Burnbrae St in St Martins- formerly Burnbrae Road. Named after Burnbrae, a house in St Martins in the early 20th century In 1903 an advertisement appears wanting a “strong girl to assist with housework” at “Burnbrae, St Martin’s, near new bridge”. Burnbrae Road is first mentioned in The Press in 1910 in the Lost and Found column when a gold bangle is reported lost there. Burnbrae Street is first mentioned in The Press in 1917. First appears in street directories in 1934.A small amount of information from the library website. I didn’t find much information on Papers Past. In March 1917 the street was included in the city for fire protection. In 1930 there was a petition from the residents requesting that the street be included in the Drainage Board area. In 1931 Mr Beasley wanted his house to be connected to the sewer that ran down the middle of the street. Council said not possible unless all the residents in the area were willing to agree to this. The street was tar sealed in 1935. I walked this street on the first day of level 2. I was surprised that this short street had a separate name as I always thought it was part of Tennyson St. It runs from Tennyson St to St Martins Rd. There are only 10 properties and the oldest is from 1930 and the others from 1950 and 1960. The houses looked lovely what I could see but it was hard to see them because of the well established gardens.

Longfellow Street in Sydenham- Named after Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882).Longfellow was an American poet. One of the “poets and writers” streets of Sydenham, Addington and Waltham named by a committee of the Sydenham Borough Council on 19 January 1880. Made a public street from 1 January 1888. First appears in street directories in 1907.A small amount of information from the library website. A lot of entries on Papers Past about the Camelot Settlement which was built on the land that was originally the Police Paddock. The street became a public street in 1887. In 1890 constructing and widening the street was deferred pending negotiations for the widening. Mrs Woolley declined to give land for this purpose. Also an old clay pit would have to be filled in before the widening could happen and this pit was on W B Perceval’s land. Eventually happened as in 1898 the street was gravelled. Several mentions about the stormwater drain as the council wanted a bridge over the drainage. The council also wanted it fenced for safety reasons. There were often clashes between the council and the drainage board. In 1890 there were complaints about the city council dumping rubbish on a vacant section in the street. The Sydenham Borough Council requested that the city council stop doing this but they continued dumping the city’s rubbish here. In 1903 the street was extended to Southampton St and there still is a funny dogleg at this end of the street. From 1907 onwards there was many articles about the workmen’s homes under the Workers Dwelling Act. The settlement was called Camelot Settlement but at the beginning was called Sydenham Settlement. The house at 52 Longfellow St was originally built for the International Exhibition in Hagley Park that was held in 1906. In September 1907 it was dismantled and reassembled in the Camelot Settlement. Google 61A Tennyson St and you will get a lot more information. In 1928 there was a petition from the residents to stop a shop from being built on the corner of Longfellow St and Wembley St. Still several houses here that were the original Workers Dwelling and most are in good condition. There are a huge number of houses / flats from the 1970s and they are the typical style from the 1970s of either summerhill stone or concrete block. The modern houses here are fairly ugly and when I saw who had built them I could see why. Personally I wouldn’t touch one of these modern places as they have been built by developers that I don’t trust. Not showing my bias much. I actually walked this street on the first day of level 2 and the research sometimes takes longer than actually walking the street. A pleasant street and the older houses mostly looked lovely. There is a house from 1890 here and it has been modernised so I didn’t recognise it as being that age. I am getting rather good at guessing the ages of houses from the style of the house.

Tennyson Street in Sydenham – Early informal names were Pipers Lane and Pipers Road. Named after George Piper (1843-1909), who was also known as Whistling Piper. Re-named Tennyson Street. Named after Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809- 1892).George Piper and his brother had a brick kiln east of Colombo Street. Their father Thomas also worked there. The business was made bankrupt in January 1883. Pipers Lane first appears in the Star in 1877 in a report of a meeting of the Heathcote Road Board. George Piper was living in Tennyson Street at the time of his death in 1909. Re-named Tennyson Street. Tennyson was a poet. One of the “poets and writers” streets of Sydenham, Addington and Waltham named by a committee of the Sydenham Borough Council on 19 January 1880. Tennyson Street first appears in street directories in 1894.A reasonable amount of information from the library website. Papers Past had lots of birth and death notices. In the 1870s there were lots of entries about drainage and the drainage board. In 1878 there was talk about the drain being fenced and there was still talk about this matter in 1879. The street is described as having two houses and an old brick kiln on the street. In 1881 the council objected to increasing the size of the drain. In 1894 under the Public Works Act the council intended construction of Tennyson St but the Road Board wanted the council to reconsider as in their opinion the road was just a minor byroad. In 1897 the Christchurch City Rifles held their annual camp on the Police Paddock at the end of Piper’s Lane. Both Piper’s Lane and Tennyson St names were being used. In 1899 there was an application for a reserve of 7 acres fronting Tennyson St was approved. This land was where the Police Paddock was and it was eventually used for housing. Between 1912 and 1916 there were several mentions of Congregational Church raising money. In 1914 many complaints about the drains. In 1918 the council called for tenders for laying stormwater sewers. In 1927 the water mains were laid. In 1916 the occupier of 61 Tennyson St had an ad in the paper about laying mantraps on their premises. This house still exists and was part of the Camelot Settlement Workers Dwellings. I covered the Piper family when I wrote up the Piper Lane that runs off Birdwood Ave. Thoroughly researched this family but they aren’t connected to my mysterious grandmother. This street runs from Colombo St to Eastern Terrace and I walked it on the first day of level 2. There are still some lovely houses along this street and many date from 1920s. There are also many from 1970s and 1980s. There is a small shopping centre at the Colombo St end and the street ends at the bridge over the Heathcote River. I drive this street fairly frequently and it made a change to walk it. This street has a cycleway so I was annoyed to see someone riding on the footpath. I think everyone knows how I feel about this.

Percival Street in Sydenham – Named after Westby Brook Perceval (1854- 1928). Perceval was a lawyer, politician and agent general. He was member of parliament for Christchurch South from 1887. Percival Street is first mentioned in the Star in 1908 when land for sale there is advertised. First appears in street directories in 1910.

A small amount of information from the library website. Not a lot of information on Papers Past. There was another street with the same name in Rangiora also named after Westby Brook Perceval. Mostly death notices plus a builder who lived on the street went bankrupt in 1923.In 1925 there was a notice about duplicate street names and wanting suggestions for street names. There was a Percival St in Woolston and a Perceval St in Papanui .Westby Brook Perceval obituary in June 1928 says that he was born in Launceston in Tasmania in 1854. Educated at Christ’s College and Stoneyhurst College. Was a barrister in Christchurch and then Agent General for New Zealand. He was knighted in 1894.I walked this street on the first day of level 2. The street runs from Tennyson St and curves around to Longfellow St. The houses here range from being built in 1910 to 1990. There is an entrance to the Baptist Church and Archer Rest Home from this street. There is also a housing complex called Lancewood Courts Housing Complex and it was built and opened in 2000. It is described as being for single people with mental unwellness. Some of the older houses are lovely but the newer ones are typical of 1960s and 1970s style. Years ago before I went travelling overseas for 5 years I used to go to a craft group that was held in the church hall.

Severn Street in St Albans- formerly Severn’s Road Named after Joseph Samuel John Severn(1821?-1909).Severn was a baker who lived in Church Road (later Rutland Street).Among a number of streets laid out in 1910 by the owners, the Church Property Trustees, and later dedicated to the council. First appears in street directories in 1912. It was extended to Malvern Street in 1930. [Later developers of streets in the area mistakenly believed the street was named after the Severn River which runs through the city of Worcester, England.]A small amount of information from the library website. I couldn’t find much information on Papers Past. Mostly birth and death notices. In the 1930s there was mention of new properties built by Paynter and Hamilton Ltd. Joseph Severn purchased a block of land on the corner of Durham St and Kilmore St in 1873 and he ran a bakery and general store from this property. He already owned at least three properties in Christchurch which he rented out. In 1884 he had an accident and he broke a leg. He was described as a confused old man. He was born in Surry and he married Susannah Wallis in 1851. I couldn’t find out when he came to New Zealand but they weren’t in the UK census for 1851. John died 6th December 1909 aged 88 and his buried at Linwood. His wife Susannah died 16th January 1916 aged 87. There was only one family tree on the ancestry website and it doesn’t look like they had any children. I walked this street on Saturday morning and as I was walking it I assumed that it was named after the river and was going to write about seeing the Severn Bore. This is a lovely tree lined street and most of the houses here were built in 1910s and 1930s. A few were built in 1990s. Mostly wooden houses with nice gardens.

Aylesford St in Mairehau – Part of Shirley Road (from Hills Road to Westminster Street).Named after Aylesford, a village and civil parish on the River Medway in Kent, England A section of Shirley Road was re-named Aylesford Street on 1 September 1948 when 120 streets were renamed. A small amount of information from the library website. I couldn’t find out much more information as trying to figure out which part of Shirley Rd became Aylesford St was a bit difficult. Aylesford St went off at such an angle from Shirley Rd that it was difficult to think that it was part of Shirley Rd. Found a map from 1929 and it made much more sense. The corner of Hills Rd, Warrington St and Shirley has been straightened out since the earlier days. Dudley Creek runs through this intersection but these days it is underground but in the map of 1929 there is a bridge on this corner. The bridge is mentioned in Papers Past. The same map from 1929 shows houses on only one side of the street numbered from 1 to 103. On the other side there is 4 bigger sections of rural land. I was geocaching along this street on Saturday morning. The oldest house is dated from 1890 and there are a few from 1910 plus a large number from 1920s. The other decades have a few houses especially the 1940s. A few modern houses plus many from 1970s. The older houses are all on the one side of the road. The houses from 1950s onwards are all on the side that used to be rural land. Mostly wooden houses apart from some of the newer ones. There were some lovely houses here and I quite liked this street. The house that I found most interesting was from 1970s and it wasn’t either beautiful or ugly. I couldn’t get a decent view but it had an unusual turret.

Thames Street in Mairehau – Formerly Toons Road. Named after John Toon (1835?-1918). Re-namedThames Street. Named after the Thames River which passes through London. Tenders were called for the forming and metalling of Toon’s Road in 1870. Toon won the contract. Toon’s Road first appears in street directories in 1892. Toon, a farmer of St Albans, is a resident in 1896. Re-named Thames Road in 1916. A small amount of information from the library website. I only found one mention of Toon’s Rd in Papers Past and it was about the tender for forming the road. Thames Street was a very common name in New Zealand plus one in London was mentioned frequently. So many entries on Papers Past that I narrowed my searching to 4 newspapers. Lots of death notices including an obituary for George Frost in 1927. Sewage pipes were laid in 1925 and there was a polio case on the street in the same year. In 1928 the Baptist Schoolroom was mentioned. In 1920 a house plus 7 acres of land was sold and I suspect that this street didn’t have many residents previous to this date. In 1931 six boys between the ages of 9 and 12 were charged with damaging 45 insulators in Thames St and Innes Rd area. Parents protested at their sons being charged. Judge gave them a good telling off and discharged them. I found a mention of this street in March of this year where because of the increase in traffic and speeding that traffic calming areas were being installed on a trial basis. John Toon had lots of mentions on Papers Past and none were nice mentions. He was bankrupt in 1892 and there were mortgages over one acre in Springfield St and Shirley Rd plus house and land in Toon’s Rd. John Toon had farmed in the area for 31 years and leased 40 acres from Rev C McKay. The lease had expired the year before and not renewed. In 1864 he was fined for having an unregistered dog. There were numerous entries for John Toon being drunk and disorderly. The entries cover most years from 1874 to 1914. In 1885 he was charged with failing to support his wife. He had turned her out of the house as she had neglected to attend to his wants. He admitted to being drunk at the time. They had been married 29 years. He frequently requested that she return home but she refused. In 1886, 1889 and 1892 he applied to either have the maintenance reduced or cancelled. This was declined and there were 19 warrants because of his failure to pay maintenance. Mary Ann Toon died in October 1902 and is buried in Barbadoes Cemetery. John Toon died in 1918 and I couldn’t find a grave for him. I know what my interpretation of the state of the marriage is and my personal feeling is that he was a nasty drunk. I walked this street on Saturday morning and was managing to walk in the opposite direction of my son’s house. He did laugh. This street runs from Westminister St to Innes Rd. There is the St Albans Preschool which had a colourful fence. Further along there was a new looking building for Lamb of God Community Centre and I wonder if this is where the Baptist Schoolroom used to be. A couple of houses from 1910 here plus several from 1920s. Several houses from 1940s and 1990s. One from 1970 and a couple from 1930s. Most are in good condition and the older houses have been modernised. Most houses are wooden with only a couple of brick houses.

Squire Street in Mairehau- formerly Spence Street. Spence Street first appears in street directories in 1905. Re-named Squire Street on 1 September 1948 when 120 streets were re-named. A small amount of information from the library website. Not a lot of information on Papers Past. The earliest mention I could find was a death notice for a baby in 1903. In 1919 land was offered to the council so that the road could be widened. Drainage issues mentioned in 1925. In 1926 it was suggested that the street be renamed to Isitt Street as Spence Street was too close to Spencer Street in Sydenham. This obviously didn’t happen. Several mentions of a missing man in December 1932. There was an extensive search for him and on 12th December 1932 there was a sighting of him near the Sign of the Kiwi. Next mention is the inquest in May 1933 where they came to a verdict of suicide. Four young girls found his decomposed body at the bottom of a cliff in the Cashmere Hills in an area called Redstone Gully. F J Matthews lived on Spence St and was a Post and Telegraph employee. The street runs from Aylesford St to Flockton Stand there is only 13 houses on the street. Most were built in 1920 with one from 1975 and another from 2016. The houses from 1920 were of a square box shape. I walked this street this morning after visiting the library at the Palms.

Millar Street in Sydenham – Named after John Andrew Millar (1855-1915). Millar, a seaman, trade union leader and politician, was an MP in the 1891-1912 Liberal Government, chairman of committees under R. J. Seddon and a Cabinet minister after Seddon’s death in 1906, First appears in street directories in 1908.A small amount of information from the library website. A wee bit of information from Papers Past. The street was made a public street in May 1919. In 1908 Sydenham Settlers dwelling to be erected on 10 acres known as Police Paddock bounded by Longfellow St, Tennyson St, Seddon St and Millar St. In 1927 the houses to be connected to new sewers. In 1940 the road to be sealed. In Andrew Millar’s obituary in October 1915 said that he died aged 60 years old. He was born in India at the close of the Indian Mutiny. The family then moved to Scotland. In 1870 he left Scotland to come to New Zealand for sheep farming but on the voyage out he decided that he had a fancy for the sea. He joined P Henderson and Co. The rest of the obituary was fill of political stuff. I found more information about him and he was born in July 1855 and his family wanted him to go into the army as they were a military family. They sent him to New Zealand on the ship James Nicol Fleming to learn sheep farming at his uncle’s property in Otago. His nickname was King Millar. This was a short street that ran from Longfellow St to Seddon St. There are only 25 properties and most have been built 2000 onwards. Some were from 1960 and 1970. Nothing stood out for me and I didn’t bother taking photos. I parked on this street and then walked as many streets as possible on a warm morning. I had been to South library before doing my walking.

Seddon Street in Sydenham- Named after Richard John Seddon (1845- 1906). Seddon was the Prime Minister of New Zealand 1893-1906. First appears in street directories in 1909.A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name of the street. I didn’t get a lot of information from Papers Past but I did reduce my search down to Sydenham only so possibly missed information. The trouble was that it seemed like every city and town in New Zealand had a Seddon St so there was thousands of entries. It was made a public street in 1919. In 1910 a child was found dead in a registered home. I couldn’t find out what a registered home meant. In February 1910 you could apply for the lease of a workers dwelling. In November 1911 the foundation stone of the first workers dwelling in Christchurch was laid by Hon J A Midler the Minister of Labour. Bit of a delay between applying for the lease and the houses actually being built. There are 77 properties on the street and only a few of older houses are left on the street and none of them stood out. Several from 1970s and the rest were built between 1990 and 2010. I didn’t particularly like the houses here and the modern ones were ugly. They were units crammed onto the sections.