Crosdale Place in Burnside – Probably named after Agnes Wotherspoon Francis, neé Crosbie, (1851- 1933) and her sister, Jane Blackwood Crosbie (1854?- 1936). The Crosbie sisters, both dressmakers, bought 30 acres in 1894 on the western side of Burnside Road as a small farm in the country. First appears in street directories in 1981.A small amount of information from the library website. It is possibly named after Agnes and Jane but I am personally not sure. In 1896 both sisters were living in Kilmore St and they were still there in 1900. In 1905 both sisters were living in Redcliffs. From 1919 until her death in 1933 Agnes was living at 75 Hawthornden Rd. Jane was also living at the same address until her death in 1936. Agnes’s daughter Ethel had a family connection with Avice Hill through Avice’s husband. The ancestry website gives a bit of information but the family trees were of no help. I found a few articles about the subdivision of the land as the council objected to the subdivision. The council wanted a buffer zone between housing and the airport. In March 1960 Ethel Allen Perry Francis and Avice Hill submitted a scheme for the subdivision of the land that they owned. It was eventually approved. Avice Hill lived in the house on Memorial Ave which is now Avice Hill Arts and Craft Centre.I couldn’t find a marriage record for when Avice married Peter Gunn Francis Hill but his first wife didn’t die until 1947. Agnes Crosby (Crosbie) married Alfred Allen Francis in 1881 but he died in 1883 and Ethel was the only child of that marriage. Alfred Allan Francis was the son of John Perry Gunn Francis. Peter Gunn Francis Hill’s parents were Peter Hill and Sarah Alice Francis. Ethel Francis never married and Peter Gunn Francis Hill’s daughter from his first marriage never married either which is probably why the family trees on the ancestry website are a bit sparse. This street runs from Roydvale Ave to a walkway that leads into Kingham Place. There is one house dating from 1960 and rest date from 1980s. This seems to be similar for the rest of streets in this block. I suspect that the street names were chosen by both Ethel and Avice and have meaning to both of them. Crosdale was possibly a family surname but didn’t find a link when searching and why Crosdale when the surname was either Crosby or Crosbie. I found both spellings when searching. The houses here didn’t stand out for me but the number of trees were amazing. There is a big green strip running down the street with trees covering it. I didn’t manage a photo which is a pity.

Burnside Crescent in Burnside and nothing on library website. I was surprised that there was nothing on the library website as most the houses were built in the 1960s plus a couple built in 1950s. In 1959 three of the houses on this street were homes of the year. There were several ads in 1959 for the subdivision with a map of the area. The ads mentioned children’s playground, parks, new shopping centre, new primary school under construction, close to Burnside High and no government houses nearby. The subdivision was called Sunnyridge and Maurice Carter was involved. Several ads for sections that were for sale and most of the ads said Upper Fendalton. The houses here were typical of the 1960s and many have been modernised. Some looked OK but I didn’t particularly like the street and can’t really give a reason why. Didn’t even take any photos.

Ashcroft Place in Burnside and nothing on library website. I am surprised that there was nothing on the library website as all but one of the houses date from 1960s. The only mention on Papers Past is from 1960 and is about connecting sewer pipes. I couldn’t find any reason for the name Ashcroft. It is a fairly common surname but no one with that surname lived in the area. The street runs from Burnside Crescent and end at the Ashgrove Reserve Playground. Looked like a pleasant street with well established gardens but nothing outstanding apart from a fun letterbox. I was geocaching in the area.

Kingham Place in Avonhead and Burnside and nothing on the library website. I was surprised that there was nothing on the library website as most the houses were from 1980 plus one from 1960. This street runs off Avonhead Rd and half of it looks like a private land. A pleasant looking street with a walkway to Crosdale Place. There was a mock tudor style house on this street. I searched various websites about the name and the best I could find is a village in the Cotswolds. There was a James Kingham buried in Sydenham cemetery but nothing about him on the ancestry website. I checked to see if there was a lavender connection but nothing. Edited to say that there is a connection to Avice Hill and she subdivided this land in 1960s along with Ethel Francis. Avice and Ethel would have chosen the name but I couldn’t find out why.

Lavandula Crescent in Burnside and nothing on the library website. I was surprised that there wasn’t an entry on the library website as the houses here date from 1980 except for one built in 2000. Lavandula means English lavender except it isn’t actually an English plant. This street runs from Crosdale Place and then back to Crosdale Place. This is a very narrow street and not all of it had a footpath. Cars were also parked on the footpath. Some of the houses were nice and there were nice gardens as well. Lots of mature trees which I liked but I didn’t really like the street. There is a walkway through to Memorial Ave.

Edited to say that there is a connection to Avice Hill and she subdivided this land in 1960s along with Ethel Francis.

Hidcote Place in Burnside – Named after Hidcote Manor Garden, located in the village of Hidcote Bartrim, near Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, England. First appears in street directories in 1981.A small amount of information from the library website. Hidcote Manor Garden is lovely and I am sure that I have found a geocache near here. Lovely as Hidcote Manor Garden is I don’t believe that the street is actually named after it. There is an English lavender known as Hidcote lavender and there is the nearby street Lavandula Crescent. This tiny street runs from Crosdale Place to Coringa Reserve, All the houses on this street were built in 1980 apart from one built in 2010. Another street with lovely gardens.

Edited to say that there is a connection to Avice Hill and she subdivided this land in 1960s along with Ethel Francis.

Melissa Place in Burnside and nothing on the library website. It surprised me that there wasn’t an entry on the library website as all the properties here were built in 1980. The street runs off Crosdale Place and ends at a wee reserve Coringa Reserve. When I walked this street yesterday I assumed that it would have been named after a person but I was wrong. It is probably named after a flower called melissa lilac which is a lavender plant. A nearby street is Lavandula Crescent. The gardens here are lovely and it looked like a pleasant street.

Edited to say that there is a connection to Avice Hill and she subdivided this land in 1960s along with Ethel Francis.

Muirhill Street in Halswell and is too new for library website. Because there is already an existing street called Muir Ave plus a Muir Park in Halswell it is highly likely that Muirhill is named after the same person. John Edward Muir was a nurseryman who lived in Halswell. In 1911 and 1919 he was living on Duncan St and then in 1928 he was living at 458 Colombo St and had a business of selling seeds and bedding plants. By 1935 he was living in Halswell and his son John Edward William Muir was also living there with his wife. They were both nurserymen. John Edward Muir died in February 1950 aged 83 and is buried at Sydenham Cemetery with his wife Lily who died in 1947 aged 70.This is a long street that runs from Kennedy’s Bush Rd to Sutherlands Rd. There is a huge amount of building work going on especially at the Sutherlands Rd end. The road is closed at the Sutherlands Rd end because of the building work. Very modern looking houses and some are so ugly with what I call toilet block style.

Hoyle Way in Halswell and it is too new for library website. This is a tiny street with about 4 houses on only one side of the road. On the other is a green space which looks like it will become a reserve. The street runs from Muirhill St to Spalling Rd. I was at Halswell Quarry on Monday to find a geocache and spotted a plaque on a seat. The plaque was dedicated to Lew Hoyle quarry manager from 1938 to 1972 from his wife Marjory and family. Easy to research I thought but no it wasn’t. I eventually figured out that his real name was Harold Edwin Hoyle and Lew was obviously the name he used. The family lived at the quarry in the manager’s house. Lew died in December 1976. In 1940s and 1950s he was a member of the Halswell Domain Board and it sounds like he was very active in the community.

Findlay Ave in Halswell – Named after the original Findlay’s farm which adjoined the Halswell Quarry. George Findlay (1830-1888) was a stonemason and foreman of works for the City Council. In the Quarry View subdivision. The developers submitted street names having a connection with the Halswell Quarry, its location and its product. Named in 2012.A small amount of information from the library website. I have spent ages looking for information about Findlay’s Farm. I have searched Papers Past, ancestry website plus various official document about Halswell Quarry. The only information that I could find about Findlay’s Farm on Papers Past was that motocross racing was held on the farm in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1980 the farm was leased to Quarry Farm Ltd. I haven’t been able to find any details about the owner. George Findlay the stonemason who died in 1888 lived on Madras St from 1868 until his death. There are no records of him ever having lived in the Halswell area and the family tree information on the ancestry website is very limited. I have thoroughly searched the ancestry website to try and find anyone with the Findlay surname having lived in the Halswell area with no luck. Findlay’s Ave runs from Kennedy’s Bush Rd to Muirhill St and it runs parallel to Provincial Rd. There are some big houses here on big sections and looks like it was one of the early streets to be developed as the houses date from 2013.