Named after Thomas Mason (1818-1903) usually known as “Quaker” Mason, who was an early resident and leading horticulturist.
He arrived from Gravesend on the New Zealand Company ship Olympus with his wife Jane.
Thomas Mason bought a section in Taitā, where, except for one short interval, the Masons lived for the rest of their lives, bringing up seven sons and three daughters (a fourth daughter and two sons died in infancy). i
He had outstanding gardens at Taita and many of the trees of those gardens can still be seen in Avalon Crescent. He was M.P. for Hutt, 1879-84 and later chairman of both the Hutt County Council and the Wellington Botanic Garden Board.
He was a gentle, reserved, deeply religious man, but he could be firm if occasion demanded. He was extremely generous, giving struggling families fruit and vegetables until they could grow their own, donating plants to the Wellington Botanic Garden, giving seeds and cuttings generously. He would send wagon loads of flowers into the city or to the Hutt town for any special event. He served the Hutt Council, he was M.P. for the Hutt for 20 years. i