Ocean View Terrace in Sumner – Named in 1927 at the request of the former landowner and subdivider, George Humphreys (1848- 1934). First appears in street directories in 1957.
A small amount of information from the library website. George Humphreys pops up occasionally regarding street names. He actually lived on Fendalton Road at a house that was originally called Daresbury Rookery and is now Daresbury. It is a gorgeous house and it is still standing.
On Papers Past I found the article dated 1927 that mentions George’s request for the street name and then there nothing until 1949. In 1949 there was just a couple of ads. In 1959 and 1960 there were ads for sections. A few death notices from about 1958 onwards. An article from June 1954 explains the lack of information. The article mentions that the road was formed 22 years ago by the late George Humphreys but building of houses was held up by the want of high pressure water. There is now water for the 25 sections but no sewer. The road is very overgrown.
In 1975 a developer proposed a subdivision off Ocean View Terrace but it didn’t sound as if this was approved by the council. If the subdivision did go ahead it didn’t survive the earthquakes. The instability of the land was mentioned in 1975 and at least one of the existing houses had been damaged by a large boulder hitting it.
Most of the houses here were built in the 1960s with a couple built in 2018 and 2019. At the start of the street there is a house from 1910 but you can’t tell that it is that old as it has been modernised.
There isn’t a footpath on this street but luckily it isn’t a busy street. There is also a little free library here but I managed to resist taking any books. Most of the houses are on only one side of the road but looking at street view from before the earthquakes were several houses on the high side of the street. In a couple of places you can see where there used to be driveways. Parking would be a nightmare here but the views over Sumner are fantastic. The houses were a variety of styles and some I liked and others I didn’t like. The street starts on the flat by Heberden Ave and ends at Evans Pass Rd. Walking back down the street I went down a walkway that leads back to Heberden Ave. The walkway starts by the sharp curve of the road and the only reason that you know that it is a walkway is the large sign saying walkway. You feel as if you are going through private property.
Lytteltonwitch's Walking the streets of Christchurch Project 