Sullivan Ave in Woolston -Formerly Richardson Street. Named after John Richardson (1847?-1927). Re-named Sullivan Avenue. Named after Daniel Giles Sullivan (1882- 1947). Richardson was the first mayor of Woolston when the borough was created in 1893. Richardson Street is first mentioned in the Star in 1884 and first appears in street directories in 1906. Re-named Sullivan Street in 1929 because of confusion with Richardson Terrace. Sullivan was a French polisher, trade unionist, journalist and politician. He was a city councillor 1915-1923 and 1925-1931, and the mayor of Christchurch 1931-1936. He was also Minister of Industries and Commerce, also Railways, in the first Labour Government 1935- 1949. He had opposed having the street named after him.
A reasonable amount of information from the library website.
Papers Past had a large number of death notices. There were also birth notices and in the 1920s many were born at Nurse Belcher’s nursing home. Miss I Belcher in 1928 joined the staff at New Plymouth Girls High.
In 1911 there was a letter of complaint to the editor about people saying that the street is in Opawa whereas it is in Woolston. I actually found more entries under Opawa rather than Woolston. In 1910 there were ads for new houses and sections. When the street was renamed Sullivan Ave there was a discussion about changing Richardson Terrace to Sullivan Terrace but this was rejected and Richardson Street was changed to Sullivan Ave. In 1929 there was a petition from residents complaining about the new name.
The houses here cover every decade from 1910 to 2020 with a huge number having been built between 1910 and 1920. At Ensors Rd end there is Ara Institure of Canterbury Woolston Campus. I really enjoyed walking this street because of the lovely older wooden villas and the quirky gardens. There was also a plaque to Daniel G Sullivan. I took a huge number of photos.
Lytteltonwitch's Walking the streets of Christchurch Project 