Author Archives: lytteltonwitch

MacMillan Ave – Named after Professor John Macmillan Brown (1845-1935). Brown was a university professor and administrator. His home was at 35 Macmillan Avenue. First mentioned in The Press in 1908 when Professor Macmillan Brown advertises “60 beautiful hillside sections” for sale. Macmillan Avenue was expected to be the “finest thoroughfare to be found anywhere …

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Lowick Ave – Carter’s Lane Re-named Lowick Avenue. Named after Lowick, a village in Northumberland, England. Carter’s Lane first appears in street directories in 1924. Re-named Lowick Avenue in 1933 by the Public Utilities Committee of the Heathcote County Council. A reasonable amount of information from the library website. I checked Papers Past and very …

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Dyers Pass Rd – Governors Bay Road Named after John Dyer (1828-1876). One of the oldest ways over the hills. The Maori used this way to travel to their villages and their pallisaded pa at Governors Bay. First used by Europeans as a horse track. Road formation was undertaken by the Provincial Government 1862-1863. Dyer …

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Hackthorne Road – Thornhill Crescent was incorporated into Hackthorne Road. Named after Hackthorn Hall, the home in Hackthorn, Lincolnshire, England of the Cracroft family. Sir John Cracroft-Wilson (1808-1881) was a judge, farmer and politician. His mother was Elizabeth Cleminta Wilson, née Cracroft. The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography says Wilson “conducted himself as a selfconscious …

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Kiteroa Place – Kiteroa means: the long view. First appears in street directories in 1995.A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can really add to it. I could tell that it was a newer street as there was a footpath on only one side of the road. There are …

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Pentre Terrace and this street isn’t on the library website yet the QV had at least three houses built in the 1970s. Not many houses here and most are set well off the road with large sections. A couple of rebuilds and one empty section where it is obvious that the house has been demolished. …

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Welles Street – Marton Street and Belfast Street. Re-named Welles Street. Named because of the well once there. Martin Street (note spelling) appears on an 1879 map. The Marton Street well is referred to in the Star in 1895. Marton Street first appears in street directories in 1900. Re-named Belfast Street in 1911. Re-named Welles …

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Southwark Street – Formerly George Street. Named after George Allen (1805- 1871). Re-named Southwark Street. Named after the bishopric of Southwark. Allen was a market gardener, carrier and proprietor of the New Zealander Hotel. He left £20 in his will to the City Council to form George Street. The balance was to be paid on …

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Quill Lane – Named in 1978. First appears in street directories in 1981.A small amount of information from the library website for a street that I wasn’t aware existed. Found a huge amount of information on Papers Past. I googled Quill Lane and Quakestudies had information from archaeological report after the earthquakes about a company …

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Mortimer Place – A blind alley laid out in 1873. At a city council meeting held on 5 April 1880 councillors were told that Mortimer Place has been “channelled, formed and shingled”. First appears in street directories in 1885. A small amount of information from the library website. The earliest information I could find on …

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