Norman Street (Waitara)

Norman Street in Waitara was named after the captain of a colonial steamship which played a major role in the First Taranaki War.

William Henry Norman was born in Kent in 1812 and became a sailor at a young age, as part of the British merchant navy. He commanded various ships until the 1850s, when the new Governor of Victoria, Sir Charles Hotham, hired him to work for the Australian colony. Norman’s missions over the years included transporting gold miners, rescuing shipwrecked immigrants and delivering salmon eggs to Tasmania in order to establish the fish there.

In 1860 the colonial government of Victoria sent the ship HMVS Victoria to New Zealand, to support British troops and settlers fighting against Māori in the First Taranaki War. It was the first time an Australian warship had been deployed to take part in an overseas conflict. On 19 April 1860 the Victoria sailed to Hobart where it picked up 134 men from the 40th Regiment and transported them to Taranaki. The ship then performed shore bombardments and coastal patrols whilst maintaining supply routes between Auckland and New Plymouth. In July of that year, the Victoria sailed to Sydney to bring General Thomas Pratt and his staff back to New Zealand. It was also used to evacuate women and children from New Plymouth to Nelson, and to deliver British reinforcements. After a year in New Zealand, Australia needed his ship for survey work, so Captain Norman and the Victoria went back to Melbourne in March 1861.

Commander William Norman died in England on 12 December 1869 at the age of 57. Melbourne’s Argus newspaper described him as “one of the ablest seamen who ever entered this port” and his loss as “widely and deeply regretted”. His wife Mary Jane and their eight surviving children were at home in Melbourne at the time of his death and William’s body was returned there for burial at Williamstown Cemetery.

Queensland’s Norman River and the town of Normanton are also named after him.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.