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.

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.