Roxburgh Street in Sydenham- formerly Regent Street. Regent Street first appears in street directories in 1931. Re-named Roxburgh Street on 1 September 1948 when 120 streets were re-named. A small amount of information from the library website. I didn’t manage to get much information from Papers Past apart from death notices. There were so many Regent Streets and Roxburgh Streets that I had to use Sydenham and Beckenham in my search so I probably missed information. I narrowed my search down to four newspapers and still there were so many entries. There was a Regent St in Woolston and it wasn’t helped that New Regent Street was called Regent Street. In 1934 a butcher was fined for breaches of the Butcher’s Award and failing to pay overtime and false entries in the time and wages book. In 1960 a house was purchased to be the vicarage for the parish of St Saviour. They were looking forward to when the new church was to be built on the land adjacent to new vicarage. I walked this street on Friday and the street runs off Colombo St. At the Colombo St end there is the church and a shop. Next to the church church there is a house connected to the church called St Anne’s House. Only 27 properties here and most were built in the 1930s. Many of the houses from the 1930s are lovely. The modern houses from 2017 and 2019 are ugly and don’t fit with the rest of the houses on the street. Looked like a lovely street to live on.

Hume Street in Sydenham- Named after David Hume (1711-1776). Hume was a writer on religious topics. 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. Approval was given by the council for the street to be extended to Eastern Terrace in 1957.A small about of information from the library website. As usual Papers Past had lots of complaints about the state of the street in the 1880s and 1890s and in 1887 the council said that that couldn’t carry out the work requested by the residents as it is a private street. In 1892 Mr Ringwood complained about the nuisance near his property. The council promised to talk to the drainage board about the dumping of sewage in a pit on the street. The business Waltham Vineyard was mentioned several times and in the 1870s was referred to as Lord’s Vinery. James Narcarrow purchased the business in November 1879 after it was put up for auction as Thomas Lord was returning to England. The same year in the July Thomas Lord died in Adelaide. The vineyard was auctioned again in January 1895 as a mortgagee sale and James Narcarrow was a bankrupt. The vineyard was near Messrs Innes Brewery, In 1898 the vineyard was available to let. In 1901 there was talk of widening the road and then not many mentions apart from birth and death notices until 1957. In 1957 Hume St was extended to meet Eastern Terrace. I walked this street on Friday and some of the street seemed pleasant enough. A mixture of houses with the oldest dating from 1905. A large number from 1970s and 2000s. The houses from 2021 are ugly but then we all know that I don’t usually like modern houses. As you get closer to Austin Street there is the back wall of the Alto Packaging factory. Nearby on the opposite side is another business called Clovelly Gardens which as the name suggests it sells garden products. I will confess when walking past it I didn’t realise what type of business it was so it obviously didn’t stand out for me. Let’s be honest I don’t really do gardening type of activity or even housework type of activity.

Gilbert Place in Sydenham – Named in 1957. Not a lot of information from the library website. Only one entry on Papers Past and it was that a small cul de sac off the western side of Hume St and has been named Gilbert Place. This street is between 72 and 80 Hume St. I searched ancestry website to try and find anyone with the surname Gilbert living on Hume St but had no luck with this. I walked this street yesterday and there are only 15 houses here and there is a new one being built on the corner. A couple were built in 1950 and one in 1960 but the rest were built in 1970 apart from one from 2017. A reasonably pleasant street but no outstanding houses except for the one with the interesting decorations on the house and fence.

Faraday Street in Sydenham – Named after Michael Faraday (1791-1867). Faraday was an English chemist and physicist, also writer and lecturer. 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. [It is mis-spelt in the report of the committee as Farraday.]

A small amount of information from the library website. Papers Past had several birth, death and marriage notices for the street. In 1883 the ratepayers living on the street wrote to the council requesting that the council take over the street and undertake to do the repairs. There were the usual drain issues in 1884. In 1896 the Sydenham Lawn Tennis Club opened their season at their court in Faraday St. In 1904 after the council purchased land at the back of Faraday St they closed the right of way that led to Milton St. Several articles about this and the Works Committee investigating the matter claimed that the right of way was legally only available to the occupiers of the land that the council had purchased. One of the petitioners against the closing of the right of way had taken legal advice and that because it had been opened and used by residents for over 20 years that it couldn’t be closed. There was mention of an agreement dated 1871.In 1954 Bruce Monk a plumber was fined for using his premises as a workshop. In 1958 there were complaints about a building where two young men had began a plumbing business. Council said that the business had now moved to Industrial Site B and that the building was only to be used for garaging of cars. I walked this street on Friday and it just looks like an entrance to the shops beside the street. There are no longer any houses and no street sign saying Faraday St so I had to keep checking the map on my phone to see where the street was. I believe there is still a council storage yard behind the street but it is well and truly fenced off.

Rogers Street in Sydenham – Named after Samuel Rogers (1763-1855). Rogers 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. First appears in street directories in 1908.A small amount of information from the library website. As usual there were many death notices in Papers Past. In 1885 the residents objected to the widening the street. In 1887 it was the 50th wedding anniversary for Mr and Mrs Wakefield. In 1890 there was a death notice for William Wakefield late of Kelso, Scotland. A shop and attached house on the corner of Rogers St and Huxley St had a minor fire in 1913. The road was tar sealed in 1941 but in 1957 water from stormwater drain started eroding the earth and gravel under the tar sealing on the corner of Rogers St and Waltham Road. Another article said that there were four big holes and a truck when turning the corner sunk into the road. A bus also sunk into the hole. I walked this street on Monday and walked it today as well as I had parked my car nearby on Waltham Rd. This street runs from Huxley St to Waltham Rd and there are some lovely houses here. They cover most decades from 1905 to 1990 plus a couple of more recent houses. There is still a shop at the corner of Huxley St and Rogers St plus a fish and chip shop. Technically the Early Learning Centre is on Hume St but the colourful fence is also on Rogers St. The fish and chip shop also had a bit of street art. I feel that I should know this street from when I was a child and it is possible that we drove down it to get to my uncle’s house on Humboldt St. I liked most of this street.

Jordan Street in Sydenham- John Street Named after William Joseph Jordan (1879- 1959). John Street first appears in street directories in 1892, running off Brougham Street. Re-named Jordan Street on 1 September 1948 when 120 streets were re-named. Jordan was a painter, soldier, politician and NZ high commissioner in London where he had once been a policeman. A small amount of information from the library website. Not a lot of information on Papers Past. Mostly death notices plus a few birth notices. In July 1899 Agnes relict of William Wakefield died at Kelso House on John St. In 1917 there was the death of a child from diphtheria and the death notice said no mourning. In 1930 a man was in court for the abuse of his wife and because of his name he is possibly indirectly on my family tree. In 1900 there were three houses for sale. I walked this street on Monday and it runs from Hargest Crescent to Hastings St. There are only 14 houses on this street. There is one house from 1905 and two from 1915 but the rest are from 1980s. A couple of the older houses looked fairly nice but I didn’t really like this street. I don’t think that I would like to live here.

Ingoldsby Street in Sydenham – Named after Thomas Ingoldsby, the alias of the Rev. Richard H. Barham (1788- 1845). Ingoldsby wrote The Ingoldsby Legends, The Jackdaw of Rheims and The Hand of Glory. 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 1916.A small amount of information from the library website. There is also a village in England called Ingoldsby. I vaguely recall that I have read Jackdaw of Rheims a long time ago probably when I was a teenager. Not a lot of information on Papers Past. There were a few death notices for the street. In 1882 inhabitants were willing to give land for street widening and this will open a good thoroughfare from Sandridge. The street was finally widened in 1884. In 1895 the council noted that concrete channels would not abate the nuisance arising from household slops. In 1897 there was a complaint about the bad state of the channels. In the same year of 1897 the road was asphalted. I walked this short street on Monday and it runs from Huxley Street to Cameron St. There are only 14 houses here and there are two houses from 1910 and four from 1920s. One from 1940 and one from 1960. There are three or four from 2019 and they are ugly. A pleasant street and a couple of the older houses were lovely.

Huxley Street in Sydenham- Fomerly Mona Street. Mona appears to have been an early name for the Isle of Man. Re-named Huxley Street. Named after Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895).A decision had been made by the council to name the street Mona Street. Residents petitioned against this: the name had never been agreed to at a public meeting, there was only one native of the Isle of Man resident in the street, and the name Milton Street had been asked for by petitioners. The Sydenham Borough Council was asked to alter the name in accordance with their resolution to name streets after popular authors, a decision made by a committee of the Sydenham Borough Council on 19 January 1880.A reasonable amount of information from the library website and I found the information about the petition. Apparently Mona is a Latin word for the Isle of Man and I learnt something new. The petition was from Mr McSherry and 22 other residents in First St Sandridge protesting about the name Mona. Between 1879 and 1882 the street seemed to be known as First St and there were a couple of businesses on the street. There was Sydenham Pottery Works and also stables belonging to Messrs Heywood & Co. In 1885 there was a court case involving a man who threw stones at the Salvation Army band when they were marching on the street. He claimed he was actually throwing stones at a dog. In 1899 there was a petition again a yard being formed for the accommodation of nightsoil carts and stables. In 1900 William Cain of Huxley St was sued for breach of promise. It was a vey long and confusing article. A huge number of death notices for the street. From 1915 through to 1918 there were many births at the Canadian Villa of Nurse Irving. In 1928 the births were at the premises of Nurse Wilson. There were a few house fires over the years but that was a common occurrence those days. I walked this street on Monday and ended up walking part of it today to get back to my car which was parked near Waltham Park. This street starts at Colombo St where there are shops and a petrol station. Sandridge Hotel is this end as well and this area used to be called Sandridge. Then there is a funny dogleg where Huxley St goes to the right. You have to actually turn right into Huxley St at the Burlington St corner. A tiny reserve here with a couple of seats and Jacksons Creek runs through here. There is also a walkway through to Humboldt St. The street then runs to Croydon St and there is a huge variety of house styles. There is a tiny cottage that the QV website says was built in 1880 and several houses from 1905. The biggest number of properties is from the 1970s and most are multi dwellings. Most decades are represented with large number built between 1990 and 2008. Some of the older houses are in poor condition. One brick house didn’t look quite right as it was in the style of a 1915 to 1920s wooden villa. It was built in 1915 and would have been a wooden villa but has had a brick veneer put over the wood. I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. There was a colourful building for the Learning Needs Library. The further away from Colombo St the nicer the street became.

Humboldt Street in Sydenham- Formerly Jacobs Lane. Named after Jonathan Jacobs (1803?- 1877). Re-named Humboldt Street. Named after Alexander von Humboldt (1769- 1859). Jacobs arrived at Lyttelton in 1855 on the Grassmere. He and his wife moved to Waltham in 1863, living in what later became known as Jacobs’s Lane, an informal name for the street. Mrs Jacobs died at her home at 23 Humboldt Street in 1898. Named Humboldt Street in 1887. 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. Humboldt was a German scientist. [For a time, due to anti-German feeling during World War I, the name was Anglicised to Humbolt.] A reasonable amount of information from the library website and the statement that Humboldt was a German scientist is rather an understatement. His full name was Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrick Alexander von Humboldt and technically he was born in Prussia. He sounds like he was an interesting man and was described as a German polymath, geographer, naturalist and explorer. He travelled widely especially in the Americas. His personal life was interesting and there is a Wikipedia page about him. The Humboldt Falls in Fiordland is named after him.Papers Past didn’t have anything under Jacob’s Lane apart from the renaming. Building sections were offered in 1893, 1899 and 1905. Quite a few entries for 1882 as there were complaints about the state of the street plus a request for it to become a public street. The council requested that the residents move their fences to the true boundary so that the construction of the street can be proceeded with. In 1883 the street was resurveyed for construction. I don’t know when the work was done as the residents were complaining about the state of the street in 1890. In 1908 there was a petition from the 13 residents in the street asking for improvements. In 1906 someone was fined for allowing three cows to wander. In 1907 the street was to get sewage pipes. The saddest entry I found was dated 1915 and a male illegitimate child aged 6 weeks died of pneumonia associated with malnutrition. This happened at Mrs Wiffen’s licensed home. This was actually a common occurrence for illegitimate children and many orphanages refused to take these children. Reason given was that they would taint the children who were born within wedlock. In March 1898 there was an obituary for Mrs Ann Jacobs but I didn’t find one for her husband who died in 1877. It didn’t say much more than what is in the library information. I walked this street on Monday and it has at least one house from every decade. Several multi dwelling style of housing built in 1970s and 1990s. The oldest house is from 1908 and it has been roughcasted which spoils it. There is a couple of houses from 1940 and about 5 houses from 1950s and I suspect that they were built by servicemen after the war with the special govt loan that servicemen were entitled to. I know that one of the houses from the 1940s was built under this scheme as it belonged to my uncle. We frequently visited this house especially if we were driving home to Lyttelton from Rakaia Huts. I have a vivid memory of a house near the corner of Humboldt and Cameron St having one of those large butterflies decorating the house. They were fashionable in the 1960s. When I walked the street I couldn’t figure out which house had the butterfly but the house possibly no longer exists and there is now one of the multi dwelling complexes on this corner. I am trying to found a photo of my uncle’s house from the 1950s and1960s but my old laptop is being very slow at loading.

Hargest Crescent in Sydenham- Formerly Taylor Street, later Crescent. Probably named after Jeremy Taylor (1613- 1677). Re-named Hargest Crescent. Named after Brigadier James Hargest (1891- 1944). Taylor was the author of Holy Living and Holy Dying. 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. Taylor Street is first mentioned in the Star in 1882 and first appears in street directories in 1887. Becomes Taylor Crescent in 1935. Re-named Hargest Crescent on 1 September 1948 when 120 streets were re-named. Hargest was a farmer, military leader and politician. A reasonable amount of information from library website. Not sure if street is named after Jeremy Taylor as he is an extremely obscure author. There were three Taylor Street in Christchurch as there was one in Riccarton and one in Addington as well. I did find an entry in 1897 using Taylor’s Street and this normally means it is named after a local landowner. Apart from death notices there wasn’t a lot of information on Papers Past. In 1895 there was a house fire in a house owned by Henry Wakefield. In 1909 there was a coal and firewood business on the street. A polio case in the street in 1925. In 1920 the Education Board were looking to acquire a parcel of land so that they can build an infant school. They would be writing to the land owners. There is still a kindergarten on the street near the Waltham Rd end. In 1935 because of the confusion with Taylor Street in Addington the name was changed to Taylor Crescent and in 1948 changed to Hargest Crescent. In 1950s the Education Board had a storage area here. I walked this street on Monday and I used to know this area fairly well in the 1960s. There are 55 properties here and the oldest house is from 1890 and it is a cute wee cottage. At least one or two houses from most decades but lots built in 1970s and 2020s. Many different styles of houses and most are in a reasonable condition but some are looking a bit rundown.