On the corner of Redwood Crescent and Roto Street in Westown stand a group of five redwood trees. One is located on private property and the others sit outside the boundary fence on the grass verge.
Coastal Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) are a fast-growing species, native to California. In optimum conditions the trees can grow to over 100 metres high and live for 1000 years. Redwood National Park in California is said to contain the world’s tallest living tree, the 115 metre redwood nicknamed Hyperion.
New Plymouth District Council records indicate that the first proposal to form the road dates back to 1975. However, it was not until 1987 that the first survey was approved, establishing a dozen sections off Roto Street on the newly formed Redwood Crescent. Over the following years the road has been extended south toward Taranaki maunga, complete with pedestrian access through to Davies Road.
The large trees framing the entrance to the street must have made the choice of name quite straightforward. According to Cory Smith’s Notable Trees of New Plymouth (2002), the trees were planted around 1930 by the then-landowner and Westown identity Fred Cowling. Smith commented on their poor form and condition, which he said was due to their positioning in a “windswept gully” and the possible impact on the soil of [?] from Duncan and Davies Ltd., a nursery that once covered much of the surrounding area.
Given Smith’s poor assessment of the Westown redwoods in 2002, they appear unlikely to be standing in 1000 years. Although the Duncan and Davies nursery may have had a negative impact on the redwoods, the firm was once a giant in the field of horticulture.
Established in 1899, the company grew to the extent that by the 1940s the nursery had spread over 100 acres in upper Westown, employing up to 100 people at peak times. By 1976 almost all the activities of the company had moved out to Brixton leaving only the administration buildings, some propagation facilities and a garden centre on the corner of Tukapa Street and Wallath Roads. The site is now home to Jumpstart Nursery , Locals café, Lola Hair Studio and The Store.
This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.
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