Kruse’s Drain in Papanui, Christchurch

When researching some streets in the Papanui area I came across Kruse Drain and Kruse’s Drain. Then when I was looking at cemetery records for Thomas Langdon I found Carl Deidrich Kruse in the same cemetery. He lived in the Papanui area and Papers Past frequently mentioned Kruse’s drain. It was a natural water course known as Kruse’s drain. Everyone in the area seemed to want to hook up their drainage to this drain. He was born in Stolzenau and his naturalisation records say that he was Prussian. I have looked at google maps and the city seems to be further south than where I thought Prussia was. It didn’t say when he arrived in New Zealand which is unusual.

Edited as I found information on the museum website and the spelling mistakes are their spelling mistakes. Ancestry records have him as a farmer in Papanui.

Diedrich was a count by birth. The Prussians were at war with Germany and planning to take Saxony. He received word from the rulers in Germany that he must leave, take the 1st boat away as his life was in danger. He took most of his possessions and fled to England. From there he boarded a boat for Australia but on arrival he decided NZ would be a better and safer place to live. He met his future wife on one of the boats and married in Papanui on their arrival in NZ. The ship Isabella Hercus arrived in 1856. He bought a blacksmith shop (as that as his trade) and reared his family in Papanui. Both were respected in Church life and he bought land now the site of St Bedes College boardering Winters Rd. A principal member of the German community, raising money for the German Church his name one of five on the foundation stone laid 1872. Also a member of the Papanui District School committee, a director of the Papanui Saleyards Company and manager of the Harewood Rd Steam Threshing Co. This was a co-operative concern and very successful. After the death of Christina (as she was known) he married again on the 25th July 1892 to Elizabeth Dixon.

Edited again as I found more information about him on Findagrave About Carl D Kruse

Dietrich Kruse was born in Germany in 1829. As a single man he arrived in Lyttelton in January 1856 on the second voyage of the “Isabella Hercus‟. A blacksmith by trade, he set up a business in Papanui. He saw a better future in farming, and by 1862 William Horner had taken over the smithy. Diedrich purchased several blocks of land around the District, but the most notable was the 34 acres (RS 251) that is now the site of St. Bede’s College. Kruse Place, off Grimseys Road, and the drain/waterway that winds its way through Papanui were named after him.