Seaview Road

Seaview is one of those street names, like Ridge Lane and Beach Road, which are linked closely to their location. Curiously however, few houses in Seaview Rd catch even a glimpse of the sea.

When the road was first surveyed in 1900 it was formed as a cul-de-sac, beginning at Ōmatā Road and ending at the point at which the road now begins to descend to Devon Street West. Perhaps it was from this vantage point that the surveyor spied the distant sea and chose the simple name.

Although the road has a long history, significant residential development did not really get underway until after World War Two, by which time the road had been linked with Devon Street. In these post wars years the sections were snapped up by young couples wanting to build their own house and raise a family.

One of those couples was Rex and Gwen Brewster, who spoke to the North Taranaki Midweek in February 2013. They reflected warmly on this era, when the street, in the midst of the post war baby boom, became known as "nappy view road". The young families helped out one another and building a house was happily relatively free of regulation and strict building codes.

Another who moved in after the war was the "rebellious" Mrs Allan, who attracted the interest of the local newspaper. In August, 1949, the headline appeared, "Women Carpenter, Building Her Own House". To the apparent bemusement of the reporter Mrs Allan was helping to build her Seaview Road house. Although modest of her efforts, the builder, Arthur Penwarden, proudly asserted that she was "just as able as any man".

Although the Brewsters, and probably almost all of these original residents, have moved on, no doubt a new generation of families are keeping the street alive.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.