Stevens Street in Waltham- Named after Edward Cephas John Stevens (1837-1915). Stevens was a land-agent, businessman, sportsman and politician. He and Richard Harman represented Benjamin Lancaster (d.1887) of Bournemouth, England, who in 1850 had bought Rural Section 62, 50 acres in Ferry Road. (The early purchasers, who were still in England, and, in some cases stayed in England, bought their land in 1850. The site of the individual properties wasn’t chosen until the big allotment of land in March 1851.) In 1880 Lancaster sold just over 10 acres of this land for a sports stadium. According to the minutes of the Sydenham Borough Council the formation and metalling of this street was completed by 1880. First appears in street directories in 1887.A reasonable of information from the library website.

Papers Past had lots of entries about traffic because of Lancaster Park. In 1928 there was a letter to the editor about traffic issues and it was headed Dangers lurk at Lancaster Park. In 1881 a couple of entries from the drainage board. In January of 1881 Mr Adcock put in a claim for compensation for an accident to his cab but this was declined. In 1883 typhoid fever was rife in Christchurch including in Stevens St. Several complaints about cycling on footpath in the street. Obviously a person that I would relate to. Lots of birth, death and marriage notices. The most interesting article was The Mysterious Affair on Stevens Street. Two small boys aged 3 and 5 were offered sweets. The boys ended up in hospital as the sweets were poisoned. The man who gave them the sweets was never caught. Thankfully the boys survived. The various entries had this street in at least three suburbs including Linwood, Sydenham and Lancaster Park. The library website puts it into Waltham but it is really on the outer edge of Waltham. Not as much information on Papers Past about Edward Stevens as I expected. Probate for his will was granted in July 1915 and it was described as a long and complicated will. Personal effects to his wife including horses and carriage. She also had the right to live in the house until her death. The house in question was Englefield which Edward Stevens purchased from William Guise Brittan in 1872. She was also entitled to an annual income of £2000 which was looked after by trustees. There were several relatives who benefited from the will especially a nephew. The estate was worth £290,000.00 and there was a very pointed closing remark from the legal team that no charities benefited from the will. Edward Stevens was born 18th October 1837 at Salford in Oxfordshire and he was educated at Marlborough College and the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester. This college in Cirencester still exists as I have driven past it frequently. He came to New Zealand at the age of 21 and became a successful land agent in the company Harman and Stevens. In 1869 Edward married Maria the widow of Henry Whitcombe who drowned in Teremakau River on one of his many trips to the West Coast. Edward Stevens is buried by himself at St Peters Church in Upper Riccarton while his wife Maria is buried with her son from her first marriage. It doesn’t look like Edward and Maria had any children.I actually walked this street in April last year during lockdown. This street only has businesses on it now and one of the biggest businesses is Paul Kelly Motor Company Service Centre. I was amused when looking at Google maps that one of the staff at this business looked like my neighbour. Obviously Lancaster Park used to be here but sadly it was badly damaged in the earthquakes including the land. There were a couple of houses but nothing on the valuation website for them and it didn’t look like they were occupied.

Lancaster Street in Waltham – Named after Benjamin Lancaster (1801-1887). Lancaster was an original owner of Rural Section 62, cofounder of Price’s Candles in 1830 and, later, the founder of the order of Anglican nursing nuns, St. Peter’s Sisterhood. He retired to Bournemouth and, while living there, sold part of the property in 1880, through Harman and Stevens, for Lancaster Park, a sports ground where the public would pay to see cricket, athletics, bicycle riding and, later, rugby. First mentioned in The Press in 1892.

A reasonable of information from the library website. I found the same article in The Press dated 1892 and it only mentioned Benjamin Lancaster and not the street. The first mention of the street that I found was in 1894. Huge number of articles about traffic on Lancaster Street because of Lancaster Park. Lancaster Park was also known as Victory Park. Between 1912 to 1914 there were protests concerning the trams and mostly to do with the price of using the tram. The price was increased and no one was happy about this and it sounds like they changed the sections so that Lancaster was no longer in the penny section. In 1916 there were complaints about an insanitary condition of a stable and it must have been a long standing issue as there was talk about pulling the stable down in 1915.Lots of birth, death and marriage notices. I was amused about repairs required for a footpath on Ferry Road near Lancaster St. Reason for the repairs was that rats were undermining the footpath. There is a wikipedia page for Benjamin Lancaster and it doesn’t sound like he ever visited New Zealand. The land was occupied by Charles Whittaker. Benjamin Lancaster was worth £137,584.00 when he died and the online calculator couldn’t cope with this figure so I had to work it out manually. Hopefully I have it correct at £18,557,319.90 and that is a huge amount of money. I actually walked this street back in April last year during lockdown at the same time that I walked Moorhouse Ave. This is only 2.6km from my house and I call that a short walk. There is only one old house on the street and it is occupied by a business. The biggest business would be AA Auto Centre plus a couple of car related businesses. There is also a cafe which would probably cater to the workers in the area.

Richardson Terrace in Woolston – Named after John Richardson (1847?-1927). River Road South first appears in street directories in 1896. Becomes River Road West in 1900. Re-named Richardson Terrace in 1904. John Richardson, a tanner, was the first mayor of Woolston when the borough was created in 1893. He was mayor until 1896, and again from 1902. He lived at Regent Street (later part of Ferry Road), Woolston, until shortly before his death. Richardson Terrace runs off this. First appears in street directories in 1911. A reasonable amount of information from the library website. There is a memorial to John Richardson at the Ferry Road end of the street but as I actually walked this street in November 2019 I can’t remember if I manage to get a photo of it. I have no idea why I didn’t research and write up the street back in 2019 but sometimes I walk too many streets.There were too many entries for River Road in Papers Past as it was a common name for streets. Lots of entries about flooding problems and it is obviously still an issue on this street. In 1910 there was discussion about forming the road once title to the land required for road widening was completed. Discussion in 1914 about extension to bridge over Bell’s Creek at Richardson Terrace. In 1913 the Woolston Lawn Tennis Club opened on land that they had purchased. In 1930s there were meetings about the railway bridge and the height of it. Described as being dangerous and the risk of trucks hitting it. In 1935 there was discussion about building a library on the corner of Opawa Rd and Richardson Terrace. The library is still on this corner and Richardson Terrace is on the border of Opawa but the library has it in the suburb of Woolston. Lots of articles about accidents and cars occasionally went into the river. Lots of mention about setting up the memorial garden to J McCombs and there is an entrance to this memorial garden on Richardson Terrace. Lots of death notices. In 1913 John Richardson was born in Cupar in Scotland and he was orphaned as a child of 4 or 5 years old. He was bought up by his uncle John Smith. He came to New Zealand with his aunt and uncle in 1864 on the ship West Australian. His uncle established a tannery and carrier business in Woolston. John Richardson inherited this business when his uncle died but sold it to Walter Hill in 1897. John Richardson married Matilda Witty on 21st August 1889 at the residence of Matilda’s sister. John was aged 42 and Matilda aged 57 at the time of their marriage going by marriage records. Matilda’s first husband died in Yorkshire in 1885 and John was a bachelor. Matilda had several members of her family in Christchurch including her son George Witty. Both John and Matilda are buried in Woolston cemetery but most family trees on the ancestry website haven’t figured this out. John died in 1927 aged 80 and Matilda died in 1913 aged 81.There are still many older houses on this street dated between 1890 and 1920 but there are a few built more recently. There seems to be at least one house for every decade. Lovely houses here but still wouldn’t live here because of the flooding issues.

Clarendon Tce formerly River Road West in Woolston. Named after the Clarendon Building, part of Oxford University. There is a group of streets near the Radley Bridge given names associated with Oxford, England. Clarendon Terrace is first mentioned in an advertisement in the Star in 1881 and first appears in street directories in 1903 with a see ref. to River Road west. Clarendon Terrace first appears in street directories without this reference in 1910.A small amount of information from the library website and I couldn’t find the 1881 ad that they mentioned. There were so many streets called River Road mentioned on Papers Past that I gave up. Even using River Road West or River Road Woolston didn’t help. In 1904 the footpath was mentioned and in 1908 channelling of the road was authorised. In 1917 there were building sections for sale and this was likely to be connected to the death of Andrew Johnston of Johnston’s Fish Pond. There were a lot of entries for the Fish Ponds as it was a big attraction for Christchurch people to visit. It was purchased by Robert Brims in 1928 and renamed Johnson’s Fish Pond and Amusement Park. Didn’t last long as Robert Brims went bankrupt. Lots of articles about flooding and is obviously still a problem. The saddest article that I found was headed Unwanted Baby. A baby’s body wrapped in brown paper like a parcel was found on the river bank. Many of the houses here date from 1905 and 1920 with a couple of more modern houses. I actually walked this way back in November 2019 as I was geocaching in the area. The houses here are lovely and I found a plaque for Andrew Johnston. The flooding problems would put me off living here. I love historic plaques and if you google Andrew Mansel Johnston you should find information about him.

Ailsa Place in Mairehau – Developed on farmland previously owned by Arthur William Emmett (d. 1948) and sold after his death. Part of the land was bought by the government for a state housing area “laid out on modern town planning lines”. It was referred to as Emmetts Block. Named on 24 June 1948. First appears in street directories in 1950.A small amount of information from the library website. Nothing on Papers Past apart from a yacht with the name Ailsa. The meanings for the word that I found were a German name meaning God of plenty or noble or a Scottish Gaelic word with a similar meaning. I walked this street back in May. There was only one house on this small street dated from 1990. Looked like more houses but the addresses for those houses were on the neighbouring streets.

Praem Place in Shirley- formerly Neil Place. Developed on farmland previously owned by Arthur William Emmett (d. 1948) and sold after his death. Part of the land was bought by the government for a state housing area “laid out on modern town-planning lines”. It was referred to as Emmetts Block. Neil Place was named on 24 June 1948. Re-named Praem Place on 14 September 1948 “in view of this name conflicting with a similar name in the Paparua County”. First appears in street directories in 1950.A small amount of information from the library website. Another street that I walked back in May. I couldn’t find any information on Papers Past. I also couldn’t find out the meaning of Praem but is possibly a Dutch word. There are only 6 houses here from 1940. They have a very definite state house look about them. Google maps showed a building called Saint Gebriel Church and it just looks like an ordinary house. At the end of the street there is a walkway through to Riselaw St. I remember feeling unsafe walking here and was pleased it was a tiny street. It was one of the houses near the walkway that made me feel uncomfortable.

Orontes Street in Shirley – Named after the Orontes, a P. & O. liner. Developed on farmland previously owned by Arthur William Emmett (d. 1948) and sold after his death. Part of the land was bought by the government for a state housing area “laid out on modern town planning lines”. It was referred to as Emmetts Block. Named on 24 June 1948. First appears in street directories in 1950.A small amount of information from the library website. I walked this street in May but didn’t have time to research or write up because of June and July being so busy with frequent hospital visits. There was no information on Papers Past so nothing that I can add about the naming of the street. Going by the QV website many of the houses are dated from 1950s but the rest are from 2019. Interesting that the QV has houses built in 2019 as I found a news article from 2017 about tenants in new social housing complex. The 1950 houses are typical for that era. The street runs from Quinns Rd to Emmett St. Once lockdown is over I will have to walk Emmett St.

Hercules Street in Shirley- First appears in street directories in 1948. Tiny amount of information from the library website and I couldn’t find out how this street got it’s name. I expected Papers Past to have information but nothing. I actually walked this street in May but didn’t have time to research to write it up as June and July was rather busy with frequent hospital visiting. This street runs from Marshlands Rd to Quinns Rd and there are only about 30 houses here. Most seem to have been built in 1940s and 1950s. They are typical of that era and some have a state house look about them. If they weren’t state houses it is possible that they were built under the returned servicemen scheme. If they had been state houses I would have expected them to have been mentioned in Papers Past. Street is very handy for The Palms Mall. Edited to say that I found it more information about the street and it was social housing in a block of land called Emmett’s Block. Arthur Emmett died in 1948 and he was a farmer in the area.

Louisa Chandler Place in Linwood -Named after Louisa Brittan, née Chandler, (1810?- 1901). Louisa Brittan was the wife of William Guise Brittan (1809-1876), commissioner of Crown lands for Canterbury in 1853 and also a newspaper editor. They lived at Englefield in Fitzgerald Avenue. First appears in street directories in 1995. A small amount of information from the library website. I walked this street in December 2019 and not sure why I hadn’t written it up. I remember that I was geocaching in the area and didn’t find the cache. There are houses here but I couldn’t find out any information about them. It is a very leafy and pleasant looking private lane and is at the back of Englefield. Louisa’s husband William Guise Brittan built the house Englefield and sold it in 1864. Louisa was born in 1809 and died in August 1901 aged 91. She married William Guise Brittan in Weymouth on 17th February 1842.One of Louisa’s daughters Emily Sophia Foster was the third principal of Christchurch Girls High from 1894 to 1897. There were comments in various pages online about how unusual that a married woman with children reached such a position. Sadly Emily Foster died suddenly on 30th December 1897 just after her 55th birthday. This interested me as I went to Girls High.

Price Place in Linwood – Named on 21 February 1962. A tiny amount of information from the library website and this is another street that I walked December 2019 and thought that I had already written it up. I couldn’t find any more information about the street. There are only 11 properties here and most were built in the 1960s. They are typical of the 1960s style and mostly built of brick. The street runs off Nicholas Drive between 19 and 27 Nicholas Drive. My best guess would be that someone with that surname lived there but couldn’t find anything on the electoral rolls on the ancestry website. My next guess would be that it is the surname of the developer. I would need to go to the library to research and that is obviously not possible at the moment because of lockdown. Besides the street didn’t really do a lot for me.