Southey Street in Sydenham- Named after Robert Southey (1774-1843). Southey was Poet Laureate for 30 years. 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 1892. Declared a legal road on 23 August 1907.A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name of the street. Papers Past have the street declared a public street in 1887. Also in 1887 there was an agreement signed by all owners to dedicate land for straighten the street. Still in 1887 the tender from William Woolley for fencing in the street was accepted. In 1904 the Crown Land known as Police Paddock to be offered in small allotments on a 999 year lease. I did wonder if this was a mistake as most leases were 99 year leases. Residents not happy with this decision as they would prefer a public recreation reserve and this had actually been promised to them. Thomas Piper was living on this street in 1908 and in 1911 the property of G Piper was sold.There are 52 properties here with at least two dating from 1890 and several from 1905 and 1910. Several properties from 1970s and other from 2017.The street runs from Colombo St to Longfellow St. There is a gorgeous Art Deco on the corner of Southey St and Colombo St. The older houses are lovely but the more modern houses didn’t do anything for me. The street in narrowed in a couple of places with what they call calming zones to slow up the traffic. A pleasant street and it was a warmer day than I expected for walking.

Wembley Street in Sydenham- Named after the British Empire Exhibition held at Wembley in 1924 Named in 1927. First appears in street directories in 1929.A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the naming of the street. All I found on Papers Past about the name was a brief mention that it was a new street to be called Wembley Street. Owners of the subdivision offered to form and asphalt a footpath. Also offered a strip of land to connect Wembley St to Southey St. In 1928 there was a protest petition from the residents of Longfellow St about the building of a shop of the corner of Longfellow and Wembley Streets. A few birth and death notices but not a lot of information from Papers Past. The QV website had 22 properties and many were built in 1920s. The other decades only had one house per decade. The houses from the 1920s are lovely wooden villas and I did like them. They were mostly on one side of the street and there was also a wee walkway on this side of the street that went through to Southey St. It is possible that it is the same strip of land mentioned in Papers Past. On the opposite side about half the street was taken up with retirement villas belonging to Archer Retirement Village and Rest Home. There was an entrance to the retirement home from Wembley St. It was a lovely looking street and I liked it. Today was a warm day for walking and there were at least two houses that I really loved.

Caton Street in Sydenham – Named after John Henry Caton (d. 1870). Caton owned a number of properties in Montreal Street. This land was advertised for sale in The Press after he drowned in the McLachlan River near Sydney. His death is registered at Coonbarabran in New South Wales. The construction of Caton Street was discussed at a meeting of the Sydenham Borough Council in 1883, reported in the Star. It appears on an 1890 map. First appears in street directories in 1892.A reasonable amount of information from the library website. Found the same information from 1883 where the construction of the street was discussed. In 1886 it became a public street. In 1893 there were complaints about the bad state of the street and in 1904 there were complaints about dirty gutters. Papers Past had the usual birth and death notices. Trying to find out about John Henry Caton was both easy and hard. I couldn’t find out when he came to New Zealand but as he came from Australia the shipping records are more difficult to find. I found a court notice in Australia in 1856 where a John Henry Caton occupation butcher was charged with threatening language.In 1858 in Lyttelton there is mention of John Henry Caton selling his butcher business. He then took over the Canterbury Hotel or Lyttelton Hotel. Both hotel names were mentioned. Next mention is in the court news about stealing cattle. Case was thrown out. In 1869 the court news was very busy with his bankruptcy details. The same year he was charged with conspiracy fraud involving a figure of £3000. His address was Horseshoe Lake. In December 1869 he was sentenced to 3 years of hard labour in Lyttelton goal. In 1871 John Henry Caton’s properties were sold by public auction including the Montreal St property where Caton St is now situated. There was also Harewood Forest in the Oxford District and property at Lincoln plus a Ferry Rd property. The properties were put up for sale by the trustees who were appointed by the courts in 1869. I haven’t been able to prove his death. I checked Australian newspapers with no joy. There is a John Caton buried at Coonabarabran parents Charles and John. All the family trees on the ancestry website have John Henry Caton dying in 1914. Trouble is that this John Henry Caton was married to Elizabeth Simpson in 1873 in Victoria, Australia. This John Henry Caton was also a butcher so it is possible but his death notice in 1914 says that he was a colonist in Australia for 68 years. There was an article in the Akaroa Mail in 1882 about John Henry Caton and it said that he was born in Smithfield and he went to Sydney in 1849. He came to NZ in 1853 and returned to Australia when he was released from jail. It was this article that mentions him drowning in McLachlan River in 1870 and that he is buried at Coonbarabran. I couldn’t find McLachlan River but did find MacLaughlin River. Also if he was sentenced to 3 years in Lyttelton jail in December 1869 how did he manage to drown in Australia in 1870. Confused because I am. This is a tiny street that runs off Montreal St and it has a couple of businesses on it. It runs to Kent St and I had already written up Kent St but when I walked there today I realised that I hadn’t walked Kent St properly. This is because Kent St is split into two by a business.

Edited as I seriously sidetracked with this street as I found John Henry Caton interesting. I was up to midnight researching John Henry Caton. I still can’t find any evidence that he died in 1870s by drowning as the 1882 article mentioned. The death notice for the burial in Coonabarabran is definitely a baby. I wondered if it was a grandchild as the father of the child was Charles Caton but John’s son Charles was only 8 years in 1870 plus the family were still in New Zealand in 1870. I found another John Caton who died accidently in 1872 in Liverpool NSW but I doubt it is my John Henry Caton. It looks like the John Henry Caton who died in 1914 is the same John Henry Caton who was in New Zealand. The family trees on ancestry website were so confusing especially as some of them had him married several times with the first one still alive in the 1860s. I can’t find out how he got to Australia or New Zealand but he possibly came went to Australia in 1852 in a ship called Rip van Winkle but could only find passenger list for a trip to the US. It is likely that his first wife was Emma King and they married in 1846 and had one child Horatio. John Henry Caton appears in the 1851 census with his wife and son. There is no sign of him in later censuses but in 1861 Emily and Horatio is living with her parents. Emma is supposed to have died in 1865 but I can’t find proof. Not helped by Horatio marrying someone with a similar name. John’s second wife was Isabella Boyd Myers a widow. They were married in 1854 in Victoria and had a daughter Esther in 1856 and were still in Victoria. John Henry Caton was in the courts in Victoria for using threatening language. In 1858 he was in Lyttelton selling his butcher business and buying the Canterbury Hotel. Sounds like he did a lot of deals buying up land and it sounds like he didn’t mind breaking the law to make money. The courts threw out the case about him stealing cattle and not everyone was happy about this. Things came to a head when he was charged with conspiracy and fraud in 1869. He also was declared bankrupt the same year yet he owned a huge amount of land throughout Canterbury. Catons Bay near Little River is possibly named after him. In December 1869 he was sentenced to 3 years hard labour to be served in Lyttelton Goal. I have no idea when he left New Zealand but his wife and 4 children left Lyttelton in December 1871 and went to Hobson’s Bay Victoria. John’s wife Isabella died in February 1873 and is buried by herself in Bendigo. John then married Elizabeth Madeline Prowse Simpson in April 1873 and she died in 1888. His fourth wife was Elizabeth Smitham AKA Elizabeth Smitham – Wirebrook and they married January 1889 and she died in 1916. One of the Elizabeth’s was known as Betsy. In Australia John Henry Caton’s occupation was butcher which is the same occupation that he had in England and occasionally had in New Zealand. The cynic in me suspects that John Henry Caton deliberately wanted authorities in New Zealand think that he was dead. Interesting character and his first wife was still alive when he got married in 1854. I also wonder if he did some dodgy stuff in England which is why he disappeared to Australia.

Walton Street in Sydenham – Named after Sir Izaak Walton (1593-1683). Walton was an English biographer best known for The Compleat Angler. 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. First appears in street directories in 1892. A small amount of information from the library website and I couldn’t find any extra information about the name of the street. I did find an Edward Walton living in the area and he died in 1888 but unlikely that the street was named after him as his occupation was labourer. Papers Past had the usual birth and death notices plus one engagement notice. A few entries in 1884 relating to the metalling of the street. In February the residents requested metalling of the street. This was approved but in August the council said that as the residents failed to comply with the conditions the council labourers will be doing the work at the cost of £18. I believe that the residents of the street are then charged this amount for the council doing the work. In July there was a letter to the editor about the state of the street calling it Slough of Despond. Walton St is described as being opposite the Show Grounds on Colombo St. I believe that the Show Grounds were where Sydenham Park is now situated. I can’t remember the date when it was moved to Lincoln Rd. New sewers were laid in 1912. There must have been a fire station nearby on Colombo St as they were looking at a house in Walton St to house married firemen. I was amused to see that one of the residents in 1898 had the name Annie Oakley. Sadly it was in a death notice. In June 1933 a Sydenham depot for Metropolitan Relief Association was opened on Walton St. It was only open for 6 months and it that time it is believed that they fed 16,290 adults and 18,150 children. In 1901 the council accepted an offer from the trustees of the estate of Mr Wilson for widening Hutcheson St and Walton St. In 1902 the street was extended to Colombo St and in 1912 it was extended to Cadogan St. I was surprised to read the 1902 notice about extending the street to Colombo St as the letter to the editor dated 1884 gave the impression that it ran off Colombo St. There are 37 houses on this street are there are several built in 1910 and 1915 and sadly most are in a very rundown condition. Several built in 1980s and 1990s and nothing outstanding about them. There was a couple of several flats that had a sign at the entrance Alternative Accommodation – Holiday Houses. I googled but couldn’t find out any more information about them. The street runs from Cadogan St to Colombo St and at the Colombo St end there is a small shopping centre plus an entrance to Super Liquor. I didn’t really like this street and it wasn’t helped by a car parked on the footpath and when I squeezed past the car the dog in the property got upset. It barked and tried jumping over the fence. Note there was plenty of room to have parked in their backyard. I possibly muttered stupid idiots. The best thing on this street is probably Funky Pumpkin’s giant pumpkin on the corner at Colombo St.

Hutcheson Street in Sydenham – Probably named after Francis Hutcheson (1694- 1746)Hutcheson was a philosopher. Probably named to continue the theme of “poets and writers” streets of Sydenham, Addington and Waltham named by a committee of the Sydenham Borough Council on 19 January 1880. First mentioned in The Press in 1882 when two sections were sold there. First appears in street directories in 1887. A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name of the street. Not a lot of information on Papers Past apart from death notices. Found the same information about the sections in 1882. In 1912 there were several cases of arson in Christchurch including a building on this street. In 1933 a woman living with her mother on this street was stabbed in her leg by her estranged husband. Lots of ads by a tradesman J Bourk in the 1940s. One mention in November 1947 was very sad and it was about Jean Dick who worked in the millinery dept of Ballantynes. She was included in the list of the missing. This street runs from Colombo St and curves around to Brougham St. At the Colombo St end there was a McDonalds and I couldn’t believe that there was a queue here that early on a Sunday morning. There is also an entrance to a carpark for Subway at the Colombo St end. One side side of the street had the older houses dating from 890 and through to 1920. The other side had multi dwellings dated from 2000 to 2015. There is also the Sydenham Community Centre on this street and I used to visit this building frequently when I was in a tramping club. We used to hold our monthly meetings here. The older houses looked a bit rundown and I had to navigate cars parked on the footpath. There was space on the road for parking so being on the footpath was unnecessary. The modern places were crammed onto tiny sections. I personally wouldn’t like to live here.

Cadogan Street in Sydenham – Named after William Cadogan, 1st Earl of Cadogan (1675- 1726).Cadogan was a British soldier and parliamentarian. First mentioned in the Star in a report of a meeting of the Sydenham Borough Council in 1886. First appears in street directories in 1887.A small amount of information from the library website and I couldn’t find any other information about the name of the street except that it is a Welsh name. In 1897 it was noted that they couldn’t asphalt the footpath until the houses on the other side of the street were built. In 1904 and 1905 the street was extended to meet up with Huxley St. Mostly birth and death notices in Papers Past plus a case of polio in 1925. There are 22 properties on this street and several were built in 1905 and 1910. These were mostly between Brougham St and Hastings St. Between Hastings St and Walton St there were flats built in 1970s and 1980s. There is a wee park at the end of the street where you can walk through to Huxley St. I did like this street and most of the older houses looked lovely. There was one that had been spoiled by unsympathetic modernising. It was very quiet early on a Sunday morning.

Burlington Street in Sydenham – May have been named after Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington (1694- 1753). Lord Burlington was an architect and patron of the arts. Probably named to continue the theme of “poets and writers” streets of Sydenham, Addington and Waltham named by a committee of the Sydenham Borough Council in January 1880. First mentioned in the Star in 1886 when “capital building sections” there are advertised for sale. A reasonable of information from the library website. There is another possible reason for the name of the street and that there is a connection to Lord Lyttelton’s area of the UK. Burlington in the UK is within 30 km of Hagley Hall. Not a huge amount of information on Papers Past apart from lots of death notices. In 1887 a group leased land on this street and set up Sydenham Lawn Tennis Club. In 1910 a shop was destroyed by fire. In February 1897 it was recommended that the street be asphalted but in September 1897 the council said that they couldn’t asphalt the street until a decision was made about using the land acquired by the late R Dawson for widening the street. Robert Dawson owned a property called Brucefield on Humboldt St. He was a partner in the business Dunstable House until just before his death in 1897. There are 47 properties on this street and they cover every decade from 1890 to 2019. Most are in reasonable condition and as usual the modern ones are ugly. The street runs from Brougham St and turns into Huxley St near a wee park. This is normally a very busy street but today at between 7am and 8am it wasn’t very busy.

Albemarle Street in Sydenham – Probably named after Albemarle Street in London, off Bond Street. The origin of the name is French, from the Aumale region of Normandy. First mentioned in the Star in 1884 in a report of a meeting of the Sydenham Borough Council. First appears in street directories in 1887. A small amount of information from the library website. I found the same mention in the Star from 1884 and it was about channelling the street. I suspect that the reason for the name of the street is because of Albemarle St in London as this street in Sydenham is near Huxley St. Thomas Huxley in 1864 formed a club called X Club on Albemarle St in London. Lord Byron and Oscar Wilde also have a connection to the street in London. Not a lot of information on Papers Past. A few birth and death notices. A couple of enlistment notices for World War One. There were sections for sale in 1886. A couple of house fires in the 1920s. A man was charging with letting cows wander in 1887 and 1889. There was a very sad suicide in 1929 of a returned soldier. He hadn’t recovered from his war injuries and was unable to work. There was a Mr Weston who in June 1909 was declared bankrupt. He was a tailor and then in July 1909 his wife set up in business as a dressmaker. The marriage didn’t last long as in November 1909 he was charged with bigamy. This is a tiny street that runs off Brougham St but you can’t drive into the street from Brougham St and there is a little walkway. I don’t know when this changed but suspect it was when Brougham St was extended as the address where Mrs Weston lived is no longer there. Mostly older houses here with two dating from 1890 and apart from one house dated 2000 the rest are between 1905 and 1920. It actually looks like it has the potential to be a lovely street but sadly many of the houses look very rundown. One looked a bit lopsided but was being lived in. There are only 13 houses here. It was such a lovely morning and I was feeling so energetic that I went out for a walk at 7am this morning. There is just one thing that I do recommend to the inhabitants of this street and that it is probably a good idea to keep your curtains closed if you are planning on wandering around your house naked. I think he got a shock when he realised someone was walking past going by the gasp I heard.

Matipo Street in Riccarton – formerly Cutlers Road. Ngaio Street was incorporated into Matipo Street. Formerly Cutler’s Road. Named after Henry Cutler (1834-1919). Re-named Matipo Cutler had a market garden and orchard on the east side of the road, a few chains from Riccarton Road. Cutler’s Road is first mentioned in The Press in 1874. First appears in street directories in 1900 Cutler is a resident. The section of road in between Henry Cutler’s property and Riccarton Road was called Ngaio Street, but not for long (only about two months) as it was considered too difficult to pronounce. Re-named Matipo Street in 1923A reasonable amount of information on the library website. I couldn’t find any information about the street ever being called Ngaio St and there was a Ngaio St in St Martins which would have been confusing. In Papers Past there were many entries in the 1910s concerning sports fixtures. I couldn’t work out exactly where they were held but possibly connected to the Wharenui School. Not a lot of information about the school about from a mention that it was a new school in 1907.In the enlistment notices in February 1917 Rewi Alley of 37 Cutlers Rd had enlisted. These days Wharenui School has a Rewi Alley Memorial Hall and I never realised that he had lived in Christchurch. Between the 1920s and 1940s there are a lot of articles about accidents at the level crossing including some fatal accidents. In February 1928 a goods train derailed here. Also between 1920s and 1940s there was a lot of articles about traffic because of the races and the A&P Show. In 1933 several men were charged with playing the game Crown and Anchor behind Addington Trotting Grounds. I had to google for information about this game and it is apparently an illegal dice game usually played by sailors. In 1927 there were lots of complaints about the state of the road and there were a couple of favourites for me. One complaint said that the road was so wet and muddy that a submarine would be required to navigate the street. The other complaint said that the street would be a suitable venue for the Lyttelton regatta. The same year someone complained that the road was too dry and dusty and needed watering. The council eventually fixed the road in 1931.There were a few fires on this street and in 1919 an unoccupied wooden house belonging to the estate of William Cutler was destroyed by fire. I am wondering if they got the name wrong as Henry Cutler lived on the street and had recently died. In 1928 the headline was Riccarton Landmark Destroyed by Fire. The house was on the corner of Riccarton Rd and Matipo St and was owned by the trustees in Henry’s estate and occupied by W Henry. A local resident said that it was one of the oldest houses in the area and was about 60 to 70 years old and used to be a brewery in the old days. In 1921 at 102 Cutler Rd a large house occupied by R Blackburn was destroyed by fire. An earlier fire in July 1890 destroyed bottling stores connected to R Blackburn’s brewery. The building was owned by Henry Cutler and leased to R Blackburn. The council don’t give any reason for changing the name from Cutlers Rd to Matipo St but a complaint about the name change gives a wee clue. The person objecting to the name change didn’t have a problem with the newer streets being given names connected to trees and plants but felt that there was no need to change the name of Cutlers Rd. A councillor in 1915 wanted the street name to be renamed Bowen Ave in honour of Sir Charles Bowen. This obviously didn’t happen. In 1920 it was proposed that the mayor’s name be engraved on the new bridge on Cutlers Rd. I have no idea where that bridge was on this street. In 1930 at least two properties were subdivided for housing. Henry Cutler died April 1919 at the residence of Mr W R Cant of Torrens Rd and he is buried at Upper Riccarton. I could find no evidence that he ever married. Henry is supposed to have owned a brewery but all records have him down as a farmer. This street has 114 properties and there are still a few wooden villas from 1910 and 1920 but most are more modern. Most date from 1990s and 2000s and they are multi dwelling style crammed onto the sections. A variety of styles ranging from OKish to ugly. At the Riccarton Rd end is Westfield (Riccarton) Mall and the older houses opposite mostly have businesses in them. Then there are the private dwellings for a couple of blocks before you come to Wharenui School and the Wharenui Swimming Pool. Once you cross Blenheim Rd it is only businesses including Toll and Kiwi Rail. Matipo St ends at the railway crossing and it becomes Wrights Rd. I found a map dated 1912 which has Wrights Rd going all the way to Blenheim Rd with Cutlers Rd being between Riccarton Rd and Blenheim Rd. All the entries on Papers Past regarding the railway level crossing has this crossing on Cutlers Rd. I actually walked this street twice in 2019 and once was when I was walking the 360 Trail with a walking festival group. I was very surprised when I realised that I hadn’t already researched and written up the street.

Freyberg Ave in Riccarton – Formerly Godley Avenue. Named after John Robert Godley (1814- 1861). Re-named Freyberg Avenue. Named after Sir Bernard Cyril Freyberg (1889- 1963). Godley was a lawyer, writer, administrator, coloniser and public servant. “The street in the new Riccarton subdivision on Mr John Brown’s subdivision which runs off Deans Avenue near the saleyard was named Godley Avenue by the Riccarton Borough Council” on 2 September 1929. Godley Avenue first appears in street directories in 1930. Re-named Freyberg Avenue in 1941. Freyberg was a dentist, military leader, governor general. [Wavell Street was originally suggested as the new name but councillors felt there was danger of confusion with Darvel Street.] A reasonable amount of information from the library website. Found the same information about the subdivision on John Brown’s land. In November 1929 the Chief Postmaster of Christchurch wrote to the Riccarton Borough Council requesting that they change the name as there was already a Godley Ave in Northcote Settlement (Papanui). Council declined as they didn’t think it was an issue. Papers Past had a few birth notices. Mention of a miniature golf course on the corner of Godley Ave and Deans Ave. In 1944 Tristan Toy Company’s factory was badly damaged by a fire. I didn’t think that I would have any luck finding out about John Brown as it is a very common name. Not helped by Queen Victoria’s John Brown being mentioned a lot. I managed to narrow his death down to the 1930s by checking cemetery database and I found his obituary dated October 1935. John Brown was born in 1854 at Monkwearmouth and he came to New Zealand as a child with his parents. They arrived in November 1858 on the ship Indiana. The family settled at Port Levy when John’s father and uncle set up a ship building yard. John and his father eventually came to Christchurch where they set up a timber merchant business. John Brown lived in Addington where he was very active in local body affairs and was mayor of Sydenham in 1895 to 1896. John then purchased part of the Washbourne Estate. He then became mayor of Riccarton for several terms and the obituary made special mention of him being mayor during 1918 influenza outbreak. John Brown was living at 48 Petrie St in Richmond when he died. I am fairly sure that I walked this street in April last year during lockdown as I wanted to get a photo of Riccarton Road without traffic. I managed to get photos of several major roads during that period and it was strange to be able to stand in the middle of these roads to get photos. Note this walk was within 2 km of my house. There are only 33 properties here and most built in 1970s but the valuation website gives several properties dated 2020. When googling I saw ads for the new properties and I suspect that some older houses have been knocked down and multi dwellings built on the land. There should still be 2 or 3 houses from 1920s and 1930s here. I will have to walk the street again to confirm this. It actually looked like a pleasant street but I wouldn’t touch the new buildings as they are being built by a developer that I personally don’t trust.