Dalriada Street in Papanui – Named after Dalriada, a house on the corner of Blighs Road and St James Park Road (later St James Avenue). In 1912 the house was at 19 St James Park Road. Dalriada was the first two storey dwelling built in Papanui. It was built by John Cooke, manager of the New Zealand Loan & Mercantile Company, in the early 1880s. In 1882 his wife gave birth to a son at Dalriada, Papanui. In 1884 Mrs Cooke, Dalriada, Bligh’s Road, Papanui advertises in the Star for “a general servant, competent to undertake plain cooking”. The family moved to Australia in 1889.
For a time the property was let to the 4th Earl of Bantry (1854-1891) and then William Stuart Crichton (1851?-1933). In 1891 the property was sold to David Morrow (1837-1920), an importer of McCormack-Deering farm machinery. The estate was subdivided in 1928 and the house demolished in 1930. Name suggested by the Papanui Progress League in 1932. Officially named by the City Council in 1934 “after the Morrow estate from which the land was secured”. First appears in street directories in 1936.
A huge amount of information from the library website for a tiny street that has only three houses on it. The street runs from St James Ave to Windermere St. Papers Past in 1932 it was mentioned that a new street will be formed and in 1934 it is mentioned that new street to be named Dalraida Street after the name of the Morrow estate. Huge number of entries for John Cooke because of his involvement with the frozen meat trade in New Zealand and Australia. He died in December 1917 aged 66 in Eastbourne UK. His obituary didn’t mention his wife or family and his grave stone only has his name on it. I searched ancestry website with no luck. Several family trees have him on their trees but I am not sure they are correct. He was probably born in Northern Ireland and Dalraida means Gaelic Kingdom and this kingdom covered Western Scotland and North East of Ireland.
The street didn’t stand out for me and personally the best part of the street is the name.
Lytteltonwitch's Walking the streets of Christchurch Project 