Melrose, New Zealand

Melrose is a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. It is south of the city centre, Berhampore and Newtown, and is in the Eastern Ward. Although adjacent to Lyall Bay, it does not have seafront access to the bay.

Melrose
Suburb
CountryNew Zealand
Local authorityWellington City
Newtown Kilbirnie
Berhampore
Melrose
 Rongotai
Island Bay Southgate Lyall Bay

History

In 1879 the Melrose Estate was put up for auction. The land had belonged to Alexander Sutherland who died in 1877, and was sold to Mace and Jackson and then a syndicate known as Melrose Proprietors. Like James Coutts Crawford’s subdivision of the Seatoun township on the Miramar Peninsula, there were few buyers because of difficult access. Crawford's earlier auction of Kilbirnie sections in 1874 had attracted mainly speculators buying cheap land rather than would-be homeowners.[1]

The Melrose Borough was established in 1888 from the earlier Kilbirnie Road Board, to serve a horseshoe-shaped and largely rural area stretching from Upland Farm (later Kelburn) through Brooklyn and Island Bay and to areas later called Haitaitai and Roseneath. Initially it was to be called the Borough of Southend.[2]

The borough experienced rapid growth from the early 1890s, mainly in Kilbirnie, Brooklyn and Island Bay. Amalgamation with Wellington City would avoid large borough debt for amenities like drainage, water supply and a separate electric tramway system. Wellington City was planning an electric tramway system to replace the private horse tramways, and purchased them in 1902 (the first electric line was opened in 1904).[3]

In June 1902 a poll of Melrose residents agreed to join the Wellington City Council, and amalgamation proceeded in 1903. Extension of new electric tramway to the area plus water supply and sewerage was promised within three years, although held up by Island Bay "malcontents" wanting a firm commitment of a tramway extension to Island Bay.[4]

There was a "boom" in house construction in Melrose and Kilbirnie in 1907.[5]

In 2013 the population reached 1,215 in the 34 hectare land area. [6]

The Wellington Community Board boundaries splits Melrose between the Motukairangi/Eastern Ward and the Paekawakawa/ Southern Ward. [7]

Notable Features

Mount Albert

Mount Albert serves as a water distribution location to the surrounding suburbs from the Mt Albert reservoir. [8] In 2016 the original 1910 810 litre tank was replaced with a 2.2 million litre tank built underground beside another above ground tank built in 1955.

The Wellington town belt reserve runs along the top of Melrose, backing on to the Wellington Zoological gardens. Mt Albert is part of this reserve and includes biking and walking opportunities along the Southern walkway. [9] There is an off-leash dog exercise area part way up Mt Albert and a specialised mountain biking track has been built in the reserve by local volunteers.

Melrose Park

Melrose Park is located on Sutherland Crescent. Football is played here, there is an artificial surface for cricket and the park also contains a playground and changing rooms. [10]

Truby King House

Truby King Park is off Manchester Street in Melrose, the homestead is now managed by Wellington City Council but was previously home to the founder of the Plunket Society and features many plaques and memorials to the work Sir Truby King and his wife Lady Isabella King undertook. [11] Both are interred at a mausoleum on the 1.4 hectare site.

Activities

The Melrose suburb is part of the Predator Free Lyall Bay, Rongatai and Melrose group. [12] Through backyard trapping, this group aims to help New Zealand native species become reestablished within Wellington.

Further reading
  • Humphris Adrian; Mew Geoff (2009). Ring Around the City: Welliongton’s New Suburbs 1900-1930. Wellington: Steele Roberts. ISBN 978-1-877448-67-6.

References
  1. Humphris & Mew 2009, p. 48.
  2. Humphris & Mew 2009, p. 57.
  3. Humphris & Mew 2009, p. 63.
  4. Humphris & Mew 2009, p. 65.
  5. Humphris & Mew 2009, p. 103.
  6. "About the profile areas | Melrose | profile.id". profile.idnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  7. "Wellington Election Wards" (PDF). Wellington City Council.
  8. "CuriousCity: Where Wellington stores its water". Stuff. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  9. "Mount Albert". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  10. "Locations". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  11. "Truby King Park". Wellington Gardens. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  12. "Nearly 35,000 rats, weasels, possums and stoats trapped in Wellington as community pitches in". TVNZ. Retrieved 2019-11-10.

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