A-Z of NZ Locations

A-Z of NZ Locations – Inglewood

Suzanne

In my series of A-Z of NZ Locations, I will take you for a meander around areas that are unique gems, some yet to be polished though worth a visit for either historical reasons, culinary delights or for the sheer vistas.

As the birds fly, we head straight up northwards to another small rural township 60 kms by road where the name has been changed a few times for locals; seemingly, there were good reasons for doing so. The town was founded in 1872, and initially called Moatown, then Milton, but in 1875, to prevent it being confused with the South Island’s Milton, it was renamed Inglewood after the Inglewood Forest in Cumberland. Now, the town slogan is Go the Moa, don’t ask me why, though it could have something to do with a previous name. A few local radicals with a sense of humour are trying to restore the title of Moatown and even managed to erect a sign on the old railway station building that honestly looks like a relic.

On our way through, Moa’s didn’t make an appearance. What did make an impression with their appearance were Victorian buildings and rhododendrons, which do so well around the Taranaki Region. A couple of years ago, we explored New Plymouth’s beautiful and famous Pukekura Park, full of beautiful flowering trees and natives.

The most famous of all rhododendrons is the massive one behind the Inglewood War Memorial statue, a pre-1850 hybrid, ‘Sir Robert Peel’, planted in 1924 and reputed to be one of the most enormous rhododendrons in the southern hemisphere.

The Famous Tree and Local War Memorial Statue
The Old Shoe Store

A Black and White Perspective of Inglewood

Dudley Road Hall
Dudley Road and Mt Taranaki
St Andrew’s Church at a grand age of 99 years old.
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Published by Suzanne

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22 thoughts on “A-Z of NZ Locations – Inglewood”

  1. Oh Suzanne, I went through some of your posts in this series and you certainly have a gift for taking beautiful photos and telling a story. I love the picture of the Milky Way in that Dark Sky area and your post on Curio Bay. I feel like we missed a lot when we went on a 2-wk trip in the South years ago. I was just telling my family that maybe we should go to North NZ next June/July during my boy’s uni break in Australia, before he heads back home to Singapore but my hubby needs convincing, he doesn’t like the cold you see. Anyway, thanks for posting your stories. They are an inspiration. 🙂 — Amor
    ps. if you notice, the icon on my comment was our family photo taken on a road trip stop between Aoraki and Queenstown. I couldn’t bear to change it to another picture even if the kids have already grown up a lot hahah

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    1. Amor, thanks for your lovely comment. When travelling it is very easy to say we should’ve done this or that. Though I keep reminding myself that we were busy doing other activities. Very hard to do everything, isn’t it. Enjoy organising your next travel adventure 🙂

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    1. It is lovely to see historical buildings that have been maintained. So many here in NZ have had to be pulled down due to not meeting earthquake standards. I too like the colours on that building.

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  8. Those b/w images with the snowy peaks are stunning, but of course the shoe shop HAD to be color – it’s a gorgeous building. Always nice when old buildings are preserved instead of torn down and replaced with generic ho-hums.

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    1. Thanks, Eilene. Unfortunately, too many of older buildings don’t meet the new earthquake regulations though sometimes I think they are written up by developers says the cynical part of me. There are some interesting new buildings and not all old ones have character. I like the combination of old and new as long as they compliment sitting happily side by side.

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