Author Archives: lytteltonwitch

Helmores Lane in Merivale – formerly Helmores Road. Named after Joseph Cornish Helmore (1832- 1920). Helmore, a solicitor, arrived in Canterbury in 1862 and built his house Millbrook (now at 59 Rhodes Street) on a 50 acre block. He also constructed a road through his land which later became Harper Avenue. He built the bridge …

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Penwood Street in Russley and it wasn’t on the library website which surprised me as most houses were built in the 1960s. A small amount of information on Papers Past. It was a development by Paramount Homes and they were selling sections in 1961 and 1967. Russley School is behind this street and on the …

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Gray Way Road in Russley and the street is too new for library website. Another street in the Karamu subdivision that is a Ngai Tahu development. The street is named after a racehorse called Gray Way. Houses all built between 2019 and 2022 and again I was reminded of the Pete Seeger song Little Boxes.

Manakura Street in Russley and the street is too new for library website. Another street where real estate agents describe as being in Avonhead. Manakura means leader. The street is part of the Karamu subdivision that is a Ngai Tahu development. The houses are all built between 2019 and 2022. There are still houses being …

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Horoeka Street in Russley and the street is too new for library website. I was amused that real estate agents put the street in Avonhead. The street is in the Karamu subdivision which was a Ngai Tahu development. Horoeka is a type of lancewood. All the houses were built between 2019 and 2022 and I …

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Kinleys Lane in St Albans – First appears in street directories in 1966. A tiny amount of information from the library website. There was only two entries on Papers Past and it was spelt Kinley’s Lane. One entry was for a sale of a property in 1974. The other entry was an ad for Kinley …

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Albany Street in St Albans – Named after the dukedom of Albany The dukedom of Albany is a peerage title occasionally bestowed on the younger sons in the Scottish, and later, British royal family. First mentioned in The Press in 1908 in an advertisement. First appears in street directories in 1909. A small amount of …

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Harold Denton Place in St Albans – Named after Harold Ernest Denton (1893?- 1975). Denton was a city councillor 1938-1944, 1956-1959 and 1962- 1968. Formed in 1972 and contains city council housing for pensioners. First appears in street directories in 1974. A small amount of information from the library website and not a lot that …

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Abberley Crescent in St Albans – formerly Abberley Road. Named after Abberley in Worcestershire, England.Thomas James Maling (1836-1922), an importer and merchant, built his home on this land in 1863, naming it Abberley. He was the only son of Admiral Maling of Abberley, Worcestershire. Abberley Road is referred to as the “new Abberley Road” in …

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Paikea Place in Somerfield – Named in 1966. First appears in street directories in 1970. Information on date of naming in a letter sent to the City Librarian from the Town Clerk dated 13 December 1966. A small amount of information from the library website and Paikea is the Maori word for the Southern Humpback …

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