Belt Road

Belt Road in New Plymouth took its name from the Town Belt planned by surveyor Frederic Carrington.

A history of Wellington points out that in establishing the settlement at Port Nicholson, the New Zealand Company advocated the reservation of public parklands to counter the overcrowding and health problems evident in many industrial English cities.  The town belt would contain the 'town acres', maintaining higher land prices there for the benefit of investors. A working-class labour force would develop from those who could not afford the higher prices.

You can get some idea of what the town belt might have been like, from the plantings of Pōhutukawa at Kawaroa Park.  This magnificent strip of trees provides shelter for nearby houses and park users. The Kawaroa belt also sustains a volunteer understory of mostly native vegetation, and during a hot dry summer the trees provide welcome shade.

At its southern end, Belt Road meets Sanders Park, the home of Tukapa Rugby Club. The street boasts a holiday park at its seaward end – access is across the railway line.  There is a notable surf break, taking the street's name, east of Belt Road.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.

Related plans:

Barrett Road District (1900), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)

Barrett Road District - Town of Oranoa (1901), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)

Moturoa Subdivision (1916 - West from Belt Road), ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)