Julian Road is found in the settlement of Warea, 35 kilometres south-west of New Plymouth along SH45. It runs along the southern bank of the Waiweranui River, and at its end sits the Warea Co-operative Dairy Company factory.
The first factory here, a Crown Dairy Company branch, opened in 1892. It was built on the site of Gray's flax mill to make use of the existing water-wheel to drive its machinery. The Crown building was bought by the Warea Co-operative in 1896 and the present concrete factory - now closed - was built in 1933 after the old wooden one was destroyed by fire.
The road, surveyed by the firm Saxton & Urwin in 1946, is named after Ray Julian. The Julian family have a long and significant association with the Warea district. Samuel White Julian arrived in New Plymouth on board the Oriental in 1841. Samuel's third child Thomas (Tom) was Ray's father and because of his fluency in Māori worked as an interpreter for the surveyor, F. A. Carrington. Tom moved his family from the 50 acre block they farmed in Tataraimaka to Warea Road in 1890 where he bought 129 acres for £10 per acre.
Tom regularly contributed toward community activities - as sexton, squeeze-box muso at local dances and helped build the first Warea Hall. Tom also owned a reliable team of bullocks that transported timber for the hall from Ducker's mill at the top of Newall Road and brought ashore sections of the Cape Egmont lighthouse.
His eldest son, William Henry Julian, continued the tradition by operating cartage and roading services in the area until 1918. Tom's second son George Ernest became a director of the Warea Co-operative Dairy Factory and along with brothers, Percy and Ray, played rugby for the Warea Football Club.
Tom lived with youngest son Ray after his wife Matilda died in 1921. Ray farmed at Warea where he was a Justice of the Peace and a community leader therefore giving his name to the road.
This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.
Related plans:
Puniho Dairy Factory DP926, ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)
Egmont County DP6199, ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)
Julian Road DP6626, ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)
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