McDougall Ave – Part of Murray Place. Named after Robert Ewing McDougall (1861-1942). McDougall was the owner of Aulsebrook’s Biscuit and Confectionery factory and donor of the art gallery in the Botanic Gardens which bore his name. McDougall Avenue first appears in street directories in 1953.
A small amount of information from the library website. Robert McDougall was such a well known person in Christchurch that I don’t think that I need to expand on him. His obituary said that he owned Brookdale Sheep Station as well as Aulsebrook’s Biscuit Factory. He lived at 214 Papanui Rd and his house is still standing. It was built in 1898 as a family home and was gifted to Nurse Maude in 1949. The current address of this house is 24 McDougall Ave and was restored after the earthquakes. I will have to go back and walk this street again as I didn’t manage to get a photo of this house. The McDougall Art Gallery in the Botanic Gardens was one of my favourite places and I would love to see this building restored. There was another house promoting itself as McDougall House and operating as a exclusive B & B.
The QV website had houses built in most decades but as I walked the street all I could think was how many ugly modern houses were on this street especially considering who the street was named after. The few older houses standing were gorgeous. The street runs from Papanui Rd to Browns Rd and Murray Place runs off McDougall Ave near St Albans Stream.
Lytteltonwitch's Walking the streets of Christchurch Project 