Author Archives: lytteltonwitch

Claremont Avenue in Papanui – formerly Wakefield Avenue. Probably named after Claremont House, a large 18th century mansion near Esher in Surrey. Wakefield Avenue first appears in street directories in 1924. Re-named Claremont Avenue on 1 September 1948 when 120 streets were re-named. A Papanui war memorial street. A small amount from the library website. …

Continue reading “Claremont Avenue in the suburb of Papanui, Christchurch”

Norfolk Street in St Albans – Formerly Fisher Street. Named after Robert Fisher Tomes (1856- 1923). Re-named Norfolk Street. Tomes was a son of Thomas Bennett Tomes (1821?-1875). Fisher Street is first mentioned in the Star in 1879 in a report of a meeting of the Sydenham Borough Council. First appears in street directories in …

Continue reading “Norfolk Street in the suburb of St Albans, Christchurch”

I can’t believe that I missed this when I walked Mays Rd a few weeks ago. There was a bridge built here in 1913 that went over Dudley Creek. Dudley Creek is a very long creek that goes through several suburbs. In Christchurch there are lots of creeks running under the city. In the old …

Continue reading “Remains of an Old Bridge in Mays Road in St Albans”

Campana Lane in St Albans – The Riach family owned the Campana Hardy Plan Nursery for eighty years before selling the land to Mike Greer Homes in 2014. Named in 2016. Mike Greer homes development of 6 plots off 84 Tomes Street. A small amount of information from the update library website. It was actually …

Continue reading “Campana Lane in the suburb of St Albans, Christchurch”

Jed Lane in St Albans – A private right-of-way named in 1967. A tiny amount of information from the library website. The updated library website had added that it was possibly named after HMS Jed. There were two ships named HMS Jed and one was in service between 1904 and 1919 and the second one …

Continue reading “Jed Lane in the suburb of St Albans, Christchurch”

Springfield Road in St Albans – Named after the Springfield Estate in Papanui Road. James Wyatt of Bangor, Wales was granted Rural Section 136, 100 acres in Papanui Road and was presumably an absentee landowner. His son, Benjamin, arrived on the Cressy in 1850, aged 22 years. He is described in the Lyttelton Times in …

Continue reading “Springfield Road in the suburb of St Albans, Christchurch”

Rutland Street in St Albans – Formerly Chinaman’s Road. Re-named Churchill Street. Named after the Most Rev. Churchill Julius (1847-1938). Also formerly Church Road. Named because the Anglican diocese owned land in this area. Re-named Rutland Street. Named after John Rutland (1825-1897) Chinaman’s Lane was completed in 1889 and the street naming committee was asked …

Continue reading “Rutland Street in the suburb of St Albans, Christchurch”

Homersham Place in Burnside – First appears in street directories in 1993. Named after Brian Homersham (1915‐1983) and Contance Homersham née Pinwill (1918‐2016) founders of B. R. Homersham Ltd. Additional information In 1975 the Hamershams purchased two hectares of land at 155 Roydvale Avenue to construct a purpose built factory for the business. The company, …

Continue reading “Homersham Place in the suburb of Burnside, Christchurch”

Azara Way in Wigram and too new for the library website. I also couldn’t find it on the council website. The street is probably named after the azara plant / tree. Nothing stood out for me on this street and I didn’t take any photos. They were ordinary looking modern houses with mostly lawns but …

Continue reading “Azara Way in the suburb of Wigram, Christchurch”

Brusio Drive in Wigram and nothing on the library website. Information from the council website – Brusio is a small village in the Swiss Alps in the canton of Graubunden. It is 25 kilometres from the Italian border and the language spoken is Italian or Romanish. The Dellaca family’s ancestors came from this village. I …

Continue reading “Brusio Drive in the suburb of Wigram, Christchurch”