Riselaw Street in Mairehau – Developed on land previously a farm owned by Arthur William Emmett (d. 1948) and sold after his death. Part of the land was bought by the government for a state housing area “laid out on modern town planning lines”. It was referred to as Emmetts Block. Named on 24 June 1948. First appears in street directories in 1950.
A small amount of information from the library website. Not much information on Papers Past. There were a few death notices plus residents hurt in car accidents. There were two firearm incidents and one was in 1975 and the other in 1980. One year there was a fire in a Christmas tree.
There was another Riselaw Street in Dunedin and the name is possibly from the Ryslaw / Riselaw a place in Scotland.
More than half the houses here are still State houses and most were built in the 1940s and 1950s. Some of the State houses have been demolished and new smaller ones built. For a street with lots of State houses I almost liked the street. There were some quirky features with a brightly coloured house and one with a fun letterbox. I also liked the fairy doors on a tree. What did put me off is that there is obviously a boy racer in the street going by the marks on the road. There are entrances to McFarlane Park here plus an entrance to Shirley Primary School.
Lytteltonwitch's Walking the streets of Christchurch Project 