Hiller Green Street in the suburb of Halswell, Christchurch

Hiller Green Street in Halswell – Thomas Hiller Green purchased part of the property in the late 1800’s where it is believed he grazed animals for “Greens Chop House” – his ham and bacon curing business.

A small amount of information from the council minutes about the naming of streets in the subdivision.

I searched Papers Past and Ancestry website and I am not sure that they have got the correct information. All the information about Green’s Chop House is that it was a pub under the management of Charles Green. It was described as an eatery with the best English Ale. Green’s Chop House opened in 1861. I couldn’t find a family link between Charles Green and Thomas Hillier Green. Most records show the spelling of his middle name to be Hillier. I also couldn’t find any evidence that Thomas Hillier Green had any land in Halswell. His bacon curing business was in Manchester St and he owned property in Colombo St and Papanui. His address in 1882 was on Park Tce in Heathcote. He died in 1890 aged only 52.

The street is too new to be on maps and no houses here yet.

Edited to say that his factory was called Green’s Bacon Factory and it burnt down in 1889. It was insured.

Another edit as I have found out more information. It was John Thomas Green who was a dairy farmer in Halswell and he had a son called Thomas Hillier Green. His son was a builder who lived and died in Westport in 1945. The Thomas Hillier Green of Green’s Bacon Factory had a son who was also called Thomas Hillier Green. This young man was a promising medical student who won a place at a University in England. Sadly he committed suicide in 1893 in Croydon. Reason given for the suicide was that he had an attack of smallpox. I found an article in 1962 about the will of the Thomas Hillier Green who died in 1890 with the descendants claiming a share of the life interest in the estate. One of Thomas’s heirs had recently died without any issue (children). This ended up being an interesting wee bit of research and I am still convinced that the developers got it wrong.