Author Archives: lytteltonwitch

Keswick St in Woolston – Named after William Keswick (1835-1912). Keswick was a China based businessman and a British politician. He established a branch of Jardine Matheson & Co. in Japan in 1859. He was a trustee and executor of the will of Sir Harry Smith Parkes (1828- 1885), a diplomat in China who owned …

Continue reading “Keswick Street in the suburb of Woolston, Christchurch”

Judge St in Woolston – First mentioned in The Press in 1909 in a report of a meeting of the Woolston Borough Council. First appears in street directories in 1912. A small amount of information from the library website and I suspect that this street is named after a person. There were at least two …

Continue reading “Judge Street in the suburb of Woolston, Christchurch”

Finlay Place in Woolston – Named after William Duncan Finlay (1871?- 1955). Finlay is listed in early 1940s street directories living at 108 Mackenzie Avenue where this street was later formed. First appears in street directories in 1950. A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the …

Continue reading “Finlay Place in the suburb of Woolston, Christchurch”

Bluebell Lane in Woolston – Named to continue a theme already established in the Brookhaven subdivision. In a subdivision by Enterprise Homes. Named in 1999. A tiny amount of information from the library website and this lane is nowhere near the subdivision which has the rest of the themed street names. It is a tiny …

Continue reading “Bluebell Lane in the suburb of Woolston, Christchurch”

Arthurson Mews in Woolston and nothing on library website about the street. I couldn’t find out the reason for the street name and it sounds like a person’s surname. I checked Ancestry website and cemetery database but couldn’t find anyone with that surname living in Christchurch. The street has been developed at 43 MacKenzie Ave …

Continue reading “Arthurson Mews in the suburb of Woolston, Christchurch”

Ravenna St in Avonhead – Probably named after Ravenna, a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. First appears in street directories in 1966. A tiny amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name of the street. Most houses were built in the 1950s and 1960s. There …

Continue reading “Ravenna Street in the suburb of Avonhead, Christchurch”

Rosedale Place in Avonhead – nothing on library website which was surprising as the houses were built in 1960s and 1970s. I couldn’t find out how the street got it’s name. Papers Past mostly had ads for the sale of houses and sections. The sections were for sale between 1967 and 1969 and usually described …

Continue reading “Rosedale Place in the suburb of Avonhead, Christchurch”

Conway St in Somerfeld – Named after Conway Lucas Rose (1817-1910).Rose and his family arrived on the Midlothian in 1851. He purchased Rural Section 76, 700 acres on the “Lower Lincoln Road, Heathcote Bridge” in partnership with Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer (1798-1857). He served as a magistrate for the Province of Canterbury in 1853. …

Continue reading “Conway Street in the suburb of Somerfield, Christchurch”

Deloraine St in Somerfield – Named on 29 March 1956. [An earlier name tentatively approved but not pursued was Delamain Street.] A tiny amount of information from the library website. There is a street in Yaldhurst with the name Delamain and the Delamain family lived in Yaldhurst. The only Deloraine that I could find was …

Continue reading “Deloraine Street in the suburb of Somerfield, Christchurch”

Strauss Place in Somerfield – Part of Frankleigh Street. Probably named after the Strauss family. The Strauss family was an Austrian family renowned for its musical compositions. First appears in street directories in 1987. A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name of the street. …

Continue reading “Strauss Place in the suburb of Somerfield, Christchurch”