Silvester Street in Woolston – First mentioned in The Press in 1909 when building sites are advertised for sale there.
A tiny amount of information from the library website. I searched Papers Past and Ancestry website for anyone with the surname Silvester and there were several families but most lived out Springston way but the others lived in Sydenham. I couldn’t find a place name Silvester. I would have expected if it was named after a person that the street would have an s on the end of it. The earliest entry on Papers Past was in 1907 when a shed belonging to H Stewart was destroyed by fire. In 1909 there were several sections for sale and they were abutting to the New Recreation Grounds.
From 1911 onwards most entries were ads for grazing land being available. In 1916 an electric wire was to be run from Woolston Railway Station to the street to connect residents to electricity. More sections available in 1924. In 1929 a footpath was formed from Ferry Rd to Silvester St through the park. From 1930s onwards it was mostly death notices. In 1940s and 1950s there were a few mentions in connection with the best street competition. There was a factory called Robinson Tile Surrounds Ltd mentioned a few times in 1955. In 1974 a couple of dogs were poisoned in the street and the bowling club was mentioned in 1977.
The houses date from 1905 to ones currently being built. Several were built in 1920s. It was hard to the one built in 1905 and most of the other older houses were in good condition except for one rundown looking. The units built in 2024 were interesting but the property that I did like was because of the fun letterbox. The bowling club is next to the walkway to the park. I found a geocache near here. The new units being built had the builders working on them and don’t builders take time off these days. There are new units being built on my street and they have been working seven days as well. An interesting street. It is bugging me as I feel that I should know this street from when I went to Woolston Primary School in 1967. I feel that I had a school friend who lived on this street.
Lytteltonwitch's Walking the streets of Christchurch Project 
Interesting. I wonder if the “electric wire from Woolston Station” (which was, and still is, near Andersons’ workshops in Curries Road), was in fact to the local electricity substation in Woolston. 🧐 The railway line wasn’t electrified until 1929.🤓 Stuart
On Sun, 16 Nov 2025 at 18:37, Lytteltonwitch’s Walking the streets of
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They might have talked about the electric wire in 1916 but it is possible that it didn’t actually happen until much later. I shouldn’t have been walking more streets today as I have streets that I walked several weeks ago that need researching. My pulled muscle in the chest was very painful especially as it was right by my scar plus I am slightly paranoid about getting lymphedema because of the removal of lymph nodes. It was a good excuse not to garden but I also limited my computer time. I am now going to look for more information about electricity in Christchurch. I know that Reefton was the first town to get electricity
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