Name: David
Suburb, Palmerston North Central
This street is believed to be named after Mr David Joseph Nathan (1858-1920), sometimes described as the father of the dairying industry. Mr DJ Nathan may have also been the road contractor who put it through in 1875. At the time he was working for his father, Mr Joseph Edward Nathan, who certainly responded to tenders for town road works in the 1870s. Mr JE Nathan, was one of the largest landowners in the Manawatū.
In February of 1883, a letter from Joseph Nathan and Co., the family business, was read at the Palmerston Borough Council meeting, requesting the forming of David Street, with a cheque for £25.
The image is a derivative of this Palmerston North Borough map from 1923 by HR Farquar, Civil Engineer and Licensed Surveyor.
Mr David Joseph Nathan was born in Wellington on 30th of August, 1858, where he spent his school years and attended Wellington College. The eldest son, he then joined his father’s business, Joseph Nathan and Company Ltd., managing the Ready Money Store in Te Marae o Hine the Square, Palmerston North. By 1883 Mr D Nathan was supervising the management of various branches of the family firm in the Manawatū district. He would eventually become managing director of the company and remain so until his death.
He married in 1886 to Miss Miriam ‘Minnie’ Jonas, daughter of Mr Hyam Jonas of London. They had four children together; Hilda Rebecca b.1888, Joseph Edward b.1889, Kathleen Madge b.1891 and Aileen Ida b.1895.
The first successful shipment of frozen meat from Aotearoa New Zealand to Britain was made aboard the sailing ship Dunedin in 1882. In the 1890s, advances in technology meant that ocean-going steamers had been fitted with refrigerating machinery. Mr Nathan could see the possibilities for trade.
He contacted owners of dairy cows in the region proposing they establish creameries and gave farmers a price to encourage production. Those who started creameries quickly gained success, but questioned Mr Nathan’s earnings in the enterprise. Mr Nathan offered to sell creameries at a reasonable rate of commission, his firm acting as the London agent, if the farmers would form co-operative companies. This was acceptable and The Ready Money Store became The United Farmers’ Co-operative Association Ltd in 1892. The co-operative dairy company movement spread throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.
Mrs Nathan died suddenly of peritonitis in May of 1897. The funeral was carried out in both Hebrew and English, as the Nathan’s were of Jewish faith. Mr Nathan was president of the congregation and president of the Jewish Socal Club.
In 1899 Mr Nathan re-married. His wife was Miss Cora Jonas, daughter of Mr Jonah Jonas of London. Together they had one child, Nell b.1904, and lived on a large estate in Wellington.
In 1903 in Wellington, Mr Nathan proposed a scheme for the consolidation of the frozen meat trade. He attended farmer’s meetings to discuss freight and generally encourage interest. Mr Nathan was passionate about the country’s commerce, and how Aotearoa New Zealand could capitalise on opportunities – especially in regard to flax, dairy and meat.
Mr Nathan also paid attention to local body matters in his home, the capital, and was a city councillor for three years. He was a member of the Harbour Board, steward of the Wellington Racing Club and director of the old Wellington-Manawatū Railway Company. Mr Nathan continued to speak publicly on world trade. As the president of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, he advocated for preferential trade with Great Britain. He was also a one-time director of the Bank of New Zealand and directed or served on the boards of many other companies.
His links with Palmerston North and the Manawatū continued. As President of the Bowling Association in Wellington, he attended the Palmerston North Bowling Club’s opening ceremony in 1903 and was elected vice-president of the Manawatu and West Coast A&P Association in 1904.
It was also in the early 1900s that Mr Nathan submitted proposals to Manawatū dairy farmers for the establishment of factories to produce dried milk. Cheltenham, Makino, and Bunnythorpe responded with sufficient support to induce him to either purchase or establish plant and start the venture. Glaxo was to become the brand name for their baby milk and eventually evolved into the name of this business. Mr D Nathan was the first head of the Glaxo Manufacturing Company.
On 20th of March 1920, Mr Nathan died suddenly from an aneurism at a private hospital in Wellington. He was 62 years old. Mr Nathan is interred at the Karori cemetery.
His younger brother, Mr Frederick Joseph Nathan, became Managing Director and Chairman of Joseph Nathan & Co. Ltd. Mr FJ Nathan had settled in Palmerston North and was a borough councillor, 1911-1915, and mayor of the city 1923-1927.
History
David Street was put through in 1875. D.P. 26, and formed in 1883. It was listed as a private street in 1885. After 1900 it appears to have been regarded as public, with the council laying service pipes and maintaining the road and footways.
In June 1901 Mr Axel Frederick Anderson made a request to the Borough Council that the footpath be asphalted. This was carried out in August. They were top-dressed with tar and sand in January of 1912 and again in October of 1914. Further treatment was applied in 1932.
In October of 1904, two arc lamps were removed.
In August of 1906 David Street had a direct connection to sewer, with all residences being connected by October 1908. There were some problems with the sewer in those early days, on one occasion it was blocked by a chunk of wood, and, on a second, by a man’s handkerchief.
In August of 1908 a plan was made to kerb the western side footway and open a channel to allow water to escape. This was followed by the construction of tarred water tables one year later. In June 1920, new kerbing and channelling was completed on the western side of the street, with the eastern side being done in October 1931 (when the western side was rechannelled).
David Street was scarified, metalled and rolled in by September of 1916. A decade later, in November of 1926, the street was re-metalled and sealed with bitumen.
Early residents included
Early settlers, Mr and Mrs JE Magnusson, retired to 9 David Street. Mr Julius Emil Magnusson was born in Sweden in 1845 and emigrated to Australia c. 1870. During his time in Queensland he met Miss Jakobine Marie Anderson.
Miss JM Anderson was born in Larvig, Norway, in 1855. As a young woman she emigrated to Queensland, Australia, settling there for a few years. The couple married in August of 1878 and travelled to Aotearoa New Zealand.
They had four daughters and one son; Emlli Emillsen b.1879, Julia b.1881, Victoria b.1883, Oscar b.1894 and Amanda b.1898.
Arriving in Wellington, the Magnusson’s made their way to Palmerston North, then a village surrounded by bush. They purchased a section on the corner of Ferguson and Fitzherbert Streets (later Fitzherbert Avenue) and built a house. Mr JE Magnusson was a road contractor in those early days.
They then purchased a farm in Fitzherbert, and, on selling, purchased a farm on James Line, Stoney Creek (now Whakarongo). A further move was made to Stoney Creek Road, Bunnythorpe, before buying a lifestyle property on Boundary Road (later Tremaine Avenue). Here, Mr J Magnusson entered the carrying business.
Mr Julius Emil Magnusson died October 1935 at the age of 90 years. Mrs Jakobine Marie Magnusson died in May 1940, aged 84. Both are interred at Terrace End Cemetery.
Mr Axel Frederick Anderson was born in Oslo, Norway in 1867. He came to Aotearoa New Zealand with his parents Mr Nils and Mrs Anne Anderson in 1872.
Miss Clara Emma Hepworth was born in 1859 in Batley, Yorkshire. She travelled with her parents, Mr John and Mrs Sarah Hepworth, to Western Australia in 1875, where they worked on sheep farms. The family went back to England for eighteen months, then emigrated to Aotearoa New Zealand in 1882, on the ship Crusader. They landed in Lyttelton in 1883.
The Hepworth family came to Palmerston North in the early 1890s, where Miss CE Hepworth met Mr AF Anderson. The couple married in 1893. They had two children; Eileen Margherita b.1894 and Clara Victoria b.1901.
They made their home in Palmerston North, establishing the Anderson Private Hotel in David Street. The couple later owned the Temperance Hotel near the railway station and took over Central Hotel in Te Marae o Hine the Square, from 1902. This then became their residence. Central Hotel was relocated to the corner of Main and Andrew Young Streets in 1905. The Anderson Private Hotel was taken over by Mr Duncan Anderson in 1907, and Mr A Anderson transferred the license of the Central Hotel in 1909.
In 1910 the Anderson’s left the Manawatū to live in Stratford, Taranaki where they took up farming for six years. Mrs Anderson divided her time between Stratford and Palmerston North. From there the couple farmed further in Waipawa, Hawkes Bay. In 1920 they moved to the Te Puke district where Mr Anderson became a land agent. In 1922 the Anderson’s moved to Hawera, Taranaki, where Mr Anderson entered the wine business. Mrs Clara Emma Anderson died in 1926, aged 64 years.
Mr Anderson remarried in 1927 to Mrs Mary “Mollie” Christina Elizabeth Lloyd. In 1930 the couple moved to Auckland. Mr Anderson returned to Palmerston North with his wife in 1942.
Mr Axel Frederick Anderson died at his home, 109 Te Awe Awe Street (which he built in 1907), on March 31, 1945, at the age of 77 years. He is interred at Terrace End Cemetery.
Early business, organisations and clubs included
The New Zealand Express Company Ltd, a cartage business, started its life in Palmerston North on the corner of Main and David Streets in the late-1880s. It moved to George Street in 1906.
The Railway Hotel, later known as the Old Railway Hotel, was built opposite the Railway Station on the corner of Main and David Street in 1892. Its proprietor was Mr Timothy O’Leary and the hotel had 24 guestrooms, besides those used exclusively by the owner’s family. He leased the hotel in 1897 to Mr Michael Hogan who, in turn, sold his interest to Mr Henry Border.
Mr T Young became the owner in 1901 (after Mr O'Leary's death) and on-sold the hotel to Mr David Roux Bouisson in 1902. On changing hands in 1903, the Railway Hotel was condemned as old, rotten and full of vermin. Its license was not regranted until the new owners took measures to cleanse the building. It is unsurprising therefore that the owners, Staples and Co., of Wellington, made plans to re-erect the hotel. The first Railway Hotel was replaced by this building in 1904-1905.
Anderson’s Private Hotel, on the left of this image, was established on David Street in 1893. The two-storey boarding house was gutted by fire in September of 1894 and rebuilt. Mr Axel Frederick Anderson, the proprietor, was active in seeking improvements in the street from the borough council. He made additions to his boarding house in 1900, from a plan designed by Mr Ludolph George West. The hotel was taken over by Mr Duncan Anderson in 1907. In January of 1908 local newspapers reported on an inmate of the hotel preparing a bath, only to find a 12-inch eel, the thickness of a finger, coming out of the water tap. In 1916 the hotel was taken over by Mrs A Trepo.
Other accommodation in the street between 1900 and the 1940s included JK Christensen Private Hotel, Wentworth Boarding House, and the Goldfern Boarding House. There were also a couple of billiard rooms.
David Street Stables at 8 David Street, this livery was operated by Mr John Jones from c. 1901 to 1908 when it was sold to Mr N Paulsen. He ran the business as a livery, general carrier and forwarding agent until 1917. Over that period its name changed from David Street Stables to Paulsen Stables to Railway Stables. Caleb Penman took over the Railway Stables in September 1917 and by 1921 the stables had passed into the hands of Messrs Peterson and Low. In April of 1930 they were the only remaining livery stables in Palmerston North.
In 1913 Frank Harris and Co. Ltd., moved their monumental yard to 12 David Street while in voluntary liquidation. The business was taken over by Messrs JW Fisher and Co., Sculptors and Monumental Masons in 1914. Here is an image of their business at 17 David Street (due to street renumbering) in 1997.
Renumbering
The addresses on David Street were renumbered in 1939. See p.85 of the Rates Register of Street Numbers - Old and New.
