Templer Street (Eltham)

Arthur Templer didn’t enjoy a particularly long life. However he did leave his mark on early New Zealand as a surveyor. Although he was only in Eltham for a few years, he was so well regarded by the town’s citizens they named a street after him.

He was born in Christchurch in 1859. After gaining his surveying qualifications he worked in Canterbury and various places in the North Island. For health reasons Templer moved further north in 1895, much of this time being spent in Auckland and the Coromandel. He developed a reputation as an expert mining surveyor in the Thames region.

He moved to Eltham in about 1901, setting up his own practice in an office on High Street. He worked in Taranaki until about 1906.

In 1904 he undertook the first detailed survey of Eltham’s Templer Street and the surrounding area. The street is named on his plan, indicating he knew beforehand of the honour about to be bestowed on him. Many years later the street remains mostly farmland.

Arthur Templer eventually moved back to Canterbury, working until his death in 1916.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.