Sturdee St in South New Brighton – Named after Sir Frederick Doveton Sturdee (1859-1925). Sturdee was the flag officer of the squadron sent to avenge the destruction of two British cruisers by the German Admiral Graf von Spee in 1914. He became Admiral of the Fleet in 1921. This name continues the theme of British Admirals, explorers and fighting seafarers used for street names in New Brighton. First mentioned in The Press in 1917 when land is advertised for sale there. First appears in street directories in 1940.
A reasonable amount of information on the library website. There were lots of entries on Papers Past but only a few were for this street. Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin also had streets with the same name. The sections on this street were all sold by 1919 but for some reason the owners weren’t allowed to build. In 1932 the council started to form the street and in 1933 relief workers were building the footpaths. As a result at least one owner of a section decided to build on his section. Over the years there were a few scrub fires on the street. There were the usual death notices. The letter to the editor in 1957 about the street signs amused me. Apparently at the Marine Parade end of the street the sign said Sturdee St but at the other end it said Sturgee St.
This street only had 9 houses and they were built in 1940s and 1950s. The street had a very rundown look about it and it didn’t appeal to me.
Lytteltonwitch's Walking the streets of Christchurch Project 