Sheehan Street in Halswell – Named after John Sheehan (1867?-1925). Additional information: Streets named for significant figures in the area. John Sheehan was a member of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association and was well known as a breeder and prize-taker at the shows in connection with carriage, blood and draught horses.
A small amount of information from the new library website. I wanted to look at the council minutes from 2018 but it came up with page not found. I actually not sure that they got the correct John Sheehan. John Sheehan who died in 1925 was a horsebreaker and lived on Lincoln Road and then Lyttelton Street. He was moving furniture from Lyttelton Street to his new place in Milne Street, Spreydon when he collapsed in Strickland Street. He died in hospital aged 58. I am amused that findagrave have his occuption as horsebraker.
The other John Sheehan lived in Tai Tapu and Halswell and died in 1904 aged 54. He was a farmer and horse breeder.
I searched and couldn’t find any John Sheehan in connection with the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association. I also couldn’t find an obituary for either of them which would have given the details that I wanted.
The Ancestry website didn’t help to sort out which John Sheehan the street would have been named after. I also checked old maps but they didn’t help.
The houses on this street were built between 2018 and 2023 and none of them appealed to me. I walked this street a couple of weeks ago and at least there is a footpath on both sides of the street.
Lytteltonwitch's Walking the streets of Christchurch Project 