Dawson Road in Ratotū is a somewhat unusual road on Taranaki’s west coast, as it is a rare linking road running north to south between two roads that run, as most of the roads do in the area, from the Maunga to the sea.
The road was constructed in the mid-1960s, quite late in the development of Taranaki’s west coast roads, and was created to link Opourapa Rd to Kahui Rd as the former came to a dead end near it’s now current intersection with Dawson Rd.
The road was named after local farmer Gerald Dawson who farmed on Kahui Rd for most of his life and was involved in many aspects of the community. He was chairman of the Egmont County Council and the Egmont Electric Power Board, a director of the Rahotū Dairy Company and held various roles with Federated Farmers.
Gerald was not the only Dawson to call Kahui Rd home. He was one of five children of William and Amy Dawson who emigrated from England in 1909. The family decided to leave England because their family business, building high-class carriages, was facing tough times due to the growing demand for the motor car. At first the family milked for a Mr Crisp on a farm on the corner of Kahui Rd and what was to become Dawson Rd. However in the years that followed the family bought several of their own farms, also on Kahui Rd.
Gerald spent several years serving in the Middle East with the No. 2 Squadron of the Wellington mounted rifles during WWI, leaving younger brother Fred to run the farm at eighteen. Their father William worked at a wheelwright in Rahotu while another brother, Raymond, ran the town’s butcher shop.
When Gerald returned from war he married Alice Hughson and went back to farm on Kahui Rd. He and Alice had a family of three daughters and two sons, one of whom, Ronald, served with Royal New Zealand Airforce during World War Two and died when his plane was shot down over Germany. Gerald’s remaining son, Gerald (known as Douglas) also farmed on Kahui Rd for many years, before moving to Tauranga.
Further reading:
Memories of Sixty Years, C F Dawson, TRCT929.2 DAW
A Genealogy Report for William Bow Davidson, TRCT929.2 DAW
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