Bealey Avenue in the the Central City and suburb of Merivale, Christchurch

Bealey Ave – formerly North Belt and North Town Belt. Named by the Canterbury Association surveyors who laid out the boundaries of the original city within roadways called ‘belts’ or town belts’. Re-named Bealey Avenue. Named after Samuel Bealey (1821-1909). North Belt is first mentioned in the Star in 1869 in a report of a meeting of the Christchurch City Council. Re-named Bealey Avenue on 11 January 1904 after the merging of several boroughs into the City of Christchurch in 1903. Bealey was Canterbury’s third superintendent 1863- 1866. The Town Belts were given the name of a superintendent who had connections to the locality. Bealey owned land in this area. [Street numbering started in 1881, at first from east to west with even numbers on the north side. In 1912 this was reversed with numbering from west to east and the even numbers on the south side. A reasonable amount of information from the library website and I didn’t research Samuel Bealey as there is enough information online about him. The earliest mention that I found on Papers Past was the Jury List for 1860. There were thousands of entries on Papers Past even with only researching 4 newspapers. There were complaints in 1914 about escaping gas killing the sycamores trees in the avenue. Street lamps were installed in 1923. In 1916 Lewisham Hospital was built for the Reverend Mother and the little company of Mary. This was a charity hospital and many fundraisers were held to raise money for the hospital. There seemed to be several hospitals with this name and they linked to the main one in Sydney. There was possibly one in Lewisham in the UK and I might follow that up as I have ancestors from Lewisham. Knox Chapel received several mentions. In the 1930s and 1940s the secretary for the Makogai Leper Fund lived at 172 Bealey Ave, P J Twomey was constantly raising money for this fund and at Christmas there would be an appeal for gifts to send to the children who lived on Makogai Island. The Lyndhurst Private Maternity Hospital was on Bealey Ave but the entrance is now on Montreal St. In 1929 there is a mention of an earthquake that damaged a few houses. A private house called Hambledon was purchased in March 1935 for the use of the new Governor General Lord Galway during unofficial visits to Canterbury. That article spelt it as Hambleden but every other entry had it spelt as Hambledon. This house was built for George Gould and his son Joseph Gould was born here in 1852. The house was then owned by the Pyne family before passing to the McDonald family. Garden parties are frequently mentioned. Can any other locals see the connection between the first two owners. The house eventually because a luxury hotel / B & B and it looked like a lovely house but sadly was badly damaged in the earthquakes and was demolished. There are several photos online plus at least one article about the house and the demolition. This is a long street to walk which I did at the beginning of March. It has a mixture of buildings including motels, hotels and residential housing. A number of medical businesses like dentists, doctors, sports med and the big one is Southern Cross Hospital. The houses range in date from 1880 to 2019. Some of the older houses are in good condition but several are looking rundown. The houses cover every decade with high density housing from 2000 onwards. A favourite building that I like because it is gorgeous is from 1861 and originally built for Charles Wyatt a solicitor in Christchurch. In 1918 during the influenza outbreak it became a temporary hospital for children thanks to the generous offer from the widowed owner of the house. In 1922 it became a boarding house for pupils of St Margaret’s School. It eventually became a private home but I couldn’t find a date for this. In 1981 it became a luxury B & B and it is still run as luxury accommodation but with different owners. It is now known as Eliza’s Manor Boutique Hotel and the prices are rather beyond my budget. Still a gorgeous looking building with an interesting history. Knox Church was badly damaged in the earthquakes and has been rebuilt around the surviving timber structure of the church. Not everyone liked the new design. As you walk and are nearly at Hagley Park there is a restaurant that I have to mention because of the delicious desserts. I am sure that Strawberry Fare has delicious main meals but I personally love the desserts. I have probably missed out interesting buildings or features of this street but when it is such a long street it is easy to miss things or forget.