Elizabeth Street in the suburb of Riccarton, Christchurch

Elizabeth St in Riccarton – The section of the street from Wainui Street to Matipo Street was formerly named Rockwood Street. Named after Elizabeth Jane Relph, née Mulcock, (1863- 1934). Elizabeth Mulcock was a daughter of Edward Mulcock (1837-1915), owner of the land where this street was formed. Elizabeth Street is first listed in street directories in 1904. Rockwood Street appears only on maps and not in street directories. Incorporated into Elizabeth Street on 14 May 1923. It still appears on a 1930 map running between Junction Road (Wainui Street) and Matipo Street.

A small amount of information from the library website and there are a couple of mistakes. The section between Wainui St and Matipo St was named Rookwood St and not Rockwood St. A man named Henry Phillip had a property called Rookwood here. I had a thorough look at maps and as early as 1912 Wainui St was called Wainui St. It was also Wainui in 1922 and 1941. Only the map for 1930 has Wainui St as Junction Rd. It isn’t until the map for 1950 that the entire street is called Elizabeth St. Going by maps for 1941 and 1950 there is a new subdivision and Elizabeth St is extended to a new street called Centennial Ave.

There was a huge amount of information on Papers Past as there were so many streets with the same name in New Zealand. There were lots of death notices. Between 1903 and 1910 there were several sections and houses for sale. In 1919 there were several properties for sale after the death of William Fine. William’s name was frequently mentioned in connection with this street and there were members of this family still living in the street in the 1940s and 1950s. William Fine was a contractor and did the shingling of many streets in the area including this street. From about 1950s onwards the Wharenui Pool is mentioned and there is still an entrance to the pool on this street. The Upper Riccarton Methodist Church had a parsonage on the street and it was possibly where there is now a Community Church.

Edward Mulcock might have owned land here but he never lived here. He lived in Flaxton until he retired and moved to the Cashmere Hills.

I actually walked this street in January last year and I remember doing the research but managed to lose the information. I do tend to use scraps of paper. There is about 264 houses here and most are flats. Houses cover most decades and there are still about 6 or 7 houses that date between 1910 and 1920. They are in reasonable condition. A few houses from 1930s and 1940s but the years 1970s and 1990s saw the biggest number of houses until you get to the last 10 years. The last 10 years has seen a huge growth in multi dwelling style of housing. None really stood out for me so there obviously wasn’t too many ugly toilet block houses. In the last two years a cycleway has been formed on this street so in places the street is blocked from cars being able to turn into the street. Parking would be a nightmare if you live on this street.