Author Archives: lytteltonwitch

Moorpark Place in Ilam – First appears in street directories in 1968 A tiny amount of information from the library website and I couldn’t find out how the street got it’s name. It is possible that the property on Ilam Road where this street was developed had an orchard with Moorpark apricot trees or they …

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Joseph Harrap Hopkins was baptised on 2nd July 1837 at Kimcote and Walton in Leicestershire. His parents were Thomas and Eliza Hopkins and Eliza’s maiden name was Harrap. They were married on 27th June 1836 at St Margarets Leicester. She was born in July 1813 at Frolesworth to Joseph and Ann Harrap. Joseph Harrap Hopkins …

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Hopkins Street in Woolston – Formerly Halfway Lane and Coronation Street. Named to commemorate the coronation of Edward VII (1841-1910) in 1902. Re-named Hopkins Street. Named after Joseph Harrap or Harrop Hopkins (1837-1910). Halfway Place first appears in street directories in 1894 as a blind street running off Ashbourne Street (later part of Ferry Road). …

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John Harper was born in Norfolk in 1826 and he died on 8th December 1916. His wife Elizabeth died on 7th January 1916 and they are buried in the Woolston Cemetery. There were several brief obituaries but I extended my search to January 1917 and found one with more information. John Harper came to New …

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Dampier Street in Woolston- Formerly Harper Street. Named after Henry John Chitty Harper (1804-1893). Re-named Dampier Street. Named after Christopher Edward Dampier (1801-1871). Harper Street first appears in street directories in 1887. Bishop Harper was the first Anglican Bishop of Christchurch 1856-1889. Dampier Street is first mentioned in The Press in 1909 in a report …

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Silvester Street in Woolston – First mentioned in The Press in 1909 when building sites are advertised for sale there. A tiny amount of information from the library website. I searched Papers Past and Ancestry website for anyone with the surname Silvester and there were several families but most lived out Springston way but the …

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Hobson Street in Woolston – Named after Captain William Hobson (1792- 1842). Hobson was a naval officer and the first Lieutenant Governor of New Zealand. First appears in street directories in 1941. New Zealand had celebrated its centenary in 1940. A small amount of information from the library website and there are at least three …

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Ettrick Lane in Richmond and nothing on the library website. The only reason that I knew is was a separate street was the sign post. I couldn’t find out how the lane got it’s name. There was a family with that surname who lived on Bealey Ave and London Street which are reasonably close to …

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Warwick Street in Richmond – formerly George Street. Named after Warwick, a town in Warwickshire, England. George Street first appears in street directories in 1887. Re-named Warwick Street on 7 March 1904. Among a number of streets re-named in 1904 and given the names of place-names in the United Kingdom A small amount of information …

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Gowerton Place in Richmond – formerly Part of Vogel Street. Named after Gowerton in Wales. Gowerton was the birthplace of George Manning (1887- 1976), the mayor of Christchurch 1958-1968. Every year at Gowerton School a major prizegiving award is given in Sir George’s memory as he attended the school. Named in 1959. A small amount …

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