The first development was surveyed for Thomas Burt junior, in 1903 and was known as Bloomfield Road until about 1908 when it was named Myrtle. Who was Myrtle? An early former resident of the street thought it was named after a wife of a councillor of the day. No traceable councillor had a wife named Myrtle; none of the landowners of the day had a wife named Myrtle; Thomas Burt had no close relations named Myrtle. There were very few Myrtles of voting age in Lower Hutt in 1908 although one, Myrtle Johnson, lived in Bellevue Road. Perhaps it was named after someone’s latest grandchild or a favourite aunt somewhere, or even the tree {rama rama} which was prevalent in the area.
There was a Jessie Myrtle Bentley who lived in High Street around this time, who was married to John Emery Bentley on 15th September 1915. i
The street has had a varied history. In present-day terms it ran initially from Laings Road south to the entrance of the Recreation Ground. In the 1950s it was extended further south to Woburn Road and has since been extended to the north, although the Knights Road/Waterloo Road section has recently been blocked by the building of Queensgate and the Energy Board.