Houses Again

Hurford Road Farmlet

Another joy of the farmlet was sharing it with friends and family, and several families came to stay with us while we lived there.

After a year or two the arrival of the children, and my attack of cancer, proved overwhelming, and we were reluctantly forced to sell and move to town in 1981.

Our next house was a small 1920s cottage in Hobson Street, New Plymouth, right next door to the Council yard. Our industrial neighbours started work early, but as we have always been early risers this was not an insuperable problem. The house was easily managed, and close enough to town for me to walk or cycle to work.

It was also handy to Rex and Ruby, who were able to support us, especially when Julia arrived and demanded extra attention by hospitals and medical experts. 

Just around the corner was “Love and Care”, an early child care centre, where Matthew and Julia started their education. It is now transformed into Rainbow, where Carys and Spencer have begun their formal learning.

As we got nearer to Matthew’s fifth birthday and we started to think about his school life, it became clear that to get to the nearest primary school he would have to cross State Highway 3, a very busy road at rush hours. We also needed a larger house with more outside area for the children to play in. So we started to look for another house.

Eventually, after a lot of searching and thought, we found the house in Hillside Crescent, with its beautifully developed quarter-acre section. It was particularly suitable because it was on the same block as Westown School, which meant that Matthew could walk to school without crossing any roads. It also backed onto Rugby Park, which meant I could walk across the park and down the walkway to work in town each morning. Westown had also been Margaret’s school from Std 2-4 and had a good reputation in the city. 

Hillside Crescent was a private cul-de-sac with little traffic, and a friendly neighbourhood atmosphere, which we came to appreciate more and more as time went on.

We also loved the garden, which had been developed by former owners Bill and Barbara Guild. We spent many happy weekends weeding and planting, pruning and improving, while the children played happily on their own or with neighbourhood children. In good weather we also used the garden for entertaining, sitting, eating and chatting under the large trees that Bill and Barbara had planted years before. We loved this house and enjoyed 10 years living there.