Stuart Place

It turns out that Stuart Place was the third choice of name for this cul-de-sac in Blagdon. 

The first choice of landowner and developer Joseph Leopold Leuthart was Swiss Avenue, in celebration of his Swiss heritage. In July 1954 Leuthart’s legal representatives, Govett, Quilliam & Hutchen, wrote to the New Plymouth City Council with his request. This suggestion proved unacceptable, however, with the council instead choosing a name from an ‘approved list’ of street names borrowed from Plymouth, England. Clifton Street was their selection.

However, on being told this, Mr Leuthart’s lawyers again wrote to the council explaining that he was unwilling to agree to the choice of Clifton, but that he would be happy with Stuart Avenue or Stuart Place. Finally, at a council meeting on 15 November 1954, it was decided to rescind the decision to name the road Clifton and Stuart Place was confirmed instead.

Born in Zurich in 1898, Joseph Leuthart arrived in New Zealand in 1924 and began work on an Inglewood farm. His next job was at Young’s Bakery in Inglewood, the trade he would pursue for the remainder of his working life. Leuthart went on to run bakeries and catering businesses in New Plymouth and Stratford for more than 50 years. Arrested for sly-grog selling in 1932, he stayed on the straight and narrow after that, and was naturalised just before the Second World War. Joseph died suddenly in August 1977 (Daily News 16 August 1977) leaving behind his second wife Hazel, four sons and stepchildren to mourn his passing.

On the corner of Stuart Place and Devon Street West, anchoring the eastern end of the Blagdon shops, is a large Four Square. Although the Four Square brand has been an icon for many years, this building started life in the late 1960s as Dalton’s Supermarket.

The first ‘Dalton’s’ opened in Fitzroy in 1965 to great fanfare – New Plymouth’s first supermarket. By the time the Blagdon store opened, there were three in the chain. The 1980s saw the proliferation of big-name supermarket players 3 Guys, Foodtown and New World, occupying purpose-built premises in central New Plymouth, forever changing the face of the grocery business.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.

Related plans:

Taranaki DP3681 Sheet 1 Blagdon (ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index - Imaged by LINZ)

Taranaki DP7869 Sheet 1 Stuart Place Blagdon (ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index - Imaged by LINZ)