Edward Wells Road, Hautapu Edward Preston Wells was born in Cambridge in 1916. He joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in 1939. In 1941 he joined No. 485 Squadron, the first all-New Zealand fighter unit. He soon took command of the Squadron. In February 1942 Wells’ Squadron was sent to engage the enemy fighters protecting the German battleships. He was credited with thirteen enemy aircraft destroyed, three probably destroyed and fifteen damaged. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross Medal (twice) and the Distinguished Service Order. Wells was released from the RNZAF in 1947 to take up a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force, retiring in 1960. He died in Great Britain in 2005.

Elizabeth Street, Cambridge East Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries from 1953-2022.

Emerson Road, Leamington Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionist and poet who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and critical thinking.
Set off Kipling Street at right angles to Scott Street, in a similar style to many in Leamington, this road has not been used since the 1980s.

Empire Street, Central Formerly named Brewery Street, this was where Hally brothers George and John built a brewery in 1870. The water well at the brewery was the first emergency water supply for the town.

Everest Lane, Cambridge East This lane was named to celebrate the conquest of Mount Everest by Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay on 29 May 1953. It was a significant New Zealand event and source of intense national pride.

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Fairburn Place, Leamington Arthur Rex Dugard Fairburn (1904-1957), was a major New Zealand poet of the 1920s to 1950s. He wrote To a Friend in the Wilderness and Three Poems.
Fencourt Road (formerly Harbutt Road) This district was named after Fen Court, the name Every Maclean gave to his estate of 7,047 acres. It was subdivided in 1900.
Wilfred Harbutt bought a 263-acre Fencourt property Rosebank in 1907. He married Catherine Sturges and had four children.
Wilfred served as chairman and member of numerous Boards. He was a director of the Cambridge Dairy Co. from 1919-1951 and served as its chairman from 1934.

Fergusson Gully Road In 1877 the Armed Constabulary made camp at Fergusson Gully while building a road from Cambridge to Taupo. The area was so remote that the men called it “Mesopotamia”. The estate was owned by Sir James Fergusson, Governor General of New Zealand (1873-1874). His cousin Robert was part owner of the estate from 1874-1887 when Sir James returned to England. Sir James died in the Jamaican earthquake of 1905. In 1964 when Sir Bernard Fergusson was Governor General, he returned to the site of the old Gorton homestead here and planted a kauri tree.

Finlay Road This road runs through the late Arthur Finlay’s farm from Oreipunga Road to the old Horahora Power Station site on the Waikato River. A new road was formed c.1950 to service the church camps of Epworth and Finlay Park. Arthur, his wife Dawn and two children, Heather and Weston, farmed at Horahora until the early 1980s when they moved to Cambridge.

Fisher Road The Hon John Fisher (1837-1927) was a farmer, local community leader and member of the upper house of the New Zealand Parliament. The Waipa Post noted he “has been associated with practically every local body and good object in this district for many years.”
Fisher was born in Scotland and sailed to New Zealand at the age of 19. He worked on a small farm in Tamaki until he joined the British army and fought in the New Zealand Wars. He was granted land at Pukerimu for his service as a soldier. He also purchased additional sections and created a farm at Kaipaki that is still managed by the Fisher family.
Fisher’s military service included the Cambridge Cavalry Volunteers (1872-1882), and his service within Colonel Nixon’s Royal Cavalry. Fisher was awarded the NZ War Medal.
Upon his death, local and national newspapers recorded his influence within New Zealand politics.

Fletcher Street Giles Fletcher the Elder (c1546-1611) was an English poet, diplomat and member of the English Parliament. Best known for his sonnet Licia, he was the father of poets Giles Fletcher the Younger (c1585-1623) and Phineas Fletcher (1582 -1650).

Flume Road This was named for a kauri flume (an artificial channel for conveying water) about three quarters of a mile long and raised several feet above ground. It was used to carry water away from the Te Miro hills and assist the drainage of this area of swampland. When the Fencourt Estate was subdivided in 1900, Flume Road was a mile and a half of unformed winding track servicing only two properties. This was a no exit road which needed fascines (ti tree sticks tied in bundles and lain in the tracks) before a foundation for a road could be made. In 1912 Flume Road continued from Feisst’s bridge to the Aukati (Confiscation) Line and was regarded by the locals as the Valley Road or Te Miro Road.

Florida Place Mr and Mrs David Blackie Snr bought Wallace Townsend’s King Street stables. David Blackie gave his horses American names. They reserved the name Florida for their new subdivision.

Fort Street The 3rd Waikato Militia built a fort named the Star Redoubt here in 1864.

Forrest Road (formerly No. 2 Crossroad off Hamilton Road) James Forrest was one of the soldier settlers of the area taking up land in 1864. James and Sarah (nee Perkins) were married in Dunedin and raised two sons and eight daughters. James was a Justice of the Peace and served on numerous committees. They called their property Surrey Park and lived almost entirely on their own products.

French Pass Road Until 1911 this road was little more than a track leading down into the valley. It then came under the Cambridge Road Board. According to Plough of the Pakeha by Beer and Gascoigne, Every Maclean would do his weekly rounds and “after crossing over a low ridge of the Maungakawa range, which the men had nick named ‘French Pass’, they called at the out stations of Whitehall and Kensington.”

From the diary of Runa Hulse at the time her family arrived at Whitehall (1901) we can get an idea of its condition:
“…We rented a house on Thornton Road for a few months while Mr Christie built the house on the farm. A Mr Nicoll took the timber and bricks out via Karāpiro with his waggon and four horses. There was no French Pass Road only a track but there was a bridge over the stream in the big gully. Mr Nicoll tried driving home that way with the empty waggon once but once was enough.
“Going up the cutting on the Cambridge side of the bridge in the French Pass gully my horse got bogged. I stepped off and Mr Christie got hold of the horse’s tail and pulled it round so that it was facing downhill and it was soon on its feet.”
“There were 3,000 acres in the farm, roughly two miles long and four wide. Father put gates across the French Pass Road at the Cambridge end and the Whitehall end of the farm but a few years after the road was formed there were complaints from the neighbours about having to open these gates when going to town and Father had to remove them and get more fencing done.”

Froude Street James Anthony Froude FRSE (1818 -1894) was an English historian, novelist, biographer and editor. He wrote History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada, The Nemesis of Faith and Froude’s Life of Carlyle.

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George Tuck Lane George Albert Tuck (1884-1981) wrote a wartime diary which provides one of the best accounts of a New Zealander in the First World War. He was born in Cambridge in 1884, the son of accountant Charles Tuck and his wife Mary. George attended the Cambridge and Te Aroha schools. By 1902 he was working, probably as a carpenter, in Rotorua. When World War One broke out, Tuck joined the 6th (Hauraki) Company of the Auckland Battalion. He fought at Gallipoli and later in France and was promoted to lieutenant on the field of Passchendaele in 1917. He became battalion adjutant and a captain in 1918. Tuck was wounded twice on the Somme and was awarded a Military Cross. He returned to New Zealand in 1919 and went back to building in Rotorua. He died in Auckland in 1981.

Gilchrist Place Alan Gilchrist Tizard designed two houses on two acres of land when it was subdivided in 1972 by his son and daughter-in-law, Blake and Diana.
Gillies Avenue

Thomas Bannatyne Gillies was a respected judge and formidable politician. In March 1875 he was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand for the Auckland District. He was the first New Zealand judge to have qualified for admission to the Bar by New Zealand examination.

Glover Street Richard Glover (1712 – 1785) was an English poet and politician. He wrote Leonidas, Boadicea, Medea and The Athenaid.

Goodwin Road Arthur Goodwin was born in Kent where he was a Red Cross worker during World War One. In 1920 Goodwin, Rosa (his wife) and two sons came to New Zealand and farmed at Pukerimu amongst the ti tree on their property Twynham. Arthur was Chairman of the Dairy Suppliers Committee, Kaipaki Church Board and Trustee and President of the Cricket Club. The family retired to Auckland.

Goldsmith Street Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, dramatist and poet. He wrote The Traveller, The Vicar of Wakefield and She Stoops to Conquer.

Gordon Place Mona Clifton Gordon (1899-1977) was a New Zealand writer and biographer. She wrote Cambridge, The Founding Years, The Early Artists of New Zealand and The Golden Age of Josiah Clifton Firth.

Gorton Road William Thorne Buckland established the Gorton Estate at Karāpiro. He put his son Alfred and a manager, Tamaki George Walker, on the property. Formerly the road was the driveway to the Gorton Homestead built about 1873. The Gorton Estate was later owned by R H D Fergusson and managed by Nicholas Hunt, Simpson, and Samuel Seddon. In 1904, 8,000 acres were bought by a syndicate and the land was cut up. Gorton Road was a track that was unsafe to use at night. Under the Taotaoroa Road Board in 1883, the road was improved by contractors J & A Forrest.

Gray Road Alan Stuart Gray (13/62 Auckland Mounted Rifles), with his wife Norah (nee Shannon) and their daughter Kathleen, were original Te Miro World War One soldier settlers of the district who drew their farm (section 20) from a 1918 ballot. Mrs Gray died after being thrown from her horse in 1945 and their property Bushmere was sold to J W Smith in 1953. Mr Gray died in 1956. The couple are buried at Hautapu Cemetery.

Grey Street Sir George Grey was Governor of New Zealand (1846-1854) and its Prime Minister (1877-1879). He played a key role in the New Zealand Wars.

Grice Road Richard and James Grice (originally from Cumberland, England) in conjunction with Richard Reynolds, owned the Roto-o-Rangi Estate. They invested in improvements and drainage on the property. Formed by local farmers, this road led to Gricedale Creamery which was situated on land donated by Messrs Grice. Later, it became the Roto-o-Rangi factory.

Griggs Road Harry and Cecelia (Win) Griggs arrived in Kairangi with their family in 1933 as part of the Bryant Land Settlement Scheme. Lois Griggs was the first girl born in the new district. Win Griggs was president of the local Country Women’s Institute for eight years from 1940. In 1959 the property changed hands to son Lance, who in turn sold the property in 1999 to his son George.

Grosvenor Street This is a nod to Grosvenor Square in London. In the 1940s Grosvenor Street was bought by the Government to establish state housing.