McCarthy Street in Hoon Hay – Named after Thaddeus Pearcey McCarthy (1907- 2001) McCarthy was a lawyer and judge. In a 145-acre housing subdivision planned by the housing division of

the Ministry of Works. The land was purchased from the Church Property Trustees and the Loughnan estate. In 1968 the street names sub-committee of the council felt that as Halswell was named after a prominent English Queen’s Counsel it would be appropriate to record the names of judges in street names there. Many of them had been QCs or KCs before appointment to the Bench.

A reasonable amount of information on the library website. Interesting that these streets were formed on land known as Loughnan estate and the names of men in the legal profession were chosen to be the street names as there were at least 2 or 3 generations of lawyers in the Loughnan family. I couldn’t find any information about the street in Papers Past. Most houses here were built in 1970s with a couple built post earthquake. There is one house dating from 1920 that is on a huge section of land. It is possibly the original house for the Loughnan land but was unable to find information about it with a quick look on google.

The street starts at Rowley Ave where there is the McCarthy St Shops. There are only two shops here that I remember from when I lived in the area and they are the wee supermarket and the fish and chip. There used to be a chemist, haberdashery shop, Post Office and possibly a bookshop. I used to occasionally work at the Post Office when I was on the relief team. The shops are very colourful now with street art.

Many of the houses still have a state house look about them especially the ones opposite the shops. The Plunket Rooms look smaller than I remember and I thought that the entry to the building was actually on Mathers Rd but the entry is from McCarthy St now. My youngest child has just turned 40 so it was a long time ago and my memory could be wrong. The houses this end have some lovely gardens. Right at the end of the street is two big sections and you can’t see the houses and one is the one from 1920. There is also a walkway through to Hoon Hay Park which I didn’t realise existed. It actually looks like a pleasant street.

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Waters Street in Hoon Hay -First appears in street directories in 1957.

A tiny amount of information from the library website. Very little information on Papers Past. Just a few entries in 1950s and they were mostly about ballots for crown land sections. There was mention of sealing of the street in 1955 and the street being in the newly amalgamated area. Most the houses here were built in the 1950s with a couple built in 1970s and 1990s. As most of the other streets in the area are named after judges and lawyers I suspect that this street is also named after a lawyer. I found a lawyer Charles Lawrence Waters who in 1989 was reappointed to the Canterbury Law Society Disciplinary Tribunal and he is described as retired. The cemetery database has his occupation as Director of Social Welfare and he died in February 1998.

The street runs from Mathers Rd to Cedar St and it is near Hoon Hay Park. Most houses are brick houses but a few are wooden. There wasn’t really anything outstanding in the street that jumped out at me.

Corgwyn Ave in Halswell – First appears in street directories in 1993.

A tiny amount of information from the library website.

Only 14 properties here and most built in 1990s and 2000s but two were built in 1970 and one built in 1960 so I was surprised that it was only named in 1993. A good look at google maps answered this as it looks like the street was developed at 867 to 873 Cashmere Rd. I was also surprised that it is an Avenue as it doesn’t seem to fit the rules for an Avenue especially as it is more like a place being a no exit street. This street had no footpaths so I had to walk on the road but luckily it isn’t a busy road. The houses here were large and modern and expensive. None that I could see had flowers or gardens and just had lots of lawns. At the end of the street there was a huge section with a very long driveway. The house looked huge and very definitely beyond my budget.

Interesting name for the street as it is either the plural for corgi or the word for Welsh corgis.

Somerton Rise in Westmorland and nothing on library website for this street. This surprised me as most the houses were built in the 1990s. Somerton is a place in Somerset not too far from Glastonbury. The house called Highcrest is on the corner of this street and Highcrest Heights and I suspect that the names relate to the developer of these streets. The names don’t have any connection to the Lake district like many of the other names in this area. Some really nice houses here including an art deco style that was built in 1990. I chatted with a man who lived in this street and I got the impression that the house called Highcrest was the first house in the development. The man I chatted with said that when he was building his house they found moa bones on the property. I might have liked the houses here but they were well above my budget. Great views

Highcrest Heights in Westmorland and there wasn’t anything on the library website. I was surprised as many of the houses were built in 1990s but most were built in 2000s. I searched to find a reason for the name but couldn’t find a place name in the UK. The name is probably from the street being on a hill. There is a house on the corner of Highcrest Heights and Somerton Rise called Highcrest and I suspect that this house belonged to the original developer of the streets.

Several of the houses were built in what I always think of as Mediterranean style. The houses here were large with lovely gardens but well above my budget. I don’t normally like modern houses but I did like many of the houses on this street. There is also a reserve with a playground and guess where I was geocaching. One of the locals told me that they found moa bones when the area was being developed. There was one idiot who was so badly parked that they were blocking part of the street.

Chaloner Lane in Westmorland – Probably named after Sir Thomas Chaloner (1521- 1565). Chaloner was an English statesman and poet. The name Chaloner Place was approved in 1995 for a legal road cul de sac. The application was never completed and the proposed cul de sac became a private right of way. These are always suffixed with “Lane”. Becomes Chaloner Lane in 2001.

A small amount of information from the library website. I did find someone with the surname Chaloner living in Sydenham in 1890 but they didn’t have any connection to this part of Christchurch. There weren’t any family trees for this surname with a NZ connection. I also couldn’t find a place name in the lake district. I half expected to find some sort of connection to the lake district because of the theme of many of the other streets in the area. Personally I would like it to have been named after William Chaloner a con artist from the 1600s. I had been geocaching nearby and I didn’t actually walk this private lane. It looked like a driveway to just one house but there are apparently 6 houses here. Google vehicle must have driven down the lane as there is street view on google maps and the houses look rather large and they mostly date from 2000.

Ennerdale Row in Westmorland- Named after Ennerdale Water, one of the smaller lakes in the Lake District of northern England. Named to continue the theme in the subdivision of naming streets after places in historic Westmorland in England, since 1974 part of Cumbria. Formed post-1997.

A small amount of information from the library website. Most the houses here were built in 2000 and they have great views. A variety of styles and are mostly quite nice. The houses are fairly large with nice gardens. The street runs off Highcrest Heights and I was geocaching nearby. I have actually stayed at the YHA at Ennerdale Water and it is rather off the beaten track.

Viscount Place in the red zone in Burwood – Named after the Viscount, a type of aeroplane. The name continues the aviation theme of street names in the area. First appears in street directories in 1972.

A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name. Looking at street view from 2007 the houses looked typical 1970s style. There was a house on the corner of Viscount Place and Kingsford St that had a lovely garden. I liked the house as well but it has obviously been demolished along with the rest of the houses.

Tasman Place in the red zone in Burwood – The name commemorates the first trans Tasman flight from Sydney to Christchurch on 10 September 1928. Continues the aviation theme of street names in the area. First appears in street directories in 1968.

A small amount of information from the library website and I can’t add anything more about the name. Looking at street view from 2007 the houses look like typical 1960s houses and none were particularly outstanding. This street is different as there is still a house that is occupied but the rest have been demolished. I am not sure what facilities they have in their house and I personally wouldn’t feel safe as there are too many idiots roaming the red zone at night. This person has a Lyttelton connection and knows half my family.

Edited as there have been two articles in the Press in January 2024 about the person who was living in this street. Sadly the headline was lonely death in the red zone as her body was found weeks after she had died. I had met her at least twice and the first time was when I was geocaching in the area.

Moncrieff Place in the red zone in Burwood – Named after Lieutenant John Robert Moncrieff. Moncrieff and Captain George Hood went missing on 10 January 1928 during the first attempt to cross the Tasman Sea by air in a Ryan Brougham aircraft. Continues the aviation theme of street names in the area. Named in 2004.

A small amount of information from the library website. John Robert Moncrieff was born in Lerwick, Shetland Islands in 1894 and he trained at Wigram. I am really surprised that Wigram hadn’t already used this name for a street. The plane they were flying they had named Aotearoa. Looking at street view for 2007 the houses are huge and very new looking. There was a walkway through to the Horseshoe Lake Reserve from this street and it looked like a really nice street. Sadly it was the street’s position so close to the reserve that meant the land was subject to liquefaction after the earthquakes. Obviously there are no longer any houses here.