Western Park Road

Some people have noticed a recent curiosity on Google Maps. It shows a ‘Western Park Road’ in New Plymouth, near the sports ground of the same name. Anyone can get directions to it, from anywhere in New Zealand. Yet the road doesn’t exist. How it came to appear on probably the world’s most popular map system is a mystery, but we do know a road was once planned there.

Back in the 1890s, surveyors had no intention of creating the recreation area we now know as Western Park. Instead, it was planned that the land would be crossed by both Downe and Bulteel Streets. In 1902, however, W. H. Skinner came up with the idea that would change the look of that area of town.

Skinner suggested developing a recreation area there, council agreed, and Western Park began to take shape soon after. It brought a halt to the proposed streets in the area, but not before many freehold land sales had already taken place.

One man who owned a large area of the land on Morley Street, opposite the new Western Park, was Jonathon James Russell. ‘Jay’ Russell was born in Auckland, but his parents eventually settled in Taranaki. As a young man, Russell delivered mail around the province, then operated a cartage business in New Plymouth. However, horse racing and breeding were his main interests and, before long, they became his main occupations.

As a jockey, he rode ‘Silvio’ to win the 1887 Great Northern Steeplechase. As a breeder, his most notable winners were ‘Waiuku’, in the New Zealand Cup and ‘Uhlan’, winner of the Auckland Cup in 1898. This was the first horse race ever filmed in New Zealand and Russell was seen on film, excitedly running on to the course.

‘Jay’ Russell died, aged only 49, in May 1902. Very prudent with his money, by then he owned 25 acres in the Morley Street area, including an eight-roomed house with stables.

The following year, his widow Ellen decided to sell. The Hospital Board was a keen buyer because it already owned land on Barrett Street. After purchasing Russell’s land, it was able to form a larger holding with some land on Dawson Street and plan for a larger hospital on the site.

All that remains of that hospital today is the derelict Nurses’ Home on the Barrett Street corner. It’s that building which, today, is shown on Google Maps as being surrounded by the curiously named ‘Western Park Road’.

In fact, the road approximates a street called ‘West Street’, which is shown in 1890s survey plans. That street never existed. Western Park Road doesn’t exist either.

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.

Related plans:

Taranaki DP655 Sheet 1 Education Reserve, ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)

Taranaki SO6135 Sheet 1 Road Closure, ICS Pre 300,000 Cadastral Plan Index (Imaged by LINZ)