Dalriada Street in Papanui – Named after Dalriada, a house on the corner of Blighs Road and St James Park Road (later St James Avenue). In 1912 the house was at 19 St James Park Road. Dalriada was the first two storey dwelling built in Papanui. It was built by John Cooke, manager of the New Zealand Loan & Mercantile Company, in the early 1880s. In 1882 his wife gave birth to a son at Dalriada, Papanui. In 1884 Mrs Cooke, Dalriada, Bligh’s Road, Papanui advertises in the Star for “a general servant, competent to undertake plain cooking”. The family moved to Australia in 1889.

For a time the property was let to the 4th Earl of Bantry (1854-1891) and then William Stuart Crichton (1851?-1933). In 1891 the property was sold to David Morrow (1837-1920), an importer of McCormack-Deering farm machinery. The estate was subdivided in 1928 and the house demolished in 1930. Name suggested by the Papanui Progress League in 1932. Officially named by the City Council in 1934 “after the Morrow estate from which the land was secured”. First appears in street directories in 1936.

A huge amount of information from the library website for a tiny street that has only three houses on it. The street runs from St James Ave to Windermere St. Papers Past in 1932 it was mentioned that a new street will be formed and in 1934 it is mentioned that new street to be named Dalraida Street after the name of the Morrow estate. Huge number of entries for John Cooke because of his involvement with the frozen meat trade in New Zealand and Australia. He died in December 1917 aged 66 in Eastbourne UK. His obituary didn’t mention his wife or family and his grave stone only has his name on it. I searched ancestry website with no luck. Several family trees have him on their trees but I am not sure they are correct. He was probably born in Northern Ireland and Dalraida means Gaelic Kingdom and this kingdom covered Western Scotland and North East of Ireland.

The street didn’t stand out for me and personally the best part of the street is the name.

Chepstow Ave in Fendalton – formerly Chepstowe Street. Named after Chepstow, in Monmouthshire, Wales. Formed in 1953 and originally named Chepstowe Street. The “e” was dropped in 1956 and the street became Chepstow Avenue.

A small amount of information from the library website. Found the article from 1956 about the street name change and it didn’t say why the name change but suspect that the council realised that they had spelt it wrong. The only entry in Papers Past under Chepstowe Street was in 1954 where there was an article about state sections and ballots for returned servicemen. Several ads for the sale of houses in 1950s had it spelt Chepstoe Street. Not many mentions in Papers Past for this street.

This street runs off Jeffreys Rd and I had been geocaching in the area. I was surprised at how many modern houses were on this street and some are really ugly. Most houses were built in 1950s but there are houses from every decades up to 2022. So many different styles of houses and I particularly liked the house which had what looked liked a glass turret. It is unusual for me to like a modern house.

I have been to Chepstow in Wales and it is a lovely place.

Verran Place in Fendalton – First appears in street directories in 1955. A tiny amount of information from the library website.

After looking at Papers Past and ancestry website it is highly likely that this street was named after the Verran family. They had an orchard at 23 Jeffreys Rd called Penventon Farm. One of the brothers had a farm at 12 Waiwetu Street. John Moyle Verran died in 1933 but there were at least two sons James and Richard. I thought that the various family trees on the ancestry website had made a mistake as they had John Moyle Verran born in Australia in 1852 but living in Cornwall in 1861. The family trees were correct as the family went to Australia where they had two children before returning to England. John was described as a miner in 1861 census aged 9 years. In 1874 they returned to Australia. By 1890 the family were in Christchurch.

In 1953 there were ads for tender for building a parsonage for St John’s Methodist Church. In 1968 the church built a new parsonage on Jeffreys Rd to replace the old one on Verran Place. In 1955 there were crown land sections available with returned servicemen having preference in the ballots. I was amused by an ad for the sale of a house in 1960 where it was described as being in that exclusive area of Fendalton were every house is different and of exceptional high quality.

Most of the houses were built in 1950s and there was a footpath on both sides of the road. The houses didn’t really stand out for me but one of the houses looks very modern for a house built in 1950. A pleasant street with well established gardens. One house did look a bit rundown.

I was in the area this morning finding a cache in the nearby library

Westlake Drive in Halswell – In the Oaklands subdivision. First appears in street directories in 1991. A tiny amount of information from the library website.

This area of Halswell was built around an artificial lake in Westlake Reserve. Westlake Drive runs past the reserve and most houses were built in 1990s but the houses at Dunbars Rd end were built in 1980s. The more interesting houses are between Dunbars Rd and the reserve. Couldn’t find much information online and this wasn’t helped by a new subdivision in the north of Christchurch also called Oaklands. I walked this street about 10 days ago when I was geocaching in the area. I did like many of the houses here and it would be pleasant being able to walk in the reserve. I can remember when there were very few houses in this area.

Lakeview Place in Halswell – In the Oaklands subdivision. First appears in street directories in 1991. A tiny amount of information on the library website. Reason for the name will be because of being close to Westlake but you can’t actually see the lake from the street. The street runs from Lancewood Drive and there is an entrance to Campion Reserve Playground from this street. The houses were built in 1980s and 1990s and mostly made from brick. Footpath on only one side of the street. None of the houses stood out for me but at least they are all different designs. Looked like a pleasant street.

Hemingford Place in Halswell – First appears in street directories in 1995. A tiny amount of information on the library website.

A pleasant street that runs off Westlake Drive. The footpath was on only one side of the street. The 9 houses were built in 1990s and were all brick houses. I quite liked a couple of the houses and there were some really nice gardens. Couldn’t find a reason for the name of the street and it is either someone’s surname or a place name. There is a place in the UK called Hemingford Grey.

Eskdale Place in Halswell – First appears in street directories in 1995. A tiny amount of information on the library website.

This street runs off Westlake Drive and ends at Campion Reserve Playground. Campion Reserve Playground is at least 3 streets away from Campion Place. I suspect that this street is named after Eskdale in the Lake District in the UK. The houses here were built in 1990s and are all made from brick. None of the houses stood out for me and it was mostly immaculate lawns rather than gardens.

Campion Place in Halswell – First appears in street directories in 1993.

Tiny amount of information from the library and I couldn’t find anything online about the reason for the name. It sounds like it could be a person’s surname. As usual with modern streets of this type there was a footpath on only one side of the street. The houses were all built in the 1990s and they actually looked quite nice. This street runs off Westlake Drive.

Kairua Road in Hornby and this street is too new to be on the library website. This is a Ngai Tahu development and is an industrial subdivision. There are footpaths on both sides of the road which surprised me for a new street. Only one building here and the rest of the sections are for sale. The street curves around like a crescent and runs off Wilmer Rd. The road is named after Hapukuku Kairua who was a leading chief from Kaiapoi in 1860s.

Wilmers Road in Hornby – Wilmer’s Road is first mentioned in the Star in 1898. Teams were engaged in the formation of Wilmers Road in 1933. First appears in street directories in 1960. Streets in Hornby are not listed separately until then.

A small amount of information from the library website. I found the same information on Papers Past. The road was probably named after George Wilmer and Wilmer St in the central city is named after the same person. George lived at his property in the central city but he also owned a rural property where he had his racehorses. Sounds like he was good cricketer. He was born in Sussex in 1817 and married Mary Ann Kidd in 1848. Still in England in 1851 but didn’t find the date of when he came to NZ. In 1958 a new animal home for SPCA was opened on the road and lots of information on Papers Past about the SPCA. In 1940 a property that had been a sheep farm was for sale. In 1970 two blocks of land were for sale and they had crops of lucerne but no buildings. In 1971 a market garden was for sale.

I was geocaching in the area and was surprised to see houses here. There are 12 houses and apart from one dated in the 1960s the rest were built in the last few years. The street runs from Awatea Rd to Springs Rd and Warren Park is on one side of the road. The houses are at Awatea Rd end of the road and then there is a big section being developed for industrial businesses. The Wigram Fire Station is near Springs Rd. Wilmers Road divides into two and you can walk past the fire station but the other part is blocked off as it belongs to Meadow Mushrooms but there is a walkway that leads to a combined walkway / cycleway that takes you to Addington. A few years ago I took a bus to Springs Rd and then walked home to Addington. The SPCA is still on this road. There is water reservoir with an interesting building on the site. I believe that the design on the building is a map of Canterbury.