Hawke Street in the suburb of New Brighton, Christchurch

Hawke St in New Brighton – Formerly Hawkes Street. Named after James George Hawkes (b. 1832). Re-named Hawke Street. Named after Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke of Towton (1705-1781). Hawkes, an auctioneer, married Sarah Jane Herbert in 1852. She died in 1853 and he married Lucy James Sparshott in 1854. They emigrated to Canterbury on the Victory in 1859. He gave the land on which St Faith’s Anglican Church and vicarage now stand on 9 January 1880. He was declared bankrupt in 1886. His date and place of death are unknown. Hawkes Street is first mentioned in the Star in 1889. Formed in 1890. Re-named Hawke Street at a special meeting of the New Brighton Council on 12 August 1907. Baron Hawke was an admiral and later First Lord of the Admiralty in the Royal Navy. Harry Hawker (1868- 1947), a councillor 1905-1909, had suggested that New Brighton street names be changed to the names of British sea captains who had fought in the 18th and 19th century – a gesture linking Christchurch with the home country, was patriotic and emphasised the fact that New Brighton was a seaside suburb. A huge amount of information on the library website. I found the same information about the name change but I did find many articles on Papers Past after 1907 still using Hawkes St. Papers Past had ads for the sale of sections in 1889, 1891, 1893 and 1907. In 1890 there were several letters to the editor about the proposed site for New Brighton school. Some were against the site but most were happy with the chosen site. In 1900 there were complaints about sand in front of a property and this property was at the beach end of the street. I searched Papers Past, ancestry websites and cemetery databases and couldn’t find any information about James George Hawkes death. His wife Lucy died in 1918 aged 84 and is buried at Barbadoes St cemetery along with at least three of her infant children. She was living with one of her sons before her death. James was a churchwarden at St Michaels Church in 1866 and he also stood for election for Provincial Council. He must have been successful as there were a few entries mentioning James as a member of the Council. James was in business as a ironmonger with Frederick Strouts in early 1870s but by 1872 they were auctioneers mostly selling properties. James name appeared frequently in bankrupt notices especially in 1883 through to 1886. In 1886 he was requesting to be discharged from bankruptcy. James was also bankrupt in 1872 and further research gave me the information that the reason for his request to be discharged from his bankruptcy in 1886 was because he had secured a job as a chief auditor. As a retired banker I am not sure that someone who had been bankrupt twice is suitable for a job as an auditor. In 1896 there was an article about New Brighton and it was mentioned that the late J G Hawkes purchased 56 acres and was readily able to dispose of it. I couldn’t find out when he purchased the land and the same article mentioned his generous donation of 2 acres for the church but library website give date of 1880.I couldn’t find any record of James Hawkes ever having lived in New Brighton and all records have him living in Cashel St. The various family trees on the ancestry website were of no help and most of them had James dying in 1884 but no source for this date. Can’t be correct as he was still alive in 1886 and probably still alive in 1891. He was probably born in Reading and married his second wife Lucy in Deptford. This street has 54 properties and several were built between 1890 and 1920 but most have been altered so much that you can’t tell the age. The rest are mostly built in 1970s and 1990s. The church is still standing but fenced off. There is a fire station on this street and the site where New Brighton school used to be is now an empty section. Between Shaw Ave and Marine Parade there is a huge car park for the Countdown supermarket and the Mall.