Hughson Street (Waitara)

Hughson Street in Waitara was formed in 1958 and named after a former Mayor of the town.

James Pole Hughson was born in the Shetland Islands in 1872, the youngest of Hugh and Andrina Hughson’s six children. The whole family immigrated to New Zealand on the ship Eastminster in 1880, making their way from Wellington to New Plymouth where Hugh worked as a storekeeper (and sometime dentist) on Ōmata Road.

James initially tried his hand at farming but joined the railway service in 1890. New Zealand Railways employed tens of thousands of staff in those days, carrying more than 20 million passengers and five million tonnes of freight every year. James was transferred to posts all around the country during his career as a guard, including Foxton, Hāwera, Dunedin and Balclutha. He helped found the Timaru St John Ambulance Brigade whilst working down south, and was district superintendent there during the influenza epidemic of 1918.

James was transferred back to Taranaki in the 1920s, and was living in Waitara when he retired. He was elected to the Waitara Borough Council in 1936 and ran for Mayor unopposed in 1938, serving in the role until 1947. Interestingly, his nephew Robert Hughson was elected Mayor of Opunake that same year.

As well as his time in local government, James was president of the Waitara St John Ambulance Brigade and of the Seaside Society. He also sat on the committee of the swimming club, the Beautifying Society and the Patriotic League. James was awarded a Jubilee Medal in May 1935 for his public service. Eighty-thousand of these silver medals were struck to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of King George V’s accession to the throne and given to individuals throughout the British Empire “as a personal souvenir from His Majesty”. James was one of 52 Taranaki personalities so honoured.

James Pole Hughson married Emma Haigh in Christchurch in 1897 and they had two sons and two daughters. He died on 2 November 1953 at the age of 81 and is buried at Waitara Cemetery alongside his wife.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.