Tybalt Street (Stratford)

Tybalt Street runs off Oberon Street near Te Kapua Park Racecourse in Stratford and is named after a character in William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet.

Tybalt Street was originally intended to be situated further north, running parallel to Mountain Road between Pembroke and Flint, but was never actually formed despite the block – known as the Stratford Extension – being divided into 400 sections for settlement as early as 1878. Stratford Racing Club began purchasing land there, much of which was still native bush, in 1924 to provide better vehicle access and parking for racegoers coming to Stratford from the north. The Racing Club had been formed in 1891 and its first track located at the northern end of King Edward Park but the club purchased the present Te Kapua Park property in 1894 in order to have more space. By the 1960s the name Tybalt was chosen for use once again, this time in a new subdivision with 82 homes, construction of which begun in 1968.

Tybalt is Juliet’s older cousin in the Bard’s famous play, written in the 1590s, and she is devastated when she hears of his death even though it is her beloved Romeo who kills him. Reckless and hot-headed, Tybalt is obsessed with defending his family’s honour and vows to fight Romeo for attending a Capulet party uninvited. But he ends up killing Mercutio, Romeo’s best friend, instead and Romeo murders him in turn. Thus Romeo is banished from Verona, resulting eventually in the star-crossed lovers’ woeful end. Actors including Orson Welles, Alan Rickman and John Leguizamo have played Tybalt in various film and stage versions of the romantic tragedy.

There are no other Tybalt Streets in New Zealand, although there are four named Juliet and two named Romeo. Tybalt is Germanic in origin, derived from Theobald, which means bold or brave.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.