Tweaks proposed for Neplusultra Street reserve management plan

Many towns have unusual street names or with stories attached.

Commonly misspelt and mispronounced, Neplusultra Street in Cromwell is one of the more exotic.

“There are a few different explanations for how it got its name,” Central Otago District Council Parks and Recreation Manager Gordon Bailey said.

“We’ve done a bit of research. ‘Ne (pronounced nay) plus ultra’ is Latin for ‘nothing more beyond’; we assume this means that the street once stood on the boundary between the houses and the golf course in Cromwell, and nothing more sinister.”

Other documentation would suggest the name comes from goldmining days when the miners described the land past Neplusultra as ‘nothing beyond here’.

It has been said it was inscribed on the Pillars of Hercules at either side of the Strait of Gibraltar, “in part as a warning to sailors not to travel beyond the edge of the known world”, so the story goes. Grander still, the phrase was coined to describe the perfect or most extreme example of its kind; the ultimate – the ne plus ultra.

“Having a street by that name gives us just that quirky point of difference,” Mr Bailey said.

The public will be asked to give feedback on two proposed tweaks to the reserve management plan for Neplusultra Street Reserve.

At the Cromwell Community Board meeting on Tuesday 2 April, members considered a partial review of the plan (the Neplusultra Reserve Management Plan 2002) for the Council-owned reserve. The proposed changes will make it possible for Council to establish a public toilet on the reserve, and to reduce existing grassed beautification strips from 30 metres to 15 metres on street frontages. This will enable Council to formalise structural improvements carried out by two occupiers of the reserve, the Cromwell Bike Park and Cromwell BMX Club.

Public consultation will be open from 9 April to 9 May, with proposed changes considered by Cromwell Community Board and recommended to Council for approval on 21 May.

The reserve management plan can be viewed at: Reserve Management Plans - Central Otago District Council (codc.govt.nz)

Feedback on the two proposed changes can be emailed to: Judith.Whyte@codc.govt.nz, before Thursday 9 May 2024.

• Has your street in your town or community got an unusual name or story attached? Feel free to share stories and photos by emailing us.