More Info →Bourke Street, Name and History

Description

Name: Bourke Street, interchangeably called Burke Street, is named after roading contractor, Mr Bourke, who put the street through in 1875. Papers Past show that there was a Mr D Burke operating as a roading contractor in the Manawatū in the 1880s and 1890s.

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

History: Deposited 24 March 1875, D.P.22 (the Cuba Street end) was subdivided in 1875. The sections were owned by Arthur William Follett Halcombe, an early settler of Feilding, and the surveyor was Thomas McKay Drummond. D.P.1195 was subdivided in 1901 and the sections owned by Charles E Waldegrave.

In 1876, the Clausen brothers, Christian Nicolai and Johan Frederick, first laid eyes on Palmerston as children of early Scandinavian settlers. They recalled the Bourke and Waldegrave street blocks being great paddocks of oat crops.

October 23, 1880, a special meeting of the Palmerston Borough Council was held to consider reports from the Reserves Committee and sub-committee. The latter presented a “Report of the Division of the Town.” This was a recommendation of general allocation of costs for street clearing and formation, based on the town map. Councillor Coleman said he would have preferred a breakdown by street in which outlay was expected. His Worship, Mayor James Linton, could not see the necessity, as per the report all the town streets would either be cleared or formed. Councillor Coleman pointed out that there may be streets the sub-committee members were unaware of – Bourke and Campbell streets for example. The sub-committee affirmed it was unaware of Bourke Street and hadn’t counted Campbell Street, a private street on a piece of land cut up by Mr Halcombe, leading to a large paddock. Councillor Coleman asserted that the latter was on the map and residents on both contributed revenue to the town. There was discussion around the concern that if the council were to take over and spend money on private streets, they would be springing up all over the place. Councillor Ferguson stated that if Campbell Street was on the map as a public street, then its development was in fact covered by the report. If not, the Council would not be justified in spending money on the street. The report was received and adopted.

In October of 1902, Mr Arthur Giorgi went into partnership with Mr Maurice Millar, to establish the menswear firm of Millar & Giorgi in the Square. They opened a Hastings branch of the same in December of 1905. Mr Arthur Giorgi married Miss Beatrice Humphreys in 1904 and the Giorgi’s lived at 7b Bourke Street (owning the properties at no. 7) until 1918, when they moved to the Hawkes Bay to manage the Hastings branch. Arthur’s brother, Mr Louis Giorgi, Hairdresser & Tobacconist, plus fishing tackle supplier, lived at 24 Bourke Street. His store was also in the Square.

Early business on the street included:

Many short-term businesses, such as chimney sweeping, clairvoyant healing, eye specialist, landau cabs, and dressmaking, were operated from residents' homes. There was also a healthy trade in poultry.

Ward Bros., Painters and Paperhangers, operated from 22 Bourke Street from 1911 to 1919. At that stage the business had outgrown the site and they moved to a new premises in Cuba Street.

The Carow Ladies’ College, also known as Carow Girls Collegiate School, moved a number of times from its inception in 1891. From 1912 to 1914 the Carow School of music and painting ran at 47 Bourke Street. This was the residence of principal, Mrs Elizabeth Von Blaramberg, and her husband Mr Cecil Augustus Victor Hortezzi de Cortando von Blaramberg.

From 1924 to 1928, Miss Ulu Hancock, provided tuition in elocution and dramatic art, from her parents’ house at 7b Bourke street. Her father, Allen, was a motorcycle dealer. The property was sold in 1936. Miss Ulu Hancock then recommenced tuition in 1938 from 72 Bourke Street.

In 1929, the Boniface brothers, John and Amos, modernised their bakery and confectionery business (established 1916) with a purpose-built bakehouse near the corner of Cuba and Bourke Street. It had a frontage of 66 feet. Circa. 1936, the Boniface Brothers Bakery extended their business into Bourke Street, 70 feet, with the establishment of a small goods manufacturing department.

Renumbering: The addresses on Bourke Street were renumbered between 1936 and 1939. See p.89 and p.90 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_042592

Format

Born Digital