Reaby Street in the Red Zone in Burwwod – Named after William Edgar “Bill” Reaby (1868-1950). Reaby was a market gardener and the father-in-law of Leonard Goodman (1912-1956), who also subdivided his market garden in Queensbury Street. The name of Reaby Road was suggested by Councillor Liggins at a meeting of the Waimairi County Council on 26 October 1932. Reaby Street was named formally on 8 February 1933. First appears in street directories in 1955.

A reasonable amount of information from the library website. I couldn’t find out much information about William Reaby and I checked Papers Past and the ancestry website. He was born in Thanet in Kent but some sources say he was born in Margate. He lived at 154 New Brighton Rd and his son Herbert who was also a market gardener lived at 193 New Brighton Rd. Most the entries on Papers Past are from the 1950s with a couple dated 1961. William died in 1950 and sections were available in the early 1950s so I am assuming that the property was subdivided after his death. There was a surveyor’s report from 1953 which states for the land to be subdivided and to be suitable for housing that it needed to be raised by nearly 4 foot. In 1961 a business called Joinery Services Ltd wanted to change the zoning from residential to industrial so that they could build a factory. It looked like there were about 21 houses here and it looked like a pleasant street with a couple of really interesting houses. Street view from 2012 shows a street with a lot of liquefaction. The google car obviously couldn’t drive the full length of the street because of the state of the street and street view suddenly changes from 2012 to 2007. Real estate ads made much of the reserve being at the end of the street but it was this end that had the most damage. It actually looked like it would have been a nice street to live on but it is now a waste land.

Ulm Place in the Red Zone of Burwood – Named after Charles Thomas Philippe Ulm (1897-1934). Ulm was an Australian aviator who helped pioneer flying in Australia. During the late 1920s he flew with fellow Australian, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. Continues the aviation theme of street names in the area. Named on 21 February 1962. First appears in street directories in 1964. Information on date of naming in a letter sent to the City Librarian from the Town Clerk dated 26 February 1962.

A reasonable amount of information from the library website. Not sure why a suburb that is a long way from the airport or Wigram has aviation themed street names. This street ran off Goodman St and looks like it had about 12 houses on it. At the end of the street there was a walkway through to New Brighton Rd. In the street view from 2012 the houses that were still standing didn’t look too bad from the outside. The houses have now obviously all been demolished. Charles Ulm sounds like an interesting but possibly arrogant person. Huge number of entries about him in Papers Past. As well as flying with Kingsford-Smith he helped to set up Australian National Airway with him. After this airline failed he set up his own airline and is credited with delivering the first official airmail from New Zealand to Australia. He was born in 1898 in Melbourne and died in December 1934 aged 36 when his plane ditched into the sea. They were lost and running out of fuel. There was no life raft on board as he didn’t think that he needed it as his belief was that the plane would float.

Zena Place in the Red Zone of Burwood and there wasn’t any information on the library website. This surprised me as the street obviously had a footpath on both sides of the street and only older streets of this type have footpaths on both sides. I couldn’t find out any information about when the street was developed or how it got it’s name. Street view from 2012 shows about 8 to 10 houses and one was really interesting. The interesting house looked like a concrete igloo and I was really hoping that I could find out about this house. I will have a big list of streets to check out when I visit the library and council to try and find out more information. The rest of the houses had a 1980s look about them. All the houses have now obviously been demolished.

Melody Lane in Burwood Red Zone and nothing about it on the library website. This was a private lane that ran off Zena Place and looks like it had 3 or 4 houses. I was geocaching nearby today and I thought that it was actually Zena Place. It doesn’t show up on google maps but you can see it on street view. I couldn’t find out when the houses had been built or how the street got it’s name. I would need a trip to either the library or the council to find out more information. The houses have obviously now been demolished.

Tankerville Road in Hoon Hay – First mentioned in The Press in 1884 in a report of a meeting of the Spreydon Road Board. Prior to the developing and naming of the road there was an area called Tankerville. First appears in street directories in 1903.A small amount of information from the library website. The name Tankerville came from Lady Olivia Bernard Sparrow whose daughter married Earl of Tankerville. Lady Sparrow owned the land along with her brother. It was also known as Sparrow Farm. In 1882 the land was subdivided and sold. Several entries in Papers Past and drainage issues were mentioned in 1884. A year earlier in 1883 discussion about the forming of roads in Tankerville. Some of the residents in Tankerville were John Mather, James Torrens and F H Steel. In 1909 David Steel one of the founders of Steel Brother died and he lived at 9 Tankerville Rd. In the early 1900s there were many complaints about cattle grazing on the road. In the late 1800s and early 1900s there were only about 12 to 13 houses on this street. The 1950s was a busy time for the street as in 1958 there was mention of a Halswell block of land being taken by Christchurch city and in 1959 discussion about subdividing the land Also approval for Hillmorton High School to be built. It was originally going to be called Hoon Hay High School. Also the spelling of Hillmorton was Hillmorten in most reports. By 1960 the school was being built. In 1959 the newly formed Hoon Hay Club acquired land to build club rooms on. Hillmorton High School is still on Tankerville Road and seems much bigger than when my sons went to the school. The subdivision in 1950s explains why so many of the houses here were built between 1950 and 1970 with a few built in 1940s. The oldest house is dated from 1890 but it isn’t very impressive. There are some lovely houses from 1910 and 1915. There is an early learning centre and the Hoon Hay Club is no longer operating. In my banking days we often used to drink at the Hoon Hay Club but sadly the finances of the club were mismanaged and it eventually closed. The building is still there and part of the building is owned by a trust for disabled children and is called the Chris Ruth Centre. Chris Ruth was a handicapped boy who died young and his father is a local judge. I am related to this family and we all grew up in Lyttelton. The other part of the original Hoon Hay Club building is leased by a church called Light of All Nations and this church was founded only a few years ago. The neighbours of this church object to it being there because of noise issues. There have been several noise complaints resulting in the police being called out. The church plays loud music and uses loud speakers for sermons often until 2am or even later. The number of articles in the media about issues in this street totally puts me the idea of living here. I remember how terrible parking was on this street during term time and I don’t imagine that has changed. It was OK yesterday as it is school holidays and I was in the area for geocaching.

Anvers Place in Hoon Hay – Named after the Siege of Anvers, a battle in 1914 during the 1st World War. Named because it runs off Mathers Road and is near Fusilier Place. First appears in street directories in 1950. A small amount of information from the library website and there are mistakes in the information. The street doesn’t run off Mathers Rd as it runs off Tankerville Rd. The street also existed before Fusilier Place. The street isn’t on Christchurch map of 1941 but it is on maps from 1950 onwards. There were house for sale in the 1950s. In 1953 there was mention of a recreational reserve and in maps until 1962 the area was surrounded by land and there wasn’t any housing.

Edited to add that I will need to check council records for the naming of this street as it is possible that it wasn’t named after the siege of Anvers but named after Eric and Muriel D’anvers who lived at 34 Tankerville Rd which is exactly where Anvers Place was developed.

Most the houses were built in the 1940s with a few from later decades. There is an extremely rundown property from 1910 and I suspect that this house would originally have had an address on Tankerville Rd and Anvers Place developed on this property. This house is overrun with junk and going by google maps it has been like this for several years. I found a siege of Anvers from the year 1792 and it took a while to figure out a siege of Anvers for 1914. The 1914 siege of Anvers is also called the siege of Antwerp. At 16 Anvers Place there is a nursing home called Hoon Hay House and it looks like it is mostly for dementia care. There was an article in the Press in 2017 and there were complaints about the behaviour of mentally ill people who lived at Hoon Hay House. It is possible that the status of Hoon Hay House has changed from social housing to residential care. At first I thought that this home was where the Hoon Hay Club used to be but searching Papers Past I found that there was a furniture factory on this site. I don’t know when the furniture factory closed and the rest home took over the site. I used to live in Hoon Hay and I just can’t remember the factory. Apart from the run down house nothing really stood out for me but did like the tree hut in a property.

Chokebore Place in Sockburn and I was very surprised that there wasn’t anything on the library website for this street. The street runs off Racecourse Rd beside Chokebore Lodge so the name is fairly obvious. Chokebore Lodge was built in 1856 and has connections to the racing industry. The Lodge is fenced off at the moment and hopefully this means that it is being restored. There are only 13 houses on this street and they were built in 1980s and 1990s. One house has been built in an older style and I liked it. I ended up walking this street twice as I got a bit confused. I walked it a few days ago when getting clues for a multi geocache and I ended up in a green space behind the houses. There was a little bridge across a stream. When double checking google maps it didn’t show an entrance to a green space so I walked it again today. There wasn’t an entrance to a green space but there was a gate across an empty section. I must have accidently walked onto the empty section but it honestly looked like a small reserve and someone had left a lime scooter there as well.

Cheyenne Street in Sockburn – formerly Cheyenne Place. Named after Cheyenne, a racehorse. Cheyenne was a racehorse that won the Winter Cup in 1958 and 1960. Named because it is near the Riccarton Racecourse. Cheyenne Place first appears in street directories in 1968. Becomes Cheyenne Street in 1970. A small amount of information from the library website and not a lot that I can add to it. Very little information online about this horse. The street runs from Carbine Place to Bucknell St and the houses were mostly built in the 1960s to 1980s with about 5 built in 1990s. I suspect that the street was extended in the late 1970s but couldn’t find a map online to prove this. Some nice gardens on this street and there was one house that I liked that was an older style but it was actually built in the 1970s. I was amused by the house that had a fake gravestone saying RIP sitting in the window. Note I am the person who frequently drives around with a skeleton in the passenger seat. I didn’t recognise any of the houses but I was quite sure that I used to know someone who lived on this street.

Carbine Place in Sockburn – Named after Carbine, a racehorse. Named thus because it is near the Riccarton Racecourse. First appears in street directories in 1966.A small amount of information from the library website. There is a wikipedia page about the horse Carbine if you wish to know more about this horse. Apparently Carbine’s skeleton was donated to Melbourne Museum but is now at the Australian Racing Museum. Carbine’s head and tail are apparently at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. This street runs off Racecourse Rd and most houses were built in the 1960s. Looked like a pleasant street but there was a row of power pylons behind the houses.

Mason Place in Sockburn -Named after Richard John Mason (1853- 1932). Mason was a horse trainer especially known for training Gloaming. First appears in street directories in 1970.Information supplied by Bob Pritchard, subdivisions officer, Christchurch CityCouncil.

A small amount of information from the library website. Richard Mason was born in Wellington in 1853 and he died in May 1932. There were many entries in Papers Past and he was called the Wizard of New Zealand Racing. The obituaries and tributes all pointed out that he died a couple of weeks after the horse Gloaming died. The owner of Gloaming died a couple of months later in the same year. There are at least two online blogs about Richard Mason if you wish to know more about him. This street runs off Cheyenne St and most houses were built in 1960s. This street didn’t really stand out for me but seemed pleasant enough. The person it was named after was more interesting.