History
The land was purchased in November 1848 by Francis Dillon Bell from the Puketapu iwi. The initial purchase was 1,500 acres (610 ha) but more land was added subsequently. Disagreements over the sale of the land contributed to the First Taranaki War.
A stockade was built to protect local settlers in 1860. Some of the earthworks continued until 1972 when a hotel was built on the site.
Much of New Plymouth's heavy and medium industry is situated around Bell Block, which led to heavy traffic congestion. Construction of an arterial bypass of the town commenced in late 2006. A previously unknown Māori Pā site was discovered during site investigations and was excavated by archaeologists prior to construction.
Read more about this topic: Bell Block
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“Jesus Christ belonged to the true race of the prophets. He saw with an open eye the mystery of the soul. Drawn by its severe harmony, ravished with its beauty, he lived in it, and had his being there. Alone in all history he estimated the greatness of man.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“What has history to do with me? Mine is the first and only world! I want to report how I find the world. What others have told me about the world is a very small and incidental part of my experience. I have to judge the world, to measure things.”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)
“[Men say:] “Don’t you know that we are your natural protectors?” But what is a woman afraid of on a lonely road after dark? The bears and wolves are all gone; there is nothing to be afraid of now but our natural protectors.”
—Frances A. Griffin, U.S. suffragist. As quoted in History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 4, ch. 19, by Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper (1902)