Hoyle Place

Hoyle Place, near Sanders Park in Westown, was once known as Bracken Street. Unsurprisingly, there was always a bit of confusion about the northern and southern – upper and lower – parts of Bracken Street.

Early surveys indicate it was 1901 when that part of Bracken Street nearest Sanders Park was first sub-divided for housing. At the time that area of town was known locally as Oranoa. Some of the original large sections have been sub-divided further in the years since.

The confusion caused by having two parts to Bracken Street eventually prompted a name change.

Robert Hoyle, born in England, was a New Plymouth builder. From the mid-1930s he lived at number 39 on the southern section of Bracken Street. He was a part-owner of land in Spotswood that was sub-divided for housing in the 1960s. Later that decade he formed Hoyle Industries. The company, based at 2 Liardet Street, manufactured aluminum joinery products and was well-known in Taranaki business circles.  

Hoyle, who died in 1986, was highly regarded by many of his fellow long-time Bracken Street residents. In 1989, when it was proposed the southern end of Bracken Street have its name changed to end the ongoing confusion, some of those residents suggested Hoyle Place in memory of him.

Hoyle Industries didn’t last too much longer. In the late 1980s the company moved to premises in Connett Road, Bell Block. However, like many building related businesses it struggled in the economic climate after the stock market collapse of 1987, eventually going into receivership in 1991 with the loss of at least ten jobs.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.