Red Coat Lane

Red Coat Lane links Marsland Hill with lower Carrington Street. In the 1850s, Marsland Hill was the site of the army barracks which housed the British troops known as the "Redcoats", nicknamed for their bright red coats. Red Coat Lane crosses the Huatoki River and the troops marched over it to their training ground on the site now occupied by Central School, between Lemon and Pendarves Streets. 

The use of the colour red may seem odd  to us in these modern times of khaki and the ability to remain unseen by the enemy.  However, in the colonial era, most fighting was done on the battlefield and it was necessary to distinguish one side from the other. Muskets also did not have a huge firing range, unlike the weapons of today, so the likelihood of actually being shot was not great unless the solider was pretty close to the weapon.  After a time spent fighting, living and even sleeping in the coats, the dye would fade to a pink or russet brown so they were not as conspicuous as one might imagine them to be.

The red dye was used primarily because it was cheap to produce in large quantities at that time and there was a cultural sense that red was the English national colour. 

The barracks of Marsland Hill was dismantled after the Taranaki Wars and part of it was transported up Mount Taranaki to serve out its last years as a accommodation hut.  St Mary's Church is also an integral part of this historic area.  It was used as a military hospital during the Taranaki Wars of the 1860s. 

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.