Whites Tramway Road in the suburb of Halswell, Christchurch

Whites Tramway Road in Halswell – In 1862 William White first obtained approval to build a tramway from Christchurch to Little River which included a tramway line from the Halswell Quarry to Christchurch. The tramway was used to take rubble stone from the Halswell Quarry to the old Addington Prison site. The tramway remained in use until 1873.

Note: Council Officers preferred Whites Tramway without the inclusion of ‘Road’ in the name much like ‘The Runway’ in the former Wigram Airfield redevelopment area. LINZ do not support this name as it does not meet their addressing and roading standards. The decision on this ultimately lies with the Community Board.

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

I found at least three men named William White in Papers Past but couldn’t figure out exactly which one was the one who this William White. In 1874 the tramway was mentioned as being allowed to follow the reserve as agreed to in the ordinance of 1866. I find the ordinance online and the document was too long to copy. The tramway from Christchurch to Halswell Quarry was to be built within 6 months. He had 18 months to build it from Prices Long Pond on Lake Ellesmere to the terminus at Little River. William White had the right to convoy passengers and goods by water between certain points. White was to be responsible for the Lincoln Rd toll bar. The ordinance was called White’s Little River Tramway. It sounds like it was trains rather than trams. Found an online map at the library which showed the tramway.

The street is too new to be on maps and there are a few houses being built here. The River Stone Reserve and playground is on the corner of Whites Tramway Road and River Stone Drive.

Edited to say that I found the correct William White. He was born in 1821 and died in 1899. He came to NZ in 1852 on the William Hyde. He had the Kaikainu Hotel from 1856 to 1862. In 1860s he had the Commercial Hotel in the Square. This hotel was later known as Warners Hotel. He then worked as an engineer on roads and bridges including the Waimakariri and Rakaia Bridges. In his later years he was a coal and timber merchant with several branches including Leeston and Southbridge.