Redruth Avenue in the suburb of Spreydon, Christchurch

Redruth Ave in Spreydon – Probably named after Redruth in Cornwall, England. Not much information from the library website.

I found a reasonable amount of information on Papers Past but not much on ancestry website. The land was owned by James William Smitham who lived on Selwyn St. Some of the land possibly originally belonged to his father-in-law Joseph Cox who died in 1909. James married Alice Cox in January 1895. James is described as being the only son of James Smitham of Redruth in Cornwall. This explains the name of the street. James was the proprietor of the Cashmere Picnic Grounds. He must have also had a store in Cashmere as he sold it in 1909 along with a large section of land. In 1910 in is mentioned that J W Smitham has submitted plans for the new street that runs from Selwyn St to Strickland St. There was an auction of sections along with a description that the estate is now roaded and channelled by Mr Blogg under the direction of the well know surveyor Mr F W Freeman. In December 1910 there was an auction of furniture and other goods as Mr Smitham was leaving for Queensland. On a cemetery website I found his grave and he is buried at Apple Tree Cemetery in Queensland and he died in November 1929 aged 65 years and his wife Alice died in 1941 aged 75.Most the houses on this street are wooden bungalows built in 1910, 1915 or 1920s. There are 4 or 5 from 1970s or 1990s that are on back sections. There are some seriously cool houses on this street and I love them. One or two have been ruined by being modernised. I did like this street. The street no longer runs to Strickland St as James K Baxter Place is between Redruth Ave and Strickland St.