a number of flats and hidden from view behind the Carrington Road shops.
It was demolished in 2021.
Related item:
Overdale, 130 Carrington Street New Plymouth, Draft Heritage Assessment (Hamish Crimp)
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