McGiven Drive

McGiven Drive is a semi-rural road near the boundary of Frankleigh Park and Ridgewood, running off Ridgewood Drive. It was formed in the late 1970s and is named after the McGiven family who once farmed in the area.

Archibald (Archie) McGiven was born in Scotland around 1854. He married Margaret Binnie in 1876 and soon after they set off for New Zealand. One of his first jobs here was to help with the construction of a breakwater, the first step in the long-awaited plan for a port for New Plymouth.

Archie had a short but colourful life. He was a highly skilled diver whose talent was recognised widely, working both locally and around the country. In 1897 the Postal Department called on his services when the steamer Tasmania sank off the coast of the Māhia Peninsula. McGiven reported that the mail was unrecoverable, as was jewellery merchant Isadore Rothchild’s suitcase full of precious gems that also went down with the ship. Only half of the jewellery was later recovered by marine archaeologist Kelly Tarlton in the 1970s.

Unfortunately, Archie also enjoyed a drink. In 1901 his wife successfully had a prohibition order granted against him (TH 25 May 1901). Little more than a year later he was killed when he fell attempting to board a train. Despite the incident occurring near the Breakwater Tavern at 10pm, an inquest noted that “the evidence showed that McGiven was perfectly sober when seen shortly before the accident”. He left behind his wife and six children.

One of these children, John (Shorty) McGiven, would later end up farming on Veale Road. He married Lottie Salway from Bell Block in 1911 and the couple had four children. John died at his home on Veale Road in 1948 and was buried at Te Hēnui cemetery.

His farm was later sold and eventually subdivided, with the McGiven name being celebrated in the naming of one of the roads in the development.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News. 

Related document:

McGiven and the octopus (Taranaki Herald 10 July 1891)