Augusta Street in Redcliffs – Formerly Augustus Street. Named after Augustus William Bennetts (1860- 1936). Re-named Augusta Street. Bennetts was an auctioneer and a member of the syndicate that subdivided part of Redcliffs. He is also listed in street directories of 1890 as a cattle dealer of Ferry Road. He is mentioned in the Star in two entries. In 1894 he was declared bankrupt. Augustus Street first appears in street directories in 1901. First appears as Augusta Street in The Press in 1907.
A small amount of information from the old library website. Augustus was born in a place called Pucklechurch near Bristol and he would have been a baby when his parents came out to New Zealand in 1860. In 1881 the partnership that he was in with his brothers was dissolved and his brother Adolphus left the partnership. Augustus continued in business with his brother Albert known as Hugh and the business was called Bennetts Bros. Lots of entries about Augustus in 1894 regarding his bankruptcy. The courts give his address and occupation as sheep farmer of Norwood. He had land all over Canterbury but he had taken out mortgages over most of his properties when he was struggling with his finances. He was also in court in 1882 along with his brother Hugh as they were the trustees of a deceased estate but they didn’t pay out the money to the widow as they were supposed to do. Note Hugh Bennetts was also bankrupt. In 1907 Augustus was charged with neglecting his cattle by not giving them food or water. He was also charged with breaching his prohibition order and the same year he received seven days imprisonment for failing to support his father. In 1909 he was fined for drunkenness and it was his third offence in six months. In 1911 he was in court for not paying his debts. No more information in Papers Past for Augustus after this date so I went looking for details of his death. He is buried in Ashburton so it is highly likely that he ended up at the home for destitute drunks that was in Ashburton. He had a nephew who was frequently jailed for assaulting people with weapons.
In Papers Past there were a few entries right up until 1994 that used the Augustus name for the street but it was mostly a few ads and death notices. In 1908 the Sumner Borough Council were discussing changing some street names as they were considered offensive and this included Augustus Street.
Lots of ads and death notices over the years. Flooding was frequently mentioned especially at the corner by the Main Road. In 1973 there was talk about stormwater drains and there was finally an ad for the tender of installing stormwater drains in 1978. In 1918 a slip damaged two properties and one man lost his greenhouses and orchard. In 1923 and 1924 there was talk about extending the road. In June 1926 there were a few articles about the Redcliffs Methodist Church as they were going to build the church in one day. They managed to get most of the work done except for iron for the roof and the floors. They did this work at Kings Birthday Weekend. On 14th June 1926 the headline said Opening for Church Built in a Day. From 1973 onwards the church was known as the Redcliffs Union Church rather than Redcliffs Methodist Church.
I have to mention that in 1932 the Mayor of Lyttelton F E Sutton and his daughter had a collision with a bakery van on the corner of Augusta Street and the Main Road. This corner seemed to have a few accidents and in 1957 there was a complaint about speeding drivers not stopping for pedestrians on the pedestrian crossing here. Thankfully it now has traffic lights. In the 1930s there were often harrier races starting from this street. The road was tar sealed in 1933. In 1952 there was the opening ceremony for the Beryl McCombs Kindergarten and a plaque was unveiled. Sadly this building didn’t survive the earthquakes and the building was opposite the church. There are now units here that were built in between 2020 and 2023. From 1952 onwards there were lots of ads for a plant nursery and in the 1960s there were two plant nurseries on the street. The owner of the second one was attacked in 1963 and ended up in hospital with head injuries. A neighbour mentioned that a young man was seen running away. The same neighbour said that the victim was in the habit of having strangers visiting him. I did search to see if I could found out more information but nothing. Yes you are all thinking the same as what I was thinking.
In August 1976 a house was destroyed by a slip and I certainly remember this storm. In 1981 an expansion to the supermarket was opposed. Looking at google maps the car park for the supermarket was on the corner of Augusta Street and the Main Road. This supermarket was demolished after the earthquakes and a new one was built. The supermarket closed in 2021 and it was supposed to be turned into apartments but it is still empty.
I walked this street yesterday after geocaching in the area. Instead of driving to Redcliffs I caught a bus as I am attempting to reduce my petrol usage because of the current situation. After a coffee at a nearby cafe I started my walk. The empty supermarket is at this end and technically it is on the Main Road. There are some new units at this end and the Redcliffs Uniting Church is opposite. There is a mixture of ages and styles of houses here and many sections have houses built behind older houses. The houses range in age from 1900 to 2024. I was disappointed to see that the house from 1900 has been altered in such a way that the character has been ruined. There was a house from 1905 that I loved and I especially loved the decorated tree on the fenceline. The tree had little toys all over it and I took lots of photos. The street is flat for a while and then it goes uphill. On this part of the street the footpath is only on one side and the street is treelined. Near the top of the hill it looks like the road continues but there is a sign saying private road and property so I didn’t go any further. The footpath also stopped here. This is where you ignore Apple Maps which said that the road connected with other roads and check google maps which says that the road stops here. There was a house near this end of the street that really intrigued me as it looked so unusual. I was surprised to find out that it had been built in the 1970s. I took lots of photos. I liked this street but I do prefer living close to the central city.
Lytteltonwitch's Walking the streets of Christchurch Project 