Bridle Street

Bridle Street runs off State Highway 3 between Smart Road and Queens Road in Waiwhakaiho. Located next to the Z service station, it was once part of a residential development known as Glenavon Estate. An advertisement for the estate published in the Taranaki Daily News in March 1925 described the sections for sale as being “just outside the borough boundary, over the Waiwakaiho [sic] River at Fitzroy, within three minutes of [the] tram terminus”. The area had previously been something of a rural hinterland, hosting military encampments and A&P Shows.

Bridle Street was named in honour of Richard Collins Bridle, uncle of borough councillor James Kibby (1864-1948) who himself lived on Glenavon Estate.

Richard Bridle was born in the village of Allington in Dorset in 1831, the son of a cooper who made wooden barrels for a living. It is not known exactly when he arrived in New Zealand but he joined the Rifle Volunteers as a Private during the Taranaki Wars and took part in the capture of Kaitake Pā on 25 March 1864. A combined force of the Imperial 57^th Regiment and local militia seized the pā, which had been designed by chief Patara Raukatauri and overlooked Ōākura. The remains of the upper pā were later incorporated into St Andrew’s Redoubt which was built to protect the route between New Plymouth and Tataraimaka. Richard was awarded the New Zealand Medal for his military service in 1873.

Returning to civilian life, he was granted a town section on Gilbert Street in New Plymouth and worked as a labourer. He must have sent word to his family in England encouraging them to emigrate because his sister Mary and her husband Levi Kibby brought their three sons, one of whom was James, to Taranaki around 1875. His brother Charles then purchased land near Stratford, appearing on local electoral rolls from 1880.

Richard Bridle never married or had children but was clearly close to his nephew. He lived alone on Gilbert Street until his death aged 65 on 30 August 1895. The Taranaki Herald described him as “an old and much respected resident” and he is buried at Te Hēnui Cemetery.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.

Related Documents

Taranaki DP4560 Bridle Street (1925) - ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)