Brennan Place (Opunake)

Opunake’s Aytoun Street dates from the town’s earliest days but was never quite as long as originally intended. Instead, it developed in three separate parts. One part later became Brennan Place.

It was named after Arthur Brennan. He was born in Manaia in 1891 and was one of Opunake’s most prominent businessmen between the wars. As a young man he worked in Wellington and Invercargill. He married, then returned to Taranaki to take over the Ōpunake Times newspaper, which his father had founded in 1894. Brennan also worked as secretary for many of the local dairy companies.

He was elected to the Opunake Town Board in 1924. In 1937 Opunake became a borough and he was elected the town’s first mayor. As well as his many roles in the community, Brennan was regarded as an authority on the early history of the coastal area. He was also something of an amateur magician, amusing people with his conjuring tricks. Arthur Brennan died in 1948.

The land to the west of Brennan Place, once owned by the Crown Dairy Company, was surveyed for housing in the early 1900s. However Opunake didn’t expand as fast as the land-owner may have hoped. Its butter factory was located there at the time but it was many years before any houses were built. Starting in 1975, the eastern side of the street was sub-divided. A few years later it was renamed Brennan Place, acknowledging Arthur Brennan’s contribution to Opunake.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.