Prior to the mid-1890s, access to Eltham from the north was hampered by the large Ngaere swamp, which made travelling difficult. Only after much agitation by locals did the government fund the work required to drain the area. The improved roads soon resulted in a boom in land prices on the northern edge of the small town.
George Moir was sufficiently encouraged to put plans in place to subdivide some of the significant land holdings he owned. For a short while the area was known as Taylorville, for reasons that appear lost to history. However, today we do know that one of the new streets being formed was named after a well-known resident who lived nearby.
Harry Mills, born in England in 1841, arrived in New Zealand with his wife Emma in 1873. Initially they lived in Lower Hutt, where Harry worked as a clerk for the Lower Hutt Roads Board. The couple then farmed in Wairarapa for eight years before moving to Eltham in about 1887. They lived on the corner of King Edward Street and what became the new Mills Street, which was formed and metalled by 1901.
Mills was a renowned gardener, well regarded in the area for his knowledge and skills. By the 1890s he was self-employed, developing and maintaining lawns and gardens around the town. Harry Mills died at the age of 66, in June 1907. Emma lived on until she was 83, dying in 1920 and meriting an obituary in the Hāwera newspaper.
his story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.
Related plan:
Taranaki DP1431 Sheet 1 Eltham Township, ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)
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