New Plymouth

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for the place called New Plymouth in the United States, see New Plymouth, Idaho.

for the electorate see New Plymouth

Urban Area
New Plymouth
Country:	New Zealand
New Plymouth
Population:	49,500 (New Plymouth urban) 68,901 (territorial) (2006 census)
Extent:	Oakura to Bell Block
Territorial Authority
Name:	New Plymouth District
Mayor:	Peter Tennent
Population:	68,901 (2006 census)
Land area:	2,209.31 km² (853.02 sq mi)
Extent:	Okato to Mokau; south to Tariki
Website:	http://www.newplymouthnz.com
See also:	South Taranaki, Stratford
Regional Council
Name:	Taranaki Regional Council
Websites:	http://www.trc.govt.nz

The 45 metre high Wind Wand on the New Plymouth waterfront

New Plymouth is the port and main city in the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers came.

The city is a service centre for the region's principal economic activities including intensive pastoral activities (mainly dairy farming) as well as oil, natural gas and petrochemical exploration and production. It is also the region's financial centre as the home of the TSB Bank (formerly the Taranaki Savings Bank), the only non-government New Zealand-owned bank.

New Plymouth's population is approximately 49,000. Notable features are the botanic gardens (eg Pukekura Park), the 7km coastal walkway alongside the Tasman Sea, the Len Lye-designed 45 metre tall artwork known as the Wind Wand, and views of Mount Taranaki (also known as Mount Egmont).

It is also noted for being a coastal city with a mountain within 30 minutes drive, where residents and visitors to New Plymouth can snowboard, ski, water ski and surf all in the same day.

1 History
2 Growth and governance
3 Transport and industry
4 Features and Attractions
5 Climate
6 Sister Cities
7 References
8 External links

[edit] History

Main Article: History of New Plymouth

In 1828 Richard "Dicky" Barrett (1807-47) set up a trading post at Ngamotu after arriving on the trading vessel Adventure. Barrett traded with the local Māori and helped negotiate the purchase of land from them on behalf of the New Zealand Company. Settlers were selected by the Plymouth Company, which was set up to attract emigrants from the West Country of England, and which took over land initially purchased by the New Zealand Company. The first of the town’s settlers arrived on the William Bryan, which anchored off the coast on March 31, 1841. A series of disputes over ownership and settlement of land developed between Māori and settlers soon after and New Plymouth became a fortified garrison town in 1860-1861 as more than 3500 Imperial soldiers, as well as local volunteers and militia, fought Māori in the First Taranaki War.

[edit] Growth and governance

[edit] Province of New Plymouth

The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 created the Province of New Plymouth, with a Provincial Council given jurisdiction over an area of 400,000ha. Five years later the name of the province changed its name to Taranaki. The province was abolished in 1876.

A Town Board was formed in 1863 and in August 1876 the town was constituted as a borough.

[edit] Borough/City of New Plymouth

Its new status did little to overcome some outside perceptions, however. In 1876 author E. W. Payton wrote that "all the great bustling 'cities' of the colony had a patronising way of trying to snub New Plymouth, referring to it in such derogatory terms as the dullest hole in the colony … nothing whatever to do there …I find a great liking for this 'slow, old hole' … it is a quiet, unassuming place and has not done so much to attract immigrants and settlers by exaggerating reports, as some districts have done."^[1]

The Fitzroy Town District was merged with New Plymouth borough in August 1911; Vogeltown, Frankleigh Park and Westown were added a year later, followed by St Aubyn-Moturoa. By 1913 the town had a population of 7538. Seafront land was added in 1931 and 1941; land acquired on Omata Rd was added in 1955 and in 1960 large areas including land to the south of Paritutu, as well as Hurdon, Ferndale and Huatoki were included, as well as land straddling Mangorei Rd between the Henui Stream and Waiwakaiho River.

New Plymouth was declared a city in 1949.

[edit] New Plymouth District

In 1989, as a part of New Zealand-wide reorganisation of local government, the New Plymouth City Council was merged with the Taranaki County Council, the Inglewood Borough Council, Waitara Borough Council, and Clifton County Council to form the New Plymouth District Council.

[edit] Transport and industry

Electric power was first provided in January 1906 from the Mangorei power station alongside the Waiwakaiho River near Burgess Park.^[2]. The New Plymouth Power Station, designed to run on natural gas but ultimately operated as a thermal power station with a steam turbine, commenced operation in 1974 and ceased in 2007.^[3]

Companies began searching for oil on the New Plymouth coast in 1865 after small deposits of thick oil were found on the shoreline. The first commercial quantities of oil were obtained in January 1866. Exploration continued sporadically and a refinery opened in 1913. Production ceased about 1972. The offshore Maui A well began production of natural gas in the late 1970s, sparking a flourishing energy and petrochemical industry. As Maui A’s resources decline, new sites in Taranaki are being developed in an effort to find more commercial petrochemical reserves.^[4]

An 18 km railway link between New Plymouth and Waitara was completed in 1875; this later became the Waitara Branch. The next year, work began on a line south to Stratford, which was reached in 1879, followed by Hawera in 1881. This line, known as the Marton - New Plymouth Line, was completed on 23 March 1885, and when the Wellington - Manawatu Line of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company was opened on 3 November 1886, a direct railway link was established to Wellington.^[5] The New Plymouth Express passenger train began operating on this route in December 1886. In 1926, it was augmented by the Taranaki Flyer for the run between New Plymouth and Wanganui, A direct railway route to Auckland was not established until 1932, when the Stratford - Okahukura Line was completed; the next year, when the line was handed over from the Public Works Department to the New Zealand Railways Department, the New Plymouth Night Express began operating to Auckland.^[6] All carriage trains were replaced by RM class Standard and 88 seater railcars by 1956. The Wanganui service ceased in 1959; the Auckland service was truncated to terminate in Taumarunui from 1971; and the Wellington service was cancelled on 30 July 1977. On 11 February 1978, the Taumarunui railcar was replaced by a passenger train, but it was ultimately cancelled on 21 January 1983. Since this date, the only passenger trains to operate to New Plymouth have been infrequent excursions operated by railway preservation societies.^[7]

The breakwater at Ngamotu was completed in 1883, providing safe berthage for vessels, and the Moturoa wharf was completed in 1888. Port Taranaki is a critical transport link for the region and the only deep water port on the west coast of New Zealand.

In 1916 the city's electric tramway system began and petrol-powered buses began running four years later. Trams were scrapped in 1953.

The first aircraft landed at the racecourse in 1920 and commercial flights began using the airport at Bell Block in June 1937. During World War II this grass airfield became RNZAF Bell Block; and was replaced in 1966 by the current tarmac airport, 3km NE of the old airport site.

Among the city's major industrial companies was Ivon Watkins-Dow, an agricultural chemicals company founded in 1944 by brothers Ivon, Harry and Dan Watkins and joined as a partner 20 years later by Dow Chemicals of Michigan. The company ran a factory at Paritutu making the herbicide 2,4,5-T. A 2005 study found that people who lived close to the Ivon Watkins-Dow plant between 1962 and 1987 were likely to have dioxin levels on average four times higher than the general public. In some groups the level was as much as seven times as high. A Public Health Medicine senior adviser has claimed that based on international findings, the residents' exposure to dioxin may cause increased rates of disease, in particular cancer. In March 2007 the Ministry of Health announced it would offer a major health support programme to anyone affected.^[8]^[9]^[10] In April 2008 the Ministry clarified that the programme's main feature would be a free annual medical check up for those who had lived, worked or studied close to the factory. ^[11]

[edit] Features and Attractions

Pukekura Park is a unique public area of native and exotic plants, close to the city centre. During summer, it is the location of the Festival of Lights^[12]

Nearby Pukeiti is the home of one of the country's top rhododendron gardens, run by the Pukeiti Rhododendron Trust.

[edit] Climate

New Plymouth has a warm, moist, temperate climate. The average summer afternoon temperature is 21-22ºC; average summer night-time temperature is 12-13ºC. In winter the average afternoon temperature is 13-14ºC and night-time temperature is 5-6ºC. The average annual rainfall is 1432mm.

Weather averages for New Plymouth
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	21.8 (71)	22.3 (72)	21.1 (70)	18.7 (66)	16 (61)	14 (57)	13.3 (56)	13.9 (57)	15 (58.9999999931)	16.3 (61)	18.1 (65)	19.9 (68)	17.5 (64)
Average low °C (°F)	13.6 (56)	13.6 (56)	12.7 (55)	10.6 (51)	8.3 (47)	6.6 (44)	5.6 (42)	6.4 (44)	7.9 (46)	9.2 (49)	10.8 (51)	12.3 (54)	9.8 (50)
Precipitation mm (inches)	97 (3.8)	95 (3.7)	117 (4.6)	131 (5.2)	124 (4.9)	145 (5.7)	143 (5.6)	127 (5)	110 (4.3)	124 (4.9)	108 (4.3)	103 (4.1)	1,432 (56.4)
Source: NIWA Climate Data^[13] 1971 – 2000