Watson Street

Strangely enough Watson Street has a connection to the tragic life of William Halse. William arrived in New Plymouth in 1842 on the Amelia Thompson with his brother Henry. Also aboard was a woman, Harriet Wood, who was to become his wife in 1856 and, between them, they would have eleven children.

On arrival in New Plymouth, William was appointed Justice of the Peace and then held a number of prominent positions before opening his own law practice in 1863. During that time he was Resident Agent for the New Zealand Company (1848-1852), Commissioner of Crown Lands (1851-1852) and deputy Superintendent 0f Taranaki (1858)

As a solicitor he had a high profile, but by the 1880s his business affairs had turned sour. So much so that he committed suicide in his house at Waitara on 10 April, 1882, aged 65.

The obituary in the Taranaki Herald of 13 April, 1882 reported that,"…as he was suffering from severe mental depression, owing, we believe, to distressing business affairs, fears were entertained yesterday by his friends that he had become a victim of temporary insanity; as while in that state, of course, the very worst result was to be apprehended."

A great career tragically ended; a career that started in England at the offices of the solicitor Mr J. Watson where he was an articled clerk (that is effectively employed as a trainee solicitor). Watson also acted as agent for many of the purchasers of land in the New Plymouth settlement. No doubt this connection sent William Halse this way and led to Mr Watson’s name appearing on a street in New Plymouth.

Unfortunately we cannot find out what became of Mr Watson, but, for a short time anyway, he was instrumental in directing people to the fledgling settlement of New Plymouth.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.