Story: City planning
In 1920 Samuel Hurst Seager designed a garden suburb at Durie Hill. Based on garden-city planning principles, it included curvilinear streets, reserves, and recreational amenities like croquet lawns and tennis courts. The suburb was connected to the city by a public elevator, which in 2009 still served Whanganui.
Using this item
Reference: MapColl 832.4199gbbd [192-?]/Acc. 8539
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
How to cite this page
Ben Schrader, City planning – Planning between the world wars, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/25732/durie-hill (accessed 17 February 2026).
Story by Ben Schrader, published 3 March 2010, updated 26 March 2015.