Brenchley Ave in Strowan – Named after Brenchley Farm in Lyttelton. Samuel Rollin Webb (1848-1933), a mayor of Lyttelton, at one time owned Brenchley Farm. He retired to 51 Normans Road. Named in 1928. First appears in street directories in 1929.A small amount of information from the library website. There is also a Brenchley Rd in Lyttelton. I am not sure that Samuel Rollin Webb actually owned Brenchley Farm but he certainly lived there. Brenchley Farm was at least 4 properties known as Brenchley Farm and was leasehold land. Samuel Rollin Webb’s father leased part of Brenchley Farm but possibly purchased it eventually under the lease agreement. His son Samuel was living on the property after his father died. The street was named in 1928 and it was the straight stretch of College Ave and Urunga Ave. The council felt that because of the confusion about where Urunga Ave stopped and College Ave began that it was easier to make it a separate street. Not a lot of information on Papers Past apart from birth, death and marriage notices. The street also featured frequently in the various best street, best garden and most beautiful street competitions. Many of the houses here were built in the 1920s and are lovely wooden villas. There is one modern place on the corner of Brenchley Ave and Watford St and it is extremely ugly. I checked street view from a few years ago and there was a lovely 1920s villa on the site. I walked this street over a week ago while geocaching in the area but making the most of a horrible wet day today to catch up on my street project.

Gould Crescent in Woolston – Named after George Gould (1823-1889). Gould was an agent for owners and occupiers of sheep stations, an exporter of wheat and wool from Canterbury, and a director of the New Zealand Shipping Company. He was a shareholder in the Christchurch conveyance Company which ran the lighters Fanny and Fancy between Lyttelton and the Heathcote River in 1852- 1853. One of three streets in close proximity named in 1986 to give a maritime theme to the area. Formed because of the Woolston Cut flood relief development. A small amount of information from the library website but it doesn’t mention that Gould Crescent was formed from part of Bamford St and Long St. The ships were also Fanny and Fairy. I checked various maps and both Bamford St and Long St were cut in by the Woolston Cut. Gould Crescent was formed from the part of both streets that ran between the cut and Ferry Rd. There are at least two houses from 1905 on this street and one from 1880. Most houses on this street were built in 1940s and 1960s. Bamford School on this street was on the Bamford St part of Gould Crescent. This school has been totally rebuilt. The Woolston Cut wasn’t done until 1980s but they were talking about it as early as 1946. At that stage they said it would involve demolishing 13 houses. George Gould died 30th March 1889 aged 66 and he had been ill for about 6 weeks with an abscess on his liver. His residence was called Hambleden and this was named after his birth place in England. His obituary said that he built the first wooden house in Christchurch on Armagh St near Colombo St. Came to Christchurch with his first wife Hannah and she died in 1860 aged 38. His second wife died in April in 1867 aged 38. I believe Hannah and Elizabeth were sisters. He married a third time but I am not sure what her name was as the various family trees have several different names for the third wife. I don’t know what happened to the third wife and George Gould is buried with his first two wives. His son was also George Gould and he was also possibly a shareholder of the NZ Shipping Company. I walked this street today after finding a cache nearby. A mixture of different styles of houses and most are in good condition. One of the houses that I quite liked is from 1905. As usual I preferred the older houses. This one would have been on the Long St part of the Crescent. The other house is opposite the Bamford School. There is a nice walkway along the Heathcote River nearby.

Alport Place in Woolston – formerly part of Dyers Road. Named after Augustus James Alport (1816-1886). Alport was Lyttelton’s auctioneer and a shareholder in the Christchurch Conveyance Company. He became a director of the short-lived Canterbury Steam Navigation Company in 1858. He was also a Canterbury Provincial councillor up until 1861. Formed because of the Woolston Cut flood relief development. One of three streets in close proximity named in 1986 to give a maritime theme to the area.

A small amount of information from the library website. I ended up looking at a map from 1955 to figure out this street as there are many houses dating from 1930s and 940s. Next big number of houses were built in 1980s. When I was walking this street today my first thought was that many of the houses looked like state houses. When checking Papers Past I realised that I was correct. In 1939 it was mentioned that state houses would be built for pensioners. In 1948 there was a letter to the editor about the state houses being well cared for except for one house. The writer wanted the housing dept to do something about this house. When the Woolston Cut was made Dyers Rd was altered and curved around by the roundabout at the Tunnel Rd. The portion of Dyers Rd from Ferry Rd was renamed Alport Place and is now a no exit street and has a barrier at the end where Dyers Rd now is. I checked Ancestry website for information about A J Alport and had already done some research on him in connection with Brenchley Rd in Lyttelton. The various family trees on the Ancestry website are a bit confusing and he possibly married twice but couldn’t find any proof of this. I was a bit confused about the family trees having him born in Canada but married in London. A J Alport was born in Canada as his parents emigrated to Canada but they returned to England and I found a death notice for A J Alport’s father which mentions him as being formerly a merchant in Nova Scotia. A J Alport married Susannah Bishop in Hackney in 1844 but sadly she died in Lyttelton in October 1858. Susannah’s brother was Edward Brenchley Bishop. In 1863 the land belonging to A J Alport including Brenchley Farm was sold at auction as he was returning to Nova Scotia. I found an article from 1930s which said that A J Alport came to Lyttelton from Nova Scotia in the 1850s and left again in 1860s. On account of him having a short leg he was colloquially referred to as bumblefoot. This article was slightly wrong as he came to Lyttelton from England. A J Alport’s brother stayed in NZ and died here in 1886. A J Alport died the same year in Canada. In 1903 a R C Bishop of Christchurch met up with the Alport family in Toronto.

I walked this street today after finding a cache called Below the Cut. Many of the houses have the typical 1940s state house look about them. There are two Art Deco houses here and one has had the windows altered and it looks very odd. Brookhaven Retirement Village has an entrance on this street. There was a car parked blocking the footpath near the end of the street and I think that most people know how much this annoys me. I was amazed when double checking google maps to see the same car parked exactly the same way blocking the footpath.

Steam Wharf Lane in Woolston and there was nothing on the library website. I was surprised that there was nothing on the library website as most houses date from 1990s plus one from 1945. I suspect that the house from 1945 would have been part of a property that had either a Ferry Rd or Dyers Rd address. I didn’t actually walk the street as it just looked like a private driveway and I am never comfortable walking such streets. I was surprised to realise that there were 9 houses here. There was a wharf in this area and in the earlier days it was called Christchurch Quay but it was soon called Steam Wharf Ferry Rd. This was to distinguish it from the Heathcote Steam Wharf. In October 1891 there was an obituary for Edward Watson Tippets and he was the manager of the Steam Wharf until it closed. All employees were transferred to work at the Christchurch Railway Station. Edward Tippet was born in Walbrook, London and came to New Zealand in June 1851 on the Steadfast. He sold his house on Stanmore Rd in 1878 and then lived in hotels. This was very common those days. It doesn’t look like he ever married and is buried in Linwood cemetery. There is a wee walkway nearby that takes you from Alport Place to Dyers Rd and the walkway is called Steam Wharf Stream Reserve. It follows a wee stream obviously called Steam Wharf Stream.

Edited to say that the house dating from 1945 would have been on the part of Dyers Rd that is now Alport Place.

Peel St in Strowan – Named after Peel, the third largest town on the Isle of Man. Formed when the western portion of the Strowan Park Estate was subdivided in 1911. The developer may have had some connection with the Isle of Man as other streets in the vicinity are named after towns on the Isle of Man. A small amount of information from the library website. Not a lot of information on Papers Past. A few death notices and garden competition entries. In 1917 F Smith was selling a section on the street and in 1918 Mr J Ferguson was selling two sections. This tree lined street had some lovely houses with several dating from 1920. This street bisects St Andrews Square.

Searells Ave – Named after Thomas Searell (1811-1891). Searell, a miller, bought the Carlton Mill in 1865 and eight acres of land north of Normans Road in 1871 which he later subdivided and sold. In 1884 he and his family were living at Kilmore Street East. First appears in street directories in 1890.A small amount of information from the library website and it is slightly incorrect. They have muddled up a father and son and I don’t know which one subdivided the land but was possibly the son. I searched both Papers Past and the Ancestry website and it wasn’t helped by both of them going bankrupt. In 1867 Thomas Searell senior was bankrupt in 1867 and in the same year Avon Mill and dwelling was up for sale and lease still had 7 years to run. He was in Carlton Mill in 1870 and 1873 but in Cust by 1880 and still a miller. He was living in Hacketts Rd that was off Blighs Rd when he died in 1891. His son Thomas went bankrupt in 1881 and he was an architect. In 1881 a Thomas Searell sold 34 building sections off Normans Rd and because the son was bankrupt in 1881 my best guess that he was the one selling off the land. Thomas Searell the father was in Cust by this time. It was the son Thomas Searell who was living on Kilmore St in 1884 as there was a birth notice for Thomas and his wife Emily. Later that year they were living in Auckland where sadly their baby died. They eventually moved to Tasmania where Emily died. Thomas Searell the architect died in Christchurch in 1938. Have I confused you enough yet.On Papers Past I couldn’t find any entries under the name Searells Ave but lots of entries under Searells Road up to 1961 so I don’t know when the street name was changed to Searells Ave. In 1893 there was a petition from residents wanting the road to be formed. Lots of birth and death notices plus best garden entries. The year 1919 saw lots of complaints about a pig breeding farm on the street. There were complaints about potholes in 1929. This street runs off Normans Rd and there are houses from every decade but most built in 1920s or 1970s. The style of houses varied from loved wooden villas to ugly toilet style houses. There was a gorgeous 1920s cottage with a fantastic garden but just a few houses away was another 1920s house which was in an unbelievable state of dilapidation. Weird thing was that the letterbox looked brand new. Another house obviously didn’t want visitors to get lost as their house number was huge.

Urunga Ave in Strowan- Formerly Hancocks Road. Named after Thomas Hancock (1813?-1898). Re-named Urunga Road. Named after Urunga, the house at 51 Normans Road owned by Samuel Rollin Webb (1848- 1933). Urunga means: a place of Peace. Hancocks Road first appears in street directories in 1903. Hancock was a grocer, soap manufacturer and brewer. He bought land in Normans Road in 1879. After his death, his daughters, Julia (1854-1934) and Emily Clara (1857?-1937), stayed on in the family home in Hancocks Road until 1927.Re-named Urunga Avenue in 1927. It is described as “a new road known as Urunga Avenue” in The Press in 1927. It was formed by Samuel Webb. Webb was a mayor of Lyttelton who moved to 51 Normans Road in 1913. A small amount of information from the library website and I can’t find any evidence that there was a Hancock’s Rd. I checked maps for 1912 and 1929 and also Papers Past. On Papers Past there was an ad in 1926 for Hancock’s Rd off Normans Rd. If it was named Hancock’s Rd it can’t have been for very long and wasn’t an official name. Thomas Hancock’s residence in electoral rolls was Norman’s Lane until 1890 when he was living on Normans Rd. His daughters on the electoral rolls have Normans Rd as an address until 1928 when they both used Hancock’s Lane. Julia and Emily Clara Hancock were both living at 56 Bellvue Rd when they died. Papers Past in 1927 had entries about sections being sold at auction and it was described as a new road known as Urunga Ave. Other ads describe the street as a new beautiful formed road. The street was in a subdivision called Normanston subdivision. In January of 1927 there were ads for the tender for the road formation on behalf of S R Webb. In 1933 there were sections on St Andrews Terrace and Urunga Ave available due to the winding up of an estate. The year 1938 saw a few state houses built on the street. Between the years 1930s to 1960s the street featured in the best street and gardens competitions and it came second in 1961 in the best street competition. In 1934 Royston preparatory school and kindergarten was mentioned and it was at 25 Urunga Ave and this is the only time it is mentioned. Walnut trees must have been common in this area as in 1959 some residents complained about the walnut trees and wanted them removed. I didn’t see any walnut trees so they must have succeeded in getting them removed. Samuel Rollin Webb lived at 51 Normans Rd and google maps show that there is still a house there but I need to go back and confirm that it is standing as it is google maps from 2019. Samuel Rollin came to NZ with his parents on the ship Regina in 1859. His obituary said his parents came out with 11 children but the shipping records show 7 children. The street has a couple of houses from every decade from 1920 to 2020 except for 1930s where there are 6 houses. There are some lovely houses on this tree lined street but spoiled by the ugly modern houses. It did look like a pleasant street to live on.

Watford St in Strowan – Formerly Nursery Road. Named because it was developed on the site of nurseries. Re-named Watford Street. Named because both parents of a prominent resident there had been born at Watford, just outside London. [These people have not been identified.]One nursery was run by John Joyce (1850?- 1928). He died at his property at 92 Blighs Road. Another nursery nearby was that of John Greenaway (1831-1880) who owned Hawthorne Nursery on 5 acres (2 hectares). Hawthorne Street was developed there. Nursery Road first appears in street directories in 1894. In 1921, at a meeting of the Waimairi County Council, R. W. Hawke moved that the street be re-named Watford Street because of duplication of the name.

A reasonable amount of information from the library website. Papers Past had many entries and in 1895 there is mention of Nursery in Papanui being formed. It is also mentioned that unemployed men on relief fund worked on the forming of the road. The road was shingled in 1904. Mrs Margaret Calder had a registered home on this street and there was the death of a child from natural causes in 1906. This was a home for illegitimate children. In 1928 unemployed relief workers were used to do work on this street. In 1931 Waimari tennis club opened their new courts on this street and it is still there. In the 1940s the street is mentioned as being an entry in the Papanui Beautifying Association competitions. There was a home for disabled servicemen on Papanui Rd called Rannerdale and in 1958 it was converted to 5 self contained flats with a right of way to Watford St. In 1911 there was a golden wedding celebration for Alfred and Jane Clark and the article mentions that they were both from Watford. Jane died in 1919 aged 80 and Alfred died in 1922 aged 81. They came to New Zealand in 1875 on the ship Blairgowie. This street runs from Normans Rd to Blighs Rd. Houses here date from 1905 to 2018 with a large number built in the 1920s. The older houses here are lovely wooden villas and there is one art deco house. Some of the newer houses are so ugly but the street looked like it would be a pleasant street to live on. I had a brief chat with a local woman about the noise of sirens with being so close to Papanui Rd as a police car sped down Blighs Rd. As I am writing this I can hear sirens on Moorhouse Ave and you get used to the noise.

Walnut Ave in Strowan – Formerly St Andrew’s Terrace. Named because of its proximity to St Andrews College. Re-named Walnut Avenue. Named after the walnut tree once on the corner of the street. St Andrews Terrace is first mentioned in The Press in 1924 where it is referred to as a street “known as St Andrew’s Terrace, off Norman’s Road and off Hawthorne Road, Papanui”. Re-named Walnut Avenue on 24 May 1926 when 21 streets were renamed. [Ten ratepayers objected to the name change, suggesting Raneleigh Terrace. Another eleven suggested Mountview Terrace.] First appears in street directories in 1947.

A small amount of information from library website and the part that refers to a street known as St Andrew’s Terrace off Norman’s Rd and off Hawthorne Rd, Papanui doesn’t actually refer to this street and the library website is incorrect. It was difficult to get information about this street as there was another St Andrews Terrace now known as Hartley Ave. This is the street that runs from Normans Rd to Hawthorne Rd. It was strange that they gave the name of St Andrews Tce to the street now known as Walnut Ave as there was another St Andrews Tce nearby. Papers Past mostly had entries for Walnut Ave in Ashburton. The main entries I found were for Papanui Garden Competitions plus sections for sale in 1925. In 1924 land belonging to Mr E T Forbes was subdivided and it is possible that this street was part of this subdivision as it mentions new street known as St Andrew Terrace but it possibly also refers to the other St Andrews Terrace. Ernest Forbes lived at 5 Normans Rd in 1938 and was a farmer. In 1949 he lived at 14 Alpha Ave and was a milkman. I sidetracked slightly here as Ernest Thomas Forbes was born in Lyttelton and was married in 1897 in Lyttelton. Ernest died in 1965 and his wife Leah died in 1942. I couldn’t find any children for them. The street runs off Hawthorne Rd where numbers 45 and 47 would have been. Most houses on this street were built in 1940s with a few built later than that. I liked the one that had a large turret but the rest were fairly boring but nice gardens. Google maps amused me as they had a church here but there isn’t a church as they have got confused with Walnut Ave in Ashburton. I walked this street yesterday and was happy to find a geocache on this street.

Lansbury Ave in Strowan – Named after George Lansbury (1859- 1940). Lansbury was a British Labour politician, socialist, Christian pacifist and newspaper editor. He was leader of the British Labour Party 1931-1935. A Papanui war memorial street. First mentioned in The Press in 1941. First appears in street directories in 1943.A small amount of information from the library information. Another war memorial street and check out the NZhistory website for more information. There is a war memorial plaque at the entrance to the street. This street seems to have been formed where 21 to 27 Hawthorne St would have been. On Paper Past there was a new house for sale in 1941. A few death notices but there were many entries in 1940s and 1950s for winning prizes in various best gardens and most beautiful street competitions. In 1960 the street was extended and 11 sections available. Found ads mentioning that the sections were part of the Stirling Vinery and one gave a map showing the sections. Stirling Vinery was at 128 Blighs Rd and extended to Lansbury Ave. The glasshouses from the vinery were also for sale. There are a few houses from 1940s but most date from 1960s and 1980s. I walked this street yesterday while I was geocaching in the area. Personally I found the street boring but some of the gardens were nice. Surprisingly for me but a modern looking house took my eye and I liked it. I was also surprised that the QV website gave a date of 1940 for this house. It is either a rebuilt or been altered a lot since the original build. There is a bridge over the railway line on this street as well.