Whaka Terrace in the suburb of Huntsbury, Christchurch

Whaka Tce in Huntsbury – formerly Whakakake or Whakakaka Road. Hancock’s Road was an early informal name. Named by Hannah Hancock (1854?- 1950) who said “whakekake” means superior”. Whakekake Road was named in 1923 at a meeting of the Heathcote County Council. Whakakake or Whakakaka Road appears in street directories 1938-1955. Hannah Hancock is the only resident in 1938. From 1957 it is Whaka Terrace.

A small amount of information from the library website. In Papers Past the only Hancock’s Rd I found was a street running off Normans Rd and nothing under that name for this street. There wasn’t anything under the Whakakake Rd. Under the name Whakakaka Rd in 1952 and 1953 there were several ads for the sale of fruit from the Plum Orchard. It was described as being between the sanatorium and the brickworks. Hannah died in 1950 and before her death was living in Canon St in St Albans so I don’t know who was running the orchard. In 1952 a contractor was required to lift and repile two rooms in the old house and apply to the new bungalow on Whakakaka Rd.

Between 1907 and 1922 Hannah Hancock was frequently fined for allowing horses to graze on a public road or for cattle to wander. In 1929 there was a fire in the shed behind the house and the neighbours were concerned for the safety of Mrs Hancock an elderly widow who lived by herself.

In 1975 there was an article by Gordon Ogilvie and the street is described as a narrow strip of housing between Murphy Bros and the old sanatorium. The subdivision dates from 1950s and is on the site of the Hancock’s Estate. The original homestead was burnt down. In 1969 residents objected to the use of coal at Coronation Hospital and in 1977 residents complained about the dog dosing strip. Main objection was the yapping dogs. In 1977 there was another subdivision of 45 sections with possible drainage issues.

I have spent all afternoon trying to figure out Hannah Hancock and her husband. The ancestry website wasn’t any help. In the electoral rolls between 1896 and 1841 she is at the property which is now Whaka Tce but by herself and no husband. She is described as married. In 1946 and 1949 she is living at 133 Canon St which was her address when she died. She is buried by herself. The only time her husband is mentioned is in 1903 when they allowed the Canterbury Highland Rifles camp on their property. Her death notice in 1950 says that she was 96 and the widow of Arthur Hancock. The various family trees on Ancestry say that Arthur Hancock died in Wellington in 1944 yet Hannah was described as a widow in 1929 by her neighbours.

This was another steep street that I walked today and it has a mixture of house styles and still a few empty sections where houses have been demolished. A few houses left from the 1950s subdivision but many houses were built in the 1980s and 1990s. A large number of houses were built after the earthquakes and they are mostly likely rebuilds. None really stood for me. The Whaka walkway goes from the top of the street but I believe that it is just a short one that leads to another street. A big section of the road is one way controlled by lights. The reason for this is a big slip and I believe that it has been like this for several months. The traffic lights amused me as they obviously turn green when they sense a car coming towards them. Walking back down the hill the motion of me walking made the lights turn green.