In 1948 Fanny Louise Irvine Smith published a book The Streets of My City. In the front she includes a letter, an excerpt of which is included below.
My Dear Friends -
Here is the book! It is not meant to be history in any regularised form, but just an appraisement of some of the early days and early folks of our own city. And the pegs used to hang facts upon are our Street Names, for there is no city in the two hemispheres that has a richer store of history tucked away in its names than the city of Wellington.
We live in an age of memorials - the aftermath of war. But peace too hath her memorials, more widely spread by far than those of war, and of such come high on the roll the name-plates of city thoroughfares. What better tribute to one who has served his city well than to have his name ever pointing the way to busy passers-by?
One word more. Do not uphold the standardisation of street names. It is an utterly mechanical method, and one of the most effective means for blotting out the past. Think of a London with its colourful names reduced to the dead level of a uniform "scheme," of many a lesser town, whose picturesque history is writ large upon its street names - nay, of Wellington itself, and the thousand and one pioneers whose daily round will be remembered and in no other way. Guard well your heritage.
F. I-S.
Simla Crescent
Khandallah
May 1948
http://www.wcl.govt.nz/wellington/streetspart3.html
Fanny Irvine-Smith died in Wellington on 20 December 1948 just as her book was being launched to outstanding success. It was an immediate sell-out and engendered civic pride. A further legacy was her successful effort to found a branch library at Khandallah, for which she had tirelessly undertaken the door-to-door trudge in search of signatures. Her memorial fund and royalties from the second edition continue to provide books for the library annually. 'Guard well your heritage' wrote Fanny in her 1948 preface – a succinct writer to the end.
Fanny Irvine-Smith was a teacher who looked 'for the gold in everyone', a lively and concise lecturer who savoured the significance and subtlety of words, 'her delivery clear as a bell'. She had a strong influence on the teachers of the next generation.
In The streets of my city (1948), Irvine-Smith broke new ground in the presentation of history by portraying Wellington's past through a tour of its streets, a study of how they were named, and some interesting anecdotes. Her scholarly research into the historical roots of Wellington's colonists was delivered in an entertaining, descriptive narrative. Her style differed from the more ponderous approach of her local predecessor, Louis Ward, whose Early Wellington had appeared in 1929.
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4i1/irvine-smith-fanny-louise
Please be careful of muggles at all the waypoints as it is a very busy area, replace all items back carefully and make sure they are well hidden. Thanks and enjoy. There is a small token for the FTF
There's several other caches in the vicinity so you can make a loop by heading towards Khandallah village or down towards the city and come up Piwakwaka track