Tingey Residence, 151 Vivian Street (1915)

This attractive residence was constructed in 1915 for solicitor James Henry Quilliam, partner in the long established law firm Govett & Quilliam. 

A permit was granted to Quilliam by the Borough Council on the 25th of February 1915 for the construction of a residence in Vivian Street - the estimated construction cost was a massive £1000. 

The architect is not listed in the permit books, but may have been local partnership Sanderson & Griffiths (James Sanderson & Horace Victor Griffiths), who advertised for tenders for the construction of a residence in Vivian Street during January 1915. A search of the NPBC permit books reveals that no other permits were granted for residences in Vivian Street at this time.

On 22 July 1915, the Taranaki Herald published an article discussing various building projects across New Plymouth; Quilliam's house in Vivian Street was noted as being under construction at this time.

The Quilliam's only occupied the house for a short period, before it was purchased by settler John Granville Barthrop. From the mid-1930s, the house became the home of Ernest V. Tingey, of the paint firm R & E Tingey Ltd, whose premises were situated in Currie Street.