Manu Crescent

Manu Crescent has its origins, not with its literal Māori translation, meaning "bird" but with a young carpenter named Horace Frank Snowden, nick named "Mannie", born in 1914.  It is not clear how he acquired this moniker.  His occupation is listed in 1938 as carpenter. By 1946 he purchased property in what was then, rural Huatoki Road. He lived on Huatoki Road, working as a builder and his construction company, H. F. Snowden, was prominent in New Plymouth's construction industry.

By the late 1950s he began subdivision of the area. Over the years he progressively developed his rural property into residential land.  And by 1978 he had moved into one of the newly created streets and named it Manu Crescent. He chose this name as it was the closest approximation to his nickname in Māori.

Another of Mannie's notable achievements was in cycling. In 1932, when he was 18, he was winner of the 1932 Round the Mountain cycle race and on Saturday 22 October 1932 he clocked a time of 4 hours, 39 minutes and 44 seconds, beating his rival by 3 minutes in arduous weather conditions.  Mannie went on to compete at a national level where he had some successes, notably winning the Palmerston North to Wellington race in 1935.

Another sporting connection to Manu Crescent is the Huatoki Cricket Club. During the mid 60s, the club was based at the southern end of Manu Crescent and during its heyday the cricket pitch was colloquially known as "Snowden's Paddock". Continued development in the area during the late 60s and early 70s necessitated the relocation of the club to Rugby Park, where it continued until 1989. 

The area today is a quiet, leafy neighbourhood, with a rural backdrop, quite possibly what Mannie had envisioned as he developed the area over his professional lifetime. He died in New Plymouth on 29 June 1983.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.