Athenree resident Dave Hallie is tired of deliveries wrongly arriving because of confusion over similar street names. Photo / Alison Smith.
Athenree resident Dave Hallie is tired of deliveries wrongly arriving because of confusion over similar street names. Photo / Alison Smith.
Adela Stewart made it into the history books as a resourceful woman, but having the pioneer's name on two different streets is downright unimaginative, says a recent resident to Athenree.
Dave Hallie has been campaigning locally over the naming of Adela Stewart Drive and Adela Stewart Drive West – two roads in Athenree that both contain houses numbered from 1 to 7.
Dave is a newcomer to Athenree but has already become a doer, being part of the Athenree Action Group, which likes to tackle civic projects requiring attention.
He lives on Adela Stewart Drive West, not Adela Stewart Drive.
The street roads don't connect – they are divided by a paddock – and Dave contacted the local community board and council suggesting a name change was needed for one of the roads.
"Since we moved here, we've had tradesmen turning up at the doorstep when they should be at the other street, there's couriers going to the wrong address, and mail intended for the other Adela Stewart [road]," he explains.
Irritating - but what Dave is more concerned about is the possibility of emergency services going to the wrong address when time is of the essence.
"I was told by our community board chair that people have local knowledge and know there's two streets of similar names. The St John Ambulance now comes from all over the district, and they may not have that local knowledge."
Katikati has an Adela Stewart Dr and a similarly named Adela Stewart Dr West, contrary to the local council's policy on names. Photo / Alison Smith.
Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand has a page about Adela Stewart, describing her as "a resourceful and dedicated woman" who emigrated to New Zealand in 1878 with her husband Hugh.
They were among about 40 families from northern Ireland who founded the settlement of Katikati, led by Adela's brother-in-law, George Vesey Stewart.
Te Ara continues: "Adela Stewart and her husband were perhaps better suited to being pioneers than many people from a comfortable background. Hugh Stewart's army training as an engineer proved extremely useful in laying out roads and building a house, while Adela, although unused to housework and cooking, was capable and resourceful. Energetic and hospitable, she found an active social life a necessity, and became the centre of activities in the area."
Dave suggests renaming one of the roads after Hugh.
He contacted council staff who requested he do the consultation to get local feedback to the name change idea.
Most seemed unbothered, others staunch. "Go back to Auckland, control freak", came one reply.
"I appreciate that there's a historical aspect to it, and people don't like change, but Council's own policies and procedures state that street names are not to be similar," says Dave. "Some people will be in opposition to it; I just foresee something happening one day, and I don't want to be the one who says 'I told you so' when something goes wrong."
Western Bay of Plenty District Council did not respond to requests for comment from the Katikati Advertiser.
