Beryl Goodger - Merivale Oral History

 

Beryl Goodger recalls moving with her husband, Bob, and their three young children to 9 Somerset Grove, Merivale, in October 1955, after living in Auckland, Taranaki and Ōmokoroa. Because of Bob’s poor health, the family received a state house after a relatively short wait. She describes the house’s basic condition, subsequent improvements, and life without a car, refrigerator or telephone. The family later purchased the property using capitalised Family Benefit payments and a low-interest state advance.

 

Goodger discusses Merivale’s growth from a relatively isolated state-housing area. She recalls the opening of Merivale School, local involvement in selecting the name “Merivale,” the later use of “Parkvale” for postal purposes, and the gradual development of shops and services. She remembers neighbours, local identities, the government “pool house,” large numbers of children, limited bus services, party-line telephones, church transport, kindergarten travel, home medical visits, undeveloped roads, the absence of kerbing and footpaths, swamp drainage works, and the eventual extension of Fraser Street towards Greerton.

 

The interview provides a detailed account of family and community life in Merivale from the mid-1950s onwards.