Description

Name: Andrew Young

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The street is named for Andrew Young (1833-1895), the owner-driver of the first coach service between Foxton and Palmerston North. At a Palmerston Borough Council Meeting on 20 August 1884 the Mayor read a letter from Mr Young’s agent. It advised that Mr Young wished to have a street laid facing the Masonic Hall, Main Street, running through to Cuba Street. Money to carry out the forming and metalling of said street was available at any time. The matter of Andrew Young Street was referred to the Public Works Committee and a call for tenders made in November 1884.

The map is a derivative of this Palmerston North Borough map from 1923.

Andrew Young, was born in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Ireland in 1833. He emigrated to Victoria in the early 1850s on the ship, South Carolina. Mr A Young first tried his luck as a gold digger at Castlemaine and Bendigo. The Victorian goldrushes also saw the arrival of four Americans – Freeman Cobb, John Murray Peck, James Swanton and John B. Lamber, who established the original Cobb & Company line of coaches in Melbourne in 1853. In May 1856 the partners sold-up and the business passed through a number of owners.

It was Cobb and Co., under Messrs Highett and Co., who employed Mr Young on his return to Melbourne. He drove coaches between Geelong and Ballarat, until the Ballarat to Melbourne railway was complete. It was here that Mr Young met and married his wife Elizabeth Nott in 1860. She gave birth to their eldest daughter, Selina, in Geelong, in 1862.

In 1861 it was once again the discovery of gold, this time, at Gabriel’s Gully, Otago, that attracted the coaching business. Now under proprietor Charles Carlos Cole, Cobb and Co service and plant (including a stagecoach, wagons, buggies, horses and saddles) travelled aboard the SS India from Melbourne to Dunedin. Operations commenced October 1861. Cole formed a partnership with brothers Charles and Henry Hoyt, the following year, and the company sent for Mr Young around 1863. He was whip on the Tokomairiro line, travelling between Dunedin and Tokomairiro.

The successful coaching venture on Tokomairiro line enabled Mr Young to save money and start a staging line between Christchurch and Hokitika as the agent for Cobb and Co. He achieved this in partnership with fellow driver, Mr WH Shepard (also known as WH Shepperd). In time, they extended to the Wellington province.

In 1869, at the conclusion of the Titokowaru’s War, the partners started a bi-weekly service between Wellington and Wanganui. Mr Young ran the Wellington to Foxton Line, and Mr Shepard the Foxton to Wanganui Line. The partnership dissolved in March of 1871 by mutual consent, with Mr Young retaining the line between Wellington and Wanganui and Mr Shepard taking the line from Wanganui to New Plymouth.

Mr and Mrs Young rented Flagstaff Cottage in Willis Street, Wellington, and moved in with their children: Selina Wilmot b.1862, William Andrew b.1865, James Frederick Robert b.1867 and John Henry b.1869. Albert Edward was born in February of 1872. In September of that year, architect, Ben Smith, sought tenders for the building of a two storey dwelling for Mr Andrew Young in upper Willis Street, opposite Union Bank. After moving into their home, the Young’s had three more children; Victoria May b.1875, Frank Wellington b.1877, and Ruby May b.1880. They moved to Ellice Street in 1893.

In October of 1871 Mr Shepard had a coaching accident while travelling along a beach near Patea. He was pulled from the cab box when a portion of harness broke, subsequently run over by the coach, and caught in the surf. Mrs Shepard, who was the sole passenger, managed to jump out of the coach and drag her husband from the sea. He died a few days later from his injuries. Mr Young continued the business over the whole line until able to purchase the interest of the late Mr Shepherd in 1872.

The Patea Mail, in December 1885, recounted that it was somewhere in the wilds of Otago, in 1872, that Mr Young and his coach famously faced off with visiting author, Mr Anthony Trollope and his carriage. With a cutting too narrow to pass, the author demanded that Mr Young cede the way. On refusal, Mr Trollope said:

“Sir, do you know who I am?”

Mr Young stated his ignorance and the author set him straight. Mr Young responded:

“Yes, I knew it was some fool or other like that. Well Mr Trollope, my name is Andrew Young, and I give you just one second more, and if you don’t start to back out of this cutting we’ll see your name on a tombstone as soon as your relations take the trouble to put it there.”

Mr Trollope backed out and, interestingly, did not include the incident in his book of travels.

Coaching in those days meant traversing incredibly tough terrain including unformed roads, beaches, and making river crossings by ferry. You can read more on ferry life in this Back Issues article by Val Burr. Sometimes passengers had to get out and push the coach!

Mr Young continued to expand his lines into the North Island. In 1877, knowing that trains would inevitably rise as the main mode of transport, Mr Young made arrangements with the Railways Department to offer trips with a combination of train and coach connections. Customers found they could now travel between Wellington and Napier in a day. In 1877 Mr Young sold his business to Messrs Hall and Henry. He then took overseas trips in 1878 and again in 1884, visiting the UK and US. Mr Young was a shrewd businessman. Besides the coaching business, he purchased land in early Palmerston North and had holdings in Wanganui and Wellington. As a result, he retired comfortably.

He was prominent in Wellington municipal affairs as a councillor for both the Te Aro and Lambton Wards between 1880 and 1890. He was a mayoral candidate in 1881 and 1882, missing out in the vote. Mr Young was also involved in a number of community groups. He was First Lieutenant of the Wellington Guards, Vestryman of St. Peter’s parish, and a shareholder in the Te Aro Theatre and Opera House Company. As a keen sportsman and steward of the Wellington Racing Club, he owned and raced several horses. Mr Young was a member of Pacific Lodge of Freemasons until his death.

In 1882 he re-entered the business world, however this time it was unsuccessful. He lost a great deal of money on a line of coaches between Tauranga and Thames when a road washed out. He unsuccessfully petitioned the Public Petitions Committee for compensation for loss of the mail contract in 1883. Within a decade this particular line was to flourish with the rising mining industry. In 1888 he backed his son, William, in an omnibus business (in opposition to the trams) in Wellington. This failed within two years. Mr A Young narrowly escaped bankruptcy due to negotiating an annulment in 1894.

In 1895 Mr Andrew Young became ill and was diagnosed with cancer of the gullet. He died on the 17th of September 1895, surrounded by his wife and children at their home in Ellice Street. He was interred in the Karori Cemetery.

History

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In September of 1884, councillor Sutton motioned, and councillor George seconded, that plans be made for the construction of Andrew Young Street. The resolution passed. By November 1884, RN Keeling, Town Clerk, was calling for contractor tenders. D.P.451, sections 327, 328, 333 and 334 were consequently subdivided in 1889.

Early business, organisations and clubs included

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Sing Kee & Company Laundry; William Arthur Browning Coach Builder (later, Browning and Tory Coachbuilders, corner of Cuba and Rangitikei streets); and Fearnley’s Coffee Palace, established 1900, Ernest Albert Fearnley, proprietor. Fearnley's later became a private hotel, rebuilt and refurbished in 1924. It was extensively fire damaged in 1943, however that was not the end of its story.

In 1989, George Ionas purchased the building from the Palmerston North Power Board, who had used it as a training facility. In 2002, 21-25 Andrew Street was leased to Shepherd's Rest a non-profit charitable trust, as a home for the homeless. It could accommodate up to 58 people. Shepherd’s Rest represented multiple churches of multiple denominations and helped people overcome drug and alcohol addiction. In January of 2012 the trust had to give up the home due to financial constraints. The building that was once Fearnley's Hotel was demolished in March of 2012.

The Palmerston North branch of the Young Mens’ Christian Association (YMCA) acquired a property in Andrew Young Street in 1905 for a gymnasium. In collaboration with the YMCA, the Manawatū Camera Club attached a darkroom to the building. The gymnasium was the venue of a public debate in 1906 between The Palmerston North Young Men's Debating Society and the YMCA. The motion being, "war is a better method of settling international disputes than arbitration."

Mouldey’s Variety Store (later known as Variety Hall) was a second-hand dealership and variety store at 3 Andrew Young Street. Mr Henry W Mouldey, proprietor, advertised its wares from 1908 until his death in 1919. It was situated near Central Hotel.

In November of 1909 a fire broke out at Dustin’s Bakehouse on Andrew Young Street. Fortunately, they were insured and the business continued. Here is the frontage of Dustin’s circa. 1914-1918, on Main Street.

Herbalist, Mr J Hepworth, was advertising his business on the corner of Main Street and Andrew Young from 1912.

In 1913 there was talk, initiated by a special committee appointed by the Borough Council, of changing the name from Andrew Young Street to Young Street. This never eventuated.

In 1914, one of Palmerston North’s first motorised taxi cab businesses was established by John Jarvie Gillies at 13 Andrew Young Street. Mr Gillies had worked in the Manawatū saw-milling and dairy industries previously. He originally drove a cab that could accommodate five passengers, and by 1924 JJ Gillies had a 7-seater Buick Limousine on offer. He lived in Andrew Young Street at several different addresses during this time and died at his wife, Elizabeth’s, boarding house at 22 Andrew Young Street on Christmas day of 1940, aged 74 years.

From 1917, Plumbers, Beattie and Proctor Ltd., were located on the corner Andrew Young and Cuba Streets. By 1930 their business had grown significantly, and a new business premises was built in Cuba Street.

Fritz Holland a well-known pugilist, opened Fritz Holland’s Boxing school in the Variety Hall (formerly Mouldey's) opposite Fearnley’s Coffee Palace in July 1920. Thirty students originally signed up and by August the roll numbered fifty-seven. However, the school was short-lived. In time, Mr Fritz Holland was to return to Palmerston North. In 1930 he opened a gymnasium for his boxing classes in the old Central Fire Station in Cuba Street.

Fortunately for boxing enthusiasts, Jim “Kid” Harris, bantam-weight ex-champion of England, under the patronage of the Manawatū Boxing Association, re-opened the school of boxing, physical culture and massage in January 1921. By March, “Kid” Harris had indicated he was settling in Palmerston North permanently. He and his students feature frequently in the local sports news until 1926. In 1925 the boxing gymnasium re-opened in the Produce Hall of the Palmerston North Showgrounds.

Renumbering

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The addresses on Andrew Young were renumbered between 1936 and 1939. See p.16 of the Rates Register of Street Numbers - Old and New.

Identification

Object type

Map

Content type

Map/Plan

Date

1923

Digitisation ID

2024M_IMCA-DigitalArchive_042490

Format

Born Digital