Newnham Terrace – Formerly Allan Street. Named after Allan Scott. Re-named Newnham Terrace. Named after Thomas Olivant Newnham (1865?- 1942). Allan (spelt Alan) Street is mentioned in an advertisement in the Press in 1910. The article in The Press, 29 September 1932, says Allan Scott was “a very old resident”. First appears in street directories in 1914. It was in a dog-leg shape and included what is now Hanrahan Street. Re-named Fuller Avenue in 1932 by the Waimairi County Council but residents objected to this name. Councillor Walter said that Councillor Newnham “had been connected with the district for a long period, and it would be fitting if it were called Newnham Avenue”. Newnham Terrace was formally named in 1934. Newnham was the chairman of the Waimairi County Council 1927- 1928. He is listed living at 5 Newnham Terrace in 1934.
A reasonable amount of information from the library website. Couldn’t find any information about Allan Scott on Papers Past. In the September article of 1932 where the objections to the name change to this street was discussed Thomas Newnham was present at the meeting. There was a Fuller family living on this street and I would love to know how they felt about the Fuller name being rejected. There was a death notice for Thomas Newnham in August 1942. In the 1940s there was a poultry farm on this street and there was also mention of State Houses.
A mixture of new and old buildings and most were high density housing aimed at students. At the Riccarton Rd end there was the ANZ bank, a gym and a bottlestore. I would hate to live here even if I was a student as I suspect that it could get very noisy. A couple of the buildings looked like they were possibly social housing. I vaguely recall in my banking days that I had a client who loved renting to students in this area.
Lytteltonwitch's Walking the streets of Christchurch Project 