Laura Rosier (1927-1994) came to Newtown with her family as a baby and lived here for the rest of her life. She spent the 1980s and early 1990s researching and compiling a history of Newtown.
The title of Laura’s book – ‘A New Town Will Grow’ – was taken from a comment attributed to Charles Moody, who built the Newtown Hotel on the southern corner of Constable and Riddiford Streets in 1876, and allegedly said he hoped a new town would grow around it. See Part 2 Chapter 4 page 5 (page 54 of the book as a whole) for Laura’s account of this piece of our history.
Unfortunately with her book very nearly complete Laura Rosier died suddenly in February 1994. What happened to the manuscript after that is outlined in the Introduction below.
After a long hiatus the book was edited, but doubts remained about some details- such as the choice of photos to illustrate the text – and the text itself has never been fully proof read. What is published here is still a first edition, and we would welcome your input and suggestions. If you find a typo to correct, or want to make any other comment, please let us know at newtownwellington@gmail.com.
Remember – this is a history which stops abruptly in the early 1990s. In itself it is an account of a community that has changed considerably in the past 30 years.
ISBN 978-0-473-76479-1
Title: A NEW TOWN WILL GROW : The History of Newtown
Author: Laura Rosier
Format: PDF
Publication Date: September 12, 2024
© – Newtown Residents’ Association – 2024.
If using this work for research please acknowledge it as follows-
Laura Rosier, A NEW TOWN WILL GROW: The History of Newtown, (first edition, Newtown Residents Association, 2024, https://newtown.org.nz/local-history/the-laura-rosier-history-of-newtown/).
newtown.org.nz 