Head Street in the suburb of Sumner, Christchurch

Head Street in Sumner – First mentioned in the Star in 1880 when land in Head Street in the “Township of Wakefield, Sumner Bay” is advertised for sale.

A tiny amount of information from the library website and I couldn’t find out the reason for the name of the street. There was a reasonable amount of information on Papers Past. In 1880 there were ads for the sale of sections. There were more sections available in 1884 and they were promoted as suitable as winter residences and for invalids. There were a few ads for sections in 1880s and 1890s as the street was gradually extended. From 1888 onwards a creek was mentioned and it seemed to frequently cause issues. In 1915 it was eventually filled in after many years of discussing doing this. Between 1903 and 1905 drainage pipes were laid and in 1907 sewers were connected. The end of the street closest to the beach was occasionally flooded when there was an extra high tide. Heavy seas flooding the street was mentioned in 1914, 1917, 1929, 1951, 1953 and 1954. I was amused by an entry in 1915 when residents were woken up by screaming from the beach. It was an escaped pig being chased by the pig’s owner and owner’s friends. They eventually caught the pig. The tram was frequently mentioned as the tram terminus was at the end of the street. The new tennis courts were opened in 1921. There were the usual birth and death notices. This street featured a lot in the social pages as many of the dwellings in Sumner were holiday homes plus holiday accommodation. Mrs Isaac Wilson who lived at a house called Brantholme did a lot of entertainment at her house. In 1920 a cottage was purchased as a rest home for nurses and it was sometimes called Adeline Rest Cottage and was Adeline Turner Rest Home at other times. Adeline Turner did most of the fundraising for this cottage and her reason for the home was that nurses were so overworked that they needed a place to rest and recover. The influenza epidemic was mentioned as a factor for overworked nurses. Note Adeline Turner had a sister who was a nurse and the sister died in 1922. Baden Norris was mentioned in 1970 as living on this street. In 1985 there were five pensioner cottages to be built and this was the last entry for the street. There is a rest home on this street but none of the entries for the rest home mention that it is at 40 Head Street. In 1960s it was called Powell House In the 1970s and 1980s it was called Cavell House. From about 1991 it was known as Edith Cavell Hospital and was a 20 bed hospital. In 1994 it was extended and became a combined rest home and hospital and it is now known as Edith Cavell Rest Home and Hospital.

This is another street that I walked in September last year and only transferred my photos from my phone to my laptop last week. There are two houses dating from 1905 and one from 1900 but I didn’t managed to get a photo of them. Almost half of the houses on this street are dated between 1900 and 1920. I looked at street view for Adeline Rest Cottage but it doesn’t look like it survived the earthquakes. It is a lovely looking street with the older houses mostly being in good condition. There is a modern house on the street that I personally think is really ugly.