What’s in a (street) name?
In 1926, as Palmerston North expanded past Boundary Rd, enthusiastic residents turned their minds to a road-naming contest. Tina White
Printed bold and black in the Manawatu¯ Standard in October 1926, it was a land sale to make readers sit up and take notice.
It read: ‘‘Subdivisional land sale, by public auction: 34 choice building sections’’.
The sale was ‘‘part of R A Mckenzie’s well-known estate, situated on Milson’s Line, opposite Milson township and close to Boundary Rd, about 3⁄4 of a mile from the future Kelvin Grove junction railway station, and 1 1⁄2 miles from the future Palmerston North railway station’’.
Boundary Rd was so called because it actually was the town boundary line. Today it’s known as Tremaine Ave.
The sale lots varied from onequarter of an acre to one-eighth of an acre each.
‘‘Owing to the growth of Palmerston North, combined with the railway deviation, this part of the district is developing rapidly. The sections, being situated outside
the borough, carry very low rates. This land does not flood and there is excellent fall for drainage purposes.’’
The big sale would be conducted by auctioneers Barraud and Williams at the Horse Bazaar premises in Grey St on Saturday, October 30. Possession would be on the day of the sale.
Terms: ‘‘10 per cent on the fall of the hammer, balance five years at 6 1⁄2 per cent. Discount for cash.’’
That wasn’t all. The landowner, Scottish settler and stock dealer Roderick Mckenzie, was departing from custom and disclosing an upset price of £75 each for 30 of his 34 sections – below market value.
Just for fun, he’d added something else. The sections would form part of a new street and so a few days earlier an advertisement had announced ‘‘a prize of £3.3s [three guineas] is offered for the best suggested name for the new street in the above subdivision. Competitors are requested to forward one name over their signature and address, and post to us by 5pm on Friday October 29. To be judged by Mr R A Mckenzie, at the auction sale on Saturday October 30, at 2pm.’’
The street-naming competition took off immediately – and overwhelmingly.
The Standard reported that ‘‘Abraham and Williams have collected a record mail from their post office box . . . The bulk of the letters were from competitors in the street-naming contest.
‘‘Mr Mckenzie will announce the name of the winner on the day of the auction.’’
The entries kept flooding in. On October 27, readers learnt the following: ‘‘When it was suggested the public should be invited to help Mr R A Mckenzie in selecting a suitable name for his new street, it was never thought that the advertisements would bring so many replies. Abraham and Williams Ltd advise that every mail brings in bundles of letters and Mr Mckenzie will have a real job arriving at a final decision. Entries positively close on Friday at 5pm, when the last mail will be cleared.’’
At last, the day of the land sale arrived. The previous night had been wild and windy in Palmerston North, reaching gale force at times. In the morning, daylight revealed damage to fences and gardens.
Anyone out on the streets was buffeted by the still strongly blowing wind and some cyclists were knocked off their bikes.
A tree in The Square had been blown down. In Main St, a ramshackle lean-to at the gasworks had been uplifted and dumped in pieces on the ground.
Bidding for the Milson sections went ahead anyway, though not quite as briskly as expected.
Only 14 of the 34 lots were sold, with two bidders, C Gattsche and R B Simpson, buying two sections each. The highest price was £177 for a section having a double frontage.
Promptly on time, the contestnaming winner was announced.
The Standard of Saturday October 30 reported it this way: ‘‘Mr R A Mckenzie is subdividing his property opposite the Milson settlement and a new road at right angles to Milson’s Line requires a suitable name. The public’s assistance in this connection was sought, and many hundreds of names were sent in.’’
The overall winner was a boy: Alan Jamieson, of Church St. His choice? ‘‘Seaforth Ave.’’ He was awarded three guineas on the spot.
‘‘Mr C W Duncumb, of Rongotea, and Mrs Greenwood of Milson’s settlement, each suggested ‘Seaforth St’. Each will be awarded a consolation prize of 10 shillings and sixpence.’’
Alan Jamieson’s winning letter was read out. He said: ‘‘I wish to submit the name Seaforth Ave for the following reasons. Firstly, that if the street retains the name of ‘Seaforth’, any Scot, years hence, will know that sometime or other a Mckenzie had something to do with its name. Secondly, the Earl of Seaforth is the chief of the Mckenzies. Thirdly, it will perpetuate the name Mckenzie.’’
Among the other contest entries were names ranging from the logical to the slightly bizarre.
They included: Mckenzington St; Ranzie St; Ramkenzie St; Kenzieville St; Kenmilson St; Mckenmil St; Milson Avenue; Milson Grove; Milgrove St; Clarinda and Sunart streets; Mireusonta, Cleasant and Black Ada Parades; Highlander, Heather and Leith streets; Kinross, York, and Kelvin avenues; High St; Newland St; and Railway St.
But Seaforth Avenue it remains to this day.
The overall winner was a boy: Alan Jamieson, of Church St. His choice? ‘‘Seaforth Ave.’’ He was awarded three guineas on the spot.