New Plymouth regenerates its past

The Puke Ariki Museum. Picture / Venture Taranaki, New Plymouth District Council

An interpretive sign on the Heritage Walkway in my hometown of New Plymouth has always puzzled me. It's on a rough path between beautiful St Mary's Pro-Cathedral and Marsland Hill, and it marks the grave of Charles Armitage Brown, who was a friend and mentor of the poet Keats.

Brown came from Plymouth, England on the Oriental, the third of the Plymouth Company's ships to carry settlers to New Plymouth. The ship arrived in November 1841. Poor Brown died just nine months later.

Because of his association with Keats, Brown was a noted figure in England's literary set and his descendants became respected citizens in their new land.

But because his contribution to our fledgling settlement was so short, it's not clear why his grave has been singled out for special mention when those of other upstanding early citizens lie unrecognised in the churchyard below. Maybe it was an early case of colonial cringe.

St Mary's and Marsland Hill give a great physical and historical perspective of New Plymouth.

In pre-European times, Marsland Hill was the strategic pa Pukaka. Then, in the 1850s, the abandoned site was levelled and a barracks was built for the imperial troops. At the height of the Taranaki Land Wars, the military area overflowed into St Mary's, and soldiers marched down Redcoat Lane to the parade ground on the other side of the Huatoki Stream.

Several memorials are on the hilltop, but for such an important historical site it is rather neglected.

Even Brown's grave is usually covered in litter, which seems particularly sad since it had been buried during earthworks in the 1860s and rediscovered only in 1921.

A 360-degree twirl gives an excellent view of the city and its surroundings, the bush-clad river valleys softening the hilly suburbs, which give way to the narrow coastal strip.

To the south is the near-perfect cone of Mt Taranaki, to the north the central city and waterfront.

To the west, the volcanic stacks of the Sugar Loaf Islands Marine Park loom behind the port and power station, and to the east the terraces at Pukekura Park's cricket ground are visible next to the swathe of greenery that is the park itself.

Just below, in the St Mary's churchyard, gravestones attest to our harsh and sometimes bloody history.

"Dangerously wounded by natives in ambuscade during the Taranaki war, expired after a lingering illness" reads the inscription on one grave. Nearby lie a pioneer woman and her four children, who died within weeks of each other of a fever.

Maori chiefs who fought for their cause are remembered on the other side of the church, just past an entrance flanked by a scraggly thorn tree. This is our own Glastonbury thorn, which was planted in 1860, supposedly from a cutting from the legendary Glastonbury Thorn in Glastonbury Cathedral, Somerset

The churchyard holds many majestic trees, including two cypresses near the grave of New Plymouth's first clergyman, the Rev William Bolland.

The youthful Bolland died unexpectedly not long after St Mary's opened for worship in 1846, and the trees were planted at his wife's request.

His broken headstone lies forlornly in the grass beside the church that he helped plan and build.

Some say that St Mary's is the oldest stone church in New Zealand, but various extensions have left only one of the original walls.

The striking interior has a distinct military feel, with hatchments and flags commemorating regiments and individuals of the Taranaki militia, as well as a Maori memorial that symbolises peace.

Although New Plymouth is a coastal city, early planners turned from the splendid but sometimes savage Tasman Sea, looking instead to the dominant Mt Taranaki.

Commercial developments occupy prime waterfront sites and, out of necessity, the backdrop to the Sugar Loaf Islands is an ugly conglomeration of fuel tanks.

But things are changing. A short stroll downhill from St Mary's is Puke Ariki, a recent addition to the city's physical and spiritual growth.

It is a combined knowledge centre - in other parlance, a museum, library and visitor information centre. The inspiring architecture has helped turn the city towards the sea, with apartment buildings, restaurants and a hotel following the trend.

As well as telling Taranaki stories in an exciting, interactive way, Puke Ariki links essential elements of our history. The elevated waterfront location was an important Maori site (the name means Hill of Chiefs), and the adjoining park was once the landing site for boats ferrying people and goods through the surf from anchored ships to shore. St Mary's was built with rocks hauled from the foreshore.

Puke Ariki attracted plenty of controversy, and the view from its restaurant overlooks another council-funded initiative that raised the ire of many ratepayers.

It's the Wind Wand, a 45m sculpture based on a design by kinetic artist Len Lye. But whereas Puke Ariki proved itself the moment the doors opened, the Wind Wand had a more ignominious start.

It was supposed to be a grand millennium statement but after a few weeks a summer storm wrecked the structure - much to the satisfaction of the "told you so" crowd.

After testing, it was reinstalled in 2001, and these days you'd be hard-pressed to find a former critic who has not been swayed by its grace.

International and national visitors have long trekked to New Plymouth for Len Lye exhibitions, because although we can't claim the artist as our own the city can claim his collection. The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery held Lye's first New Zealand exhibition in 1977, and after his death became home to his collection and archive. The Wind Wand is the focal point of the Coastal Walkway, another development that celebrates New Plymouth's west coast location.

The decking around the sculpture hangs over the water and at high tide the sea surges right beneath you, giving the feeling that you're on the prow of a ship.

From this central point a sealed pathway meanders along the coast. In one direction it passes under cliffs and over streams that boast their own bushy walkways, before skirting black-sand swimming beaches to reach the swift Waiwhakaiho River and Lake Rotomanu.

In the other direction it passes rock pools, a swimming centre, and the historic oil pump at Ngamotu Beach, then passes the busy port to finish at towering Paritutu Rock and the marine park.

Visitors who haven't been to New Plymouth for a while comment on how much the city has changed. When you live in a place you're not always aware of such gradual change, yet I notice new galleries, cafes, restaurants and bars springing up - and I notice a continual drain on my wallet from the many events the city attracts.

Whether it's sporting events, the biennial Womad arts festival, the yearly Festival of Lights, the Rhododendron Festival, or a local or touring production, there always seems to be something on offer.

The energy province finally feels as if it's living up to its name.

Getting there
It's a four-and-a-half-hour drive from central Auckland, via State Highways 1 and 3, or there are several daily flights by Air New Zealand and Origin Pacific. The flight takes 50 minutes, and online fares start at $80 one way.

Accommodation
A full list of hotels, motels and bed-and-breakfasts is available online or from the New Plymouth i-SITE. Ph (06) 759 6060. It pays to book ahead for any event or at holiday times.

Further information
www.newplymouthnz.com (see link below).