Orari Street in Bexley Red Zone – Regent Street and Raleigh Street. Regent Street first appears in street directories in 1928 with the alternate name of Raleigh Street. Re-named Orari Street in 1951.
A tiny amount of information from the library website. There wasn’t much information on Papers Past. The usual death notices. Under the Regent Street name there was one death notice and a couple of ads. Under the Raleigh Street name there was one death notice and one ad. In the 1960s there was erosion of the riverbank caused by speedboats going at excessive speeds. Over the years there were various businesses on this street. Tapper Printing Company, Frank and Bryce Ltd and Bradford Dye Works. Trade Aid (NZ) Inc was also here and occasionally the road was closed so that they could have a fair.
I only walked art of this street as there is a section that is impassable unless you have gumboots. It is by the Kia Ora Street intersection and Kia Ora Street is impossible to walk because of the water. You also don’t know what potholes or open drains are hidden under the water.
Street view from 2007 show a pleasant looking street and the houses seem to have covered most decades especially the 1950s and 1960s. A couple looked like they might have been from the 1920s. There was also a pumping station on the corner of Orari St and Waitaki St. Further along the street towards Bexley Road there had been a large building that most likely housed the various businesses that had been on the street. There is obviously no longer any buildings on this street because of the earthquakes.
Lytteltonwitch's Walking the streets of Christchurch Project 