Upjohn Street

James and Maria Upjohn sailed from London on the Egmont, a ship of 767 tons, arriving in Auckland 14 September 1855. Their seven children travelled with them, and the family arrived in New Plymouth on the same ship on 6 November 1855.

A watchmaker by trade, Mr Upjohn had regulated the clocks for a number of people considered important due to their connections with the English nobility. He was proud of having been present at four coronations, including that of Queen Victoria.

Advertisements posted in the newspaper during May 1857 declared that J.T. Upjohn would “undertake the repairing of all Clocks and Watches.”

As a member of the provincial council for the district of Grey and Bell, Mr Upjohn took an active part in discussions on local issues, including the dog tax, the cost of annual fees at the public reading room, and bridges and roads.

An advocate of the “user pays” principle, he argued that every district in the province should be responsible for keeping its roads in good repair, just as each parish did “at home”. Upjohn declared that “If it was necessary to macadamise the road, let it be done and a toll gate put up, so that those who used the road should pay for it.”

He bought land at Mangorei, but during the Taranaki Wars of the 1860s the family moved to New Plymouth, and Upjohn joined the militia. He farmed on leased land at Junction Road until returning to Mangorei, where he remained until his death.

His obituary, published in the Taranaki Herald of 29 April 1897, gives his name as John Thomas Upjohn, while the death notice on the same day calls him James Thomas Upjohn.

J.T. Upjohn is buried with his wife Maria in a private cemetery on their farm at Upper Mangorei Road.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.