Struthers Lane in the Central City, Christchurch

Struthers Lane – Struthers Lane, named after Robert Struthers of Mason, Struthers & Co. The hardware and saddlery company owned a significant proportion of the south end of Struthers Lane and were bastions of Christchurch business.Formerly Greens Way. Re-named Struthers Lane on 1 September 1948 when 120 streets were re-named.Struthers opened a small hardware shop, Mason & Struthers, in partnership with Frederick Mason about 1886. The Mason Struthers building was demolished in 2006There wasn’t any information on the library website but the above information from ketechristchurch looks like it is information that would have been on the library website as the wording is exactly how they normally word it.Papers Past had very little information. Green’s Way in 1932 was on the list of duplicated streets and would possibly be renamed. In 1926 there was a request that the street to be exempt from section 117 of the Public Act. In 1930 there was an application to erect additions to building and for the lane to be exempt from it being widened. In the same year there was an application to erect a building on Tuam St near Colombo St but this would have the effect of blocking access to the back of the shops which front onto Colombo St. In 1945 Mason Struthers Lane was mentioned in Papers Past. Information from Victoria University said that the business of Mason Struthers started in 1874 in Pratts Building on Colombo St and that they then built a 3 story building on corner of Colombo St and Lichfield St. Later on they built a warehouse at 66 Lichfield St. Mason Struthers got a brief mention on the website for Victoria Museum in Australia but they said that the business only traded until 1950 which is wrong. I then went looking for the founders of Mason Struthers. Frederick Mason and Robert Struthers were in business together from about 1878 to 1899 and the partnership was dissolved in 1899 when Frederick Mason when to Australia. Robert Struthers carried on with the business until 1903 but I couldn’t find out who purchased the business. There was a wee note to say that after his death his house became a hostel for a girls high school but not which school. The information from his obituary is that he was from Yorkshire and was in Melbourne before arriving in NZ on the SS Tararua in 1873. That he joined John Ross in farming in Dunedin and then managed various station properties in North Canterbury. He then went to Dunsandel where he set up in business with Mr Henry under the name Henry and Struthers. He then returned to Christchurch in 1886 and set up in business with Fred Mason. He was married twice and had no children. I then looked at a couple of ancestry websites. He married Janet Greig in 1875 in the Leeston district but she died in 1895 and both Robert and Janet are buried in the Linwood cemetery. He remarried in 1897 to Jane Maria Vaughan and Jane was a widow and is buried with her first husband. I couldn’t find Robert on the passenger lists for the SS Tararua but the passenger lists are incomplete. If he did work in Dunedin and North Canterbury I am not sure how he managed it as he was living in Dunsandel on freehold land from 1972 to 1874 and in partnership with John Henry. This partnership was dissolved in 1873 and they had the Dunsandel General Store. In 1875 to 1876 Robert Struthers was on Durham St on leasehold land but from about 1878 was at the Lichfield St address and it was freehold land. The business included Edward Jackson who retired in May 1876 and from 1876 the business partners were Robert Struthers, Frederick Mason and Mr Cross. Found a document from 1882 that had Robert Struthers listed as a member of the Freemasons and living in Christchurch. I then searched Australian records plus English records and couldn’t find Robert Struthers. No record of him on census records and also couldn’t find birth or baptism records. Checked FreeBDM with no joy. The websites using the information saying that he was in Dunedin obviously got this from the obituary. There was another Robert Struthers from Scotland who farmed in the Dunedin area. Robert Struthers was a fairly common name. I obviously couldn’t walk this street as it is where the bus exchange is and there is a big sign saying pedestrians to keep out. I can remember the Mason Struthers stores and there was also one in Lyttelton on Norwich Quay.