Eccles Place in the suburb of Halswell, Christchurch

Eccles Place in Halswell. This street is too new for library website or google maps. Some houses have been built but most are still in the process of being built. Surprising for a street of this type it has a footpath on both sides of the street. No one living on this street yet.

Information from the council website about the naming of the street. John Eccles Ferguson was a previous owner on the land in the 1870’s and 1880’s. Ferguson and Robert Rainey later held mortgage for Frank Birdling, who owned the land, in 1907.

A couple of alternative names were suggested. Gillam Place – Frank Gillam Birdling (1865-1939) was a previous owner of the land in the 1910s. Birdling settled in the area in the 1840s. Broker Place – Reginald Eugene Broker was a previous owner on the land in the 1950s.

I am not sure where the council got their information as John Eccles Ferguson wasn’t born until 1878 and his father John Ferguson purchased the land 1878. John Ferguson was born in Ireland in 1830 and at the age of 17 he went to America. He returned to Ireland but in 1858 went to Melbourne to go gold mining. In 1861 he went to Otago for gold mining. After a brief stint on the West Coast and Nelson he settled in Canterbury in 1866 dealing in livestock. He still owned the property in Halswell when he died in 1904. His property was called Melrose. He is buried in Addington cemetery so guess who will be taking a short to the cemetery to look for his grave. His son John Eccles Ferguson still owned the property until 1927 when it was sold in a mortgagee sale. John Eccles Ferguson went bankrupt in 1926 and being a bankrupt seems to be one of the major reasons in Christchurch to have a street named after you. After the land was sold John Eccles Ferguson moved to the Sockburn / Hornby area and he was still a stock dealer which was the same profession as his father. Papers Past had the best information about the family.

I walked this street on Sunday afternoon as it was a lovely afternoon for a walk. I probably won’t go back once all the houses have been built as they are all looking fairly boring so far.