Fergusson Avenue in Mairehau – Named after General Sir Charles Fergusson (1865-1951). Fergusson was the Governor General of New Zealand 1924-1930. Described as a “new” street in The Press in 1927 when land is advertised for sale there. First appears in street directories in 1930. [His surname is spelt correctly in 1930 but over the years one “s” was dropped. This was corrected in 1959.]
A reasonable amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name of the street. I found the entry in 1959 about having to change the street signs to fix the spelling mistake.
I remember a Governor General Sir Bernard Fergusson and he was Governor General in the 1960s. He was the son of Sir Charles Fergusson.
In Papers Past there were ads for the sale of sections in 1927 and 1928. Between 1929 and 1931 there were complaints from the 9 residents of the street about the state of the street especially with the damage from the cattle that roamed the street. The street was eventually sealed in 1954. There was a rabbit farm on the street in the 1930s and it was sometimes called Mairehau Rabbitry and sometimes called H Lawrence Rabbitry. H Lawrence leased land from the council to grow rabbit food. The land was supposed to be a reserve. There were a few death notices over the years. In 1958 it was announced that a kindergarten was to be built and it was opened in February 1959. Most entries in the 1960s and 1970s relate to the kindergarten.
Most houses on this street were built in the 1920s or the 1950s and it looked like a pleasant street. There is still a kindergarten here on the street. One reason that I liked this street was that there is a book exchange here and we all know how I love these little street libraries. I did take a book called A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. The book exchange is in front of a nice 1920s house.
Lytteltonwitch's Walking the streets of Christchurch Project 