De Courcy Place in Avondale – Named after John De Courcy Hanafin (1920- 2006). Hanafin was a Drainage Board member and Christchurch City councillor 1989-1992. The Christchurch Drainage Board owned an area of lowlying land in Avondale which they filled up with dredgings from the river so the land could be subdivided and built on. The Board named the streets formed there and former board and staff members of the Drainage Board were among those honoured in the naming of streets. At the time of naming it was intended to have 11 streets and cul-de-sacs in the new subdivision. Named on 21 November 1984. First appears in street directories in 1987. Information supplied in 2007 by Paul Baldwin, Christchurch City Council in an interview with Margaret Harper. “Board may restrict sewage flows”, The Press, 29 November 1984 A reasonable of information from the library website. I couldn’t find out much information about this man which surprised me. I believe that he died in an accident at the age of 85 but couldn’t find any details of this accident. He is buried in Wanaka. I didn’t find much information on the ancestry website. A lot of information came up about the original John De Courcy who was an Anglo Norman knight who went to Ireland in 1176. This street is next to Avondale Park and there are only 7 houses here and they were built in 1980 and 1990. The houses are large with nice gardens. I didn’t manage to find the nearby geocache.

Mundys Rd in Dallington- formerly Mundy’s Road Named after James Mundy (1836?-1918). Mundy, a carpenter, lived on Stapletons Road in the early 20th century. Mundy’s Road is first mentioned in The Press in 1912. First appears in street directories in 1914.A small amount of information from the library website and I don’t think that they have the correct James Mundy. There wasn’t a lot of information on Papers Past and it was mostly just sections for sale in 1912.The ancestry website was a bit confusing but eventually worked out that there were three men with the name James Mundy and two of them were carpenters. James Mundy who was born in 1835 in Cornwall and died in 1918. He was living at 30 Forfar St when he died and was living at 99 Peterborough St when his wife Eliza died in 1909. His son James Mundy lived at 10 Stapleton Rd and this James was born in September 1867 and died in June 1944. He married Annie Thompson in 1899. The third James Mundy died in 1975 and mostly lived in the Riccarton area. I did find a Job Mundy who lived at Locksley on Mundys Rd in 1905 and previous to 1900 the address for him was Locksley, New Brighton Rd. I couldn’t find much information for Job and his real name was Joseph. The information that I found online said that a Joseph George Fisher Palmer who was a banker had the house Locksley built and he lived there. I couldn’t find out out when the house changed hands but Joseph Palmer was living at a house called Woodford on Papanui Rd. I would need to visit the library to get more information about this house. This street is split in half and the half that runs off Gayhurst Rd still has houses and there is only 22 properties and the earliest is from 1920 but most were built in the 1940s and 1950s. There are a couple from post earthquakes. One building that looks like it is being lived in doesn’t show up on the valuation website and looks like it used to be a business. I was geocaching in the red zone part of the street. When I looked at the old google map I saw a house that looked like an interesting older house. It had a turret and a pity that it has been demolished.

Kingsbridge Drive and Kingsbridge West in Burwood – Named after the King family who farmed on Travis Road, Burwood. King family members were George Robson King (1868-1945), his wife, Mary Ann “Polly” King, née Stevens, (1874-1958) and their daughter, Alice Maud Mary “Maudie” King (1899-1974). For many years, people passing by on the tram to North Beach would see the words M. A. King on the barn door. According to street directories, Maudie King was a dairy farmer at 88 Travis Road until 1970. She owned a large number of dogs which she fed on bread and milk. The street was named by Denis Whittington, the developer of the Brooker subdivision, at the suggestion of the Ryan brothers. Information supplied in 2007 by Ian and Norma Dixon in an interview with Margaret Harper. A reasonable amount of information from the library website. When researching Corserland Street Ian and Norma Dixon’s name popped up as living on Corserland Street. There was only two entries on Papers Past for George Robson King and one was a brief death notice but the other entry was much more interesting. It was in the court news in December 1920 and Mary Ann King applied for a maintenance and separation order with guardianship of the child of the marriage against George Robson King on the grounds of persistent cruelty. The defendant alleged that the domestic disagreements arise through his wife’s desire to be “boss”. The magistrate dismissed the application. The information that I found on the ancestry website showed George as a bootmaker in 1900 and 1911 with the address in 1911 being Travers Rd. This is possibly a spelling mistake as Mary Ann King in the same year is living on Travis Rd. George is living at 88 Travis Rd in 1919 but he is at different addresses after that date. Mary Ann and Maud continued living at 88 Travis Rd until 1954 and then it was only Maud living there. Mary Ann died in 1958 and there is only her name on the gravestone. I couldn’t find a headstone for George Robson King. George and Mary Ann were obviously living separately and Mary Ann stayed at the property. The M A King that is on the barn door mentioned in the library information I suspect stands for Mary Ann King. Kingsbridge West is obviously west of Kingsbridge Drive. All the houses on Kingsbridge West were built between 2017 to 2021. Kingsbridge Drive has houses on one part of the street and the rest is in the red zone. The houses all looked brand new but the valuation website said that some were built in 2000. There is no longer any houses in the red zone part of the street but going by the old google map they looked like impressive houses. I was geocaching in the area.

Rebecca Ave in Burwood – formerly Rebecca Lane. Named after Rebecca Brooker, née Jenner, (1819- 1887). Rebecca Brooker was a missionary nurse in the North Island and wife of Stephen. She was also a signatory to the Treaty of Waitangi. Rebecca Lane first appears in street directories in 1995. Becomes Rebecca Avenue post-1997. A small amount of information from the library website. I searched and searched and couldn’t find any evidence that Rebecca signed the Treaty Of Waitangi. Why would Rebecca be a signatory to the Treaty. I searched Papers Past but unable to find any entries for Rebecca. The ancestry website had a small amount of information but as usual many of the family trees had details but nothing to prove the information. Information from Addington Cemetery Tour Guide had the following information. Rebecca was born at Mereworth in Kent on 22nd October 1820. She was the daughter of a gardener and came to New Zealand in 1836 attached to the household of Rev J A Wilson. She was an interpreter between government and the Maori. Married Stephen Brooker at Methodist Mission Auckland on 13th December 1844. Couldn’t find marriage record. Wikipedia entry for Rev J A Wilson have him going to Australia in September 1832 on the ship Camden and then came to New Zealand in April 1833 on the ship Byron. This information differs from the Addington Cemetery Tour Guide information. I couldn’t find any information about Rev Wilson on Papers Past. There is a book about the Brooker Family History at the library but I would have to read it at the library. This street runs off Brooker Ave and there is no longer any houses here as it is in the red zone. Going by old google maps it looked like it was a lovely street. I was happy to find a colourful book fridge here and after chatting with a local I believe that it hasn’t been here for very long. There are bee hives here as well.

Brooker Ave in Burwood- Named after the Brooker family, early settlers in New Brighton. There is a bronze plaque set on a large rock at the entrance to the Brooker Reserve in Brooker Avenue commemorating the family. Stephen Brooker (1819- 1899) supposedly gave New Brighton its name. He was a hansom cabdriver in Christchurch. First appears in street directories in 1993A reasonable amount of information from the library website. I searched Papers Past and ancestry website plus other websites have information about Stephen and Rebecca Brooker. Stephen was born 25th September 1817 at Frant in the Wealden district of East Sussex and died in Christchurch 14th March 1899. Both Stephen and Rebecca are buried at the Addington Cemetery which surprised me and I actually found their grave ages ago after walking the 360 trail. I spotted the plaque to them on Brooker Ave when walking the 360 trail. Stephen married Rebecca Jenner on 13th December 1844 in Auckland and soon afterwards moved to South Australia. Returned to New Zealand in 1851 on the ship Supply. He was a road labourer, guided settlers to their holdings in Christchurch, prospected in the Malvern Hills and was a cabman who had a stand in front of Godley Statue in the Square. Stephen originally came to New Zealand in 1840 on the ship Louisa Campbell but I couldn’t find him on the passenger list. It is possible that he came on that ship from Australia and shipping records don’t always record these passengers. I also couldn’t find a marriage record for Stephen and Rebecca. A few family trees on the ancestry website had two children born to them before they were married. I found reports of bankruptcy for Stephen in 1870 but by 1884 he was working as a cab driver. In 1884 he was granted a license to prospect for minerals other than gold in the Malvern district. Granted same type of license in 1886 for the Hororata and Kowai districts. Papers Past had several articles about a ship called the Osprey and Stephen was a witness to this ship being in New Zealand waters in the 1840s and it related to something called he Tichborne Case. There was also mention of Stephen in 1855 in relationship to him finding the body of the Rev Joseph Twigger. In the 1880s Stephen purchased land in the Hurunui area. The story about Stephen naming New Brighton is that he put a stake in the ground saying it is New Brighton as he was from Brighton in England. A couple of articles say that Stephen was born at Tunbridge Wells but I suspect that there is confusion here. Stephen’s wife Rebecca was born near a place called Tonbridge in Kent. None of the family trees that I found had back up proof or sources for most of their information. This street is in the red zone and there are no longer any houses. It is bordered on one side by Donnell Sports Park. The plaque to them is still there and on Sunday a group were planting native plants in the area. There is also a disc golf course in the area and that was busy on Sunday. Lots of family groups in the park and in the playground. The toilet block at the playground is very colourful. Looking at old google maps it looks like a pleasant street but probably got very busy on sports days.

Istana Place in Burwood – Named in 1997. That was a tiny amount of information from the library website. Found a council / community board entry from 1997 which said 20 sections approved for the cul de sac and applicants submitted name of Istana Place which was accepted. The entry was very brief and no reason given for this name. There is also a street in Nelson with the same name and it is possibly from an Indonesian or Malay word meaning palace or Royal palace. There are obviously no longer any houses here as it is in the red zone. I couldn’t get a decent look on old google maps as the google vehicle didn’t go down this street. It does look like is was a pleasant street.

Corserland St in Burwood – Named after Edmund Norcross Corser (1840- 1901). Corser, a farmer, owned large tracts of land some distance east of Bassett Street. Formed post-1997. Information supplied in 2007 by Marie Corser in an interview with Margaret Harper.Norcross St in Burwood- Named after Edmund Norcross Corser (1840- 1901). Corser farmed on the land where this street was formed. First appears in street directories in 1993.Information supplied in 2007 by Marie Corser, a descendant of Edmund Corser, in an interview with Margaret Harper.

A reasonable amount of information from the library website. I am positive that I have met Marie Corser mentioned in the library information. I am doing both streets together as the information for both streets is the same plus Norcross St seemed to be part of Corserland St. There wasn’t much information on Papers Past but managed to find a reasonable amount of information on the ancestry website. There were three men called Edmund Norcross Corser. The original Edmund was born in October 1833 at Stand in Lancashire. He died in March 1901 aged 61. His son also called Edmund died in November 1941. His great son Edmund died in 1973. I believe the original Edmund purchased the property in 1880 but couldn’t find any family on the land after about 1942. These streets are in the red zone and there are no longer any houses here. On the old google maps it looks like there was still a large property with land which was possibly part of the original estate. The area was busy today with people playing disc golf as these streets go through the middle of a disc golf course. There is a couple of pieces of street art and there was an article about these in the Star News on 10th August 2021.

Flaxon Place in Burwood- Named because of an association of the name with swamps or wetlands. A subdivision developed off Kingsbridge Drive by Enterprise Homes on the opposite side of Travis Road to the Travis Wetland Nature Heritage Park. Flaxon Fells was the first name suggested. Named in 2006.A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add to this. This street runs from Kingsbridge Drive to a wee park that takes to to a street called Kingsbridge West. There are 27 houses here and they all look very new but valuation website had several built pre earthquake. None of the houses looked like they were more than a couple of years old. The houses mostly just had lawns and no gardens. There was a mixture of styles so at least it wasn’t a row of identical houses.

Azure Place in Burwood- Named in 1999. A tiny amount of information from the library website. I couldn’t find anymore information about this street. It is now in the red zone and looks like there were only about 6 houses here. There was a news article about a man being being arrested in 2013 for arson in this street. Houses badly damaged by the earthquakes were a prime target for vandals. The street ran off Brooker Ave and is fenced off to stop cars from driving here.

Convoy St in New Brighton- Formerly Waverley Street. Named after “Waverley” a novel written by Sir Walter Scott. Re-named Convoy Street. A convoy is a group of vehicles (of any type, but usually motor vehicles or ships) travelling together for mutual support. Waverley Street is first mentioned in The Press in 1897 when a petition from five ratepayers asking the New Brighton Borough Council to take over Waverley Street was referred to the Works Committee. First appears in street directories in 1906. Re-named Convoy Street on 1 September 1948 when 120 streets were re-named. This name continues the theme of naming streets in New Brighton after British Admirals, explorers and fighting seafarers. A reasonable of information from the library website and nothing that I can add to the naming of the street. Papers Past had very few entries for this street. Found a few entries 1897 where the residents requested the council to take over the street. The rest of the entries were mostly birth and death notices. There was also a Waverley St in Sydenham. Only 10 properties in this street and most are from 1980s apart from two houses from 1905. The two older houses were wooden villas that had been modified. There was a car park for the fire station which was on the corner of Convoy St and Hawke St.