Hillary Crescent in Upper Riccarton – Named after Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (1919- 2008). In a block of 28 acres bought by the government for state housing in 1953. The land was formerly owned by Pyne, Gould Guinness Ltd and was in Curletts Road between Blenheim Road and the Main South Road. Named on 10 August 1953. Hillary climbed Mount Everest in 1953. Minutes and report of meeting of Housing Committee of the Paparua County Council held on 10 August 1953.
A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name.
Papers Past had lots of death notices and residents on this street seemed to be an accident prone lot. There was an article in 1953 about the three streets in the new housing block to be named Hillary Crescent, Tensing Street and Everest Ave. I have already walked Tensing Place and I couldn’t find Everest Ave. In 1957 residents petitioned for a bus service. There were houses for sale in the 1960s.
When I walked this street on Sunday it is obvious that there are still Housing Corp / Kainga Ora houses on this street. There are a few Kainga Ora houses that have been demolished and replaced with multi dwellings. I had trouble getting into the valuation website that I use for this street but most houses would have been built in the 1950s and then the new ones built in 2024. Some of the houses are privately owned. There is a playground called Hillary Reserve on this street and there were at least three or four shopping trolleys in the reserve.
Lytteltonwitch's Walking the streets of Christchurch Project 