Exeter Street

Exeter Street in Brooklands was named after the capital city of Devonshire, a nod to the many early Pākehā settlers who came to Taranaki under the auspices of the Plymouth Company in the 1840s. Most hailed from Devon and Cornwall, the so-called southwest counties, and brought their farming experience and Wesleyan Methodist religion with them when they emigrated.

Formed in 1951, Exeter Street was part of a large subdivision of Block V of the Paritūtū survey district. One hundred and forty one sections were developed between Upjohn and Kaimata Streets at the southern end of Brooklands Park for the Housing Department. The government was engaged in a suburban housing construction boom after the Second World War, introducing legislation that allowed state tenants to buy their homes the year before Exeter Street was established.

Exeter city is situated on the River Exe, northeast of the original Plymouth. The name comes from the Old English Escanceaster, combining that of the river, which came from a Celtic word meaning “water”, and a suffix used to indicate an important fortress. A trading settlement since at least 250 BC, Exeter became a military base during Roman times when it was known as Isca. Many of its Roman walls are still standing despite the town being virtually abandoned in the fourth century. When German Saxons invaded, they called it Escanceaster which eventually became Exeter.

Exeter’s motto is Semper Fidelis (always faithful) and it was a religious centre during the Middle Ages. Its main industry was wool until the 1800s, with Exeter-spun cloth exported all around Europe. Powderham Castle, the seat of the earls of Devon, was built just outside the town in the 14^th century and inspired the name of another New Plymouth street. Exeter was bombed during the Second World War and German air raids flattened much of the city centre, killing 265 people and destroying 1500 houses. Large areas were rebuilt in the 1950s, at the same time as Exeter Street was being formed to provide new homes for the residents of New Plymouth.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.