Melrose Street in Central City- formerly New Road and New Street. Named New Road in 1872 at the request of the residents. Patrick Street was another suggestion. Re-named Melrose Street in 1891 at the request of the residents. First appears in street directories in 1894.A small amount of information from the library website and I found the same information on Papers Past. No reason given for why the name Melrose but it is a Scottish place name so that is a possible reason. State of the road was mentioned in 1876, 1907 and 1909. The road was regraded, channelled and asphalted in 1891. The change of name to Melrose was at the request of the 13 residents of the street. Drains were mentioned several times from 1874 onwards. There seemed to be a drainage issue with many of the streets in this area. In 1880 there were three cases of typhoid and typhoid was a big issue in the early days of Christchurch causing many deaths. There was a Taylor family who lived on this street and there was at least two other Taylor families living on neighbouring streets. This street runs from Madras St to Barbadoes St and there is an entry to Ely Reserve on this street, Most of the houses here were built in the 1990s plus many built between 2016 to 2019. These are all high density housing crammed into tiny sections. There is one house from 1890 and a couple from 1920. There were a couple of the modern places that I liked and it was a pity that they were part of a huge high density complex. Parking would be a big problem here but I felt that I could almost live here or on a neighbouring street. Not sure that my son would appreciate it was I would then be within fairly easy walking distance to his place.

Aberdeen Street in Central City- Formerly Taylor’s Lane. Named after George James Taylor (1841?-1934). Re-named Aberdeen Street. Taylor’s Lane first appears in the Star in a report of a meeting of the city council in 1879 and also appears on an 1879 map. At another council meeting held on 5 April 1880 it is reported that Taylor’s Lane has been “channelled, formed and shingled”. First appears in street directories in 1883. Taylor, a storeman, is a resident, although his obituary says he died at his residence at 440 Madras Street. Re-named Aberdeen Street in 1893 after residents petitioned the city council asking for the change. Not recognised as a public street by the Christchurch City Council until 1960.A reasonable amount of information from the library website and I found the same information on Papers Past. Not much on Papers Past. There was a request for a lamp for the street and it was agreed for a kerosene lamp at the junction of Taylor’s Lane and Manchester St as long a the residents were prepared to look after it and provide the kerosene. There was a request in 1870 for Taylor’s Lane to become a public St and in 1894 it was agreed that the council take over the street. There was also a Taylor’s Lane in Addington and in 1893 this street was to change it’s name to St Mary’s St. I suspect that having two Taylor’s Lanes was confusing which is why the Central City one changed it’s name to Aberdeen St. In 1870 there was mention that the right of way that runs from Manchester St to Madras St was to be called Taylor’s Lane. In 1905 George Taylor and his wife Louisa were still living at 9 Aberdeen St but by 1911 they were living at 440 Madras St. Information from his obituary said that George Taylor was from London and came to New Zealand with his parents on the ship Joseph Fletcher in about 1856. He had a cart and carried passengers before trying gold mining. Returned to Christchurch where he worked for Bishop and Co for 40 years. There were several Taylor families living in nearby streets who were possibly related but didn’t find much information on the ancestry website. This street only has two houses left on it and I was unable to find out the ages of the houses but they have to be from 1910 or even older. The rest of the street is businesses but at the Madras St end the buildings look abandoned. I recently read the book Rebel Girls which is about suffragettes from Yorkshire and one of the women mentioned in the book lived on this street in the 1930s and 1940s. The house where she lived is still standing.

Lillys Lane in Central City. Nothing on the library website and I suspect that it isn’t an official lane. The street sign also didn’t look like an official street sign. I didn’t walk down it as it just seemed to lead to the back of a hotel on Montreal St but the sign was on Peterborough St. It is often these little right of ways that become public streets after many years of use. This is unlikely to happen for this lane while it leads to a hotel but if the usage of the land changed and it became residential then it could become an official street. I want to know who is Lilly and is it legal to have a sign like this.

Ely Street in the Central City- formerly Princess Street and Salisbury Grove. Named after an English cathedral city in Cambridgeshire. Princess Street and Salisbury Grove were amalgamated to form Ely Street in 1909. [In 1898 a petition from the residents of Salisbury Grove had been received by the City Council asking that the name be altered to Seddon Street. This was not done. A small amount of information from the library website. Most references that I found had the street as Princes Street and not Princess St. The name Ely is obvious and I love Ely in the UK. For a tiny street I found a huge amount of information and for a change there wasn’t a lot of complaints about the state of the road or drains. The surrounding streets were obsessed with the bad repair of their streets plus the drains. Ely St runs from Salisbury St to Madras St but before the streets were amalgamated into one street they were two separate streets. I am assuming that Salisbury Grove ran off Salisbury St and Princes (Princess ) St ran off Madras St but I wouldn’t take that for granted with this street. Princes St / Princess wasn’t in Papers Past as much as Salisbury St but there was a court case involving the Salvation Army in 1888. A resident objected the their band parading on the street and the resident was charged with assault. It sounds like the resident was fed up with the noise from the band as they frequently paraded in the street. Found a write up about the street which said that there were already 9 buildings on it in 1862 and the writer found the information on a map drawn up by Thomas Cass. I am currently reading a history of historical maps and there is no guarantee that these buildings existed even if they were on a map. The street was further described as a street of little homes and occupied by artisans and other tradesmen. In 1883 the council regraded Salisbury Grove and did drainage work but in 1889 council said it was a private street and that they were not responsible for it. I can see why the residents of Salisbury Grove in 1998 wanted a name change but their proposal of Seddon St was never adopted. Salisbury Grove was frequently in the court news from 1892 to as late as 1906. The reason was the various disorderly houses. For a tiny streets they had at least three disorderly houses. If anyone has ancestors with the names Ethel Smith, Flora Weston, Sara Ward or Ettie Ford sorry about finding out your ancestor’s secrets. I personally liked Liverpool Jack who was charged with keeping a brothel on the the street. There were fights and thefts involved with at least one of these houses. In the write up that I found on Papers Past it said that Salisbury Grove ran west into Madras St and that there was another narrow lane called Sedan St and then Princes St and later became Salisbury Grove. You can see why I am confused about which part was Salisbury Grove and which was Princes St. If you want an interesting read then check out the article from 13th February 1935.Sedan St was mentioned in 1881 because of drainage issues. I also want to do more reading about the name Sedan as street was supposed to have been renamed because of Franco – Prussian issues. In 1909 the council reported that Princes St and Salisbury Grove would be renamed Hawkins St. This obviously didn’t happen as in the same year it was renamed Ely St. In 1910 there were two death notices and both said Ely St but in brackets one had Princess St and the other had Princes St. Just to confuse you further the council into 1924 announced due to duplication Princes St and Salisbury Grove would be renamed Ely St. Note residents seem to have been using Ely St from 1909 going by death notices. Are you confused already as I am. Don’t worry it gets easier one the street has just one name. There was an exchange of letters to the editor in 1912 where one man complained about residents of Ely St dumping their rubbish into the cemetery. Residents replied refuting this. In 1918 and 1919 I found many ads for artificial limbs business at 53 Ely St set up by W Chappell. I seriously sidetracked here looking up William Henry Chappell. In 1930 the council said that the street was exempt from road widening. Sadly in 1925 there were three cases of polio in the streets. In November 1937 a J S Barnett suggested that the city buy Ely St and build cottages for old age pensioners. There was a wee flurry of letters from the residents of Ely St and they were not happy with Barnett’s suggestion. This is a tiny street with no footpaths and it is still a narrow street. Parking must be horrendous for the residents. for a tiny street it has 74 properties but most are modern high density housing with most being built in 1990s or 2015 to 2016. They are so crammed in on the sections that if you sneezed all the neighbours would hear you. There are three older houses and one is looking very shabby. One from 1880 and one from 1890 plus one from 1910 and these three houses are at the end that runs from Salisbury St. The road also has big plots of raised gardens in it. It looks lovely but must be a nightmare for driving. There is a lovely wee reserve here called Ely Reserve and the reserve goes through to Melrose St with a third entrance to Moa Place. I wish that I could remember the street from before all the high density housing was built.

Otley Street in Central City- formerly New Street, North Street and Clyde Street. Named after Henry John Otley (1863- 1939). North Street was re-named Clyde Street in 1883. Residents requested the change because there was another North Street. The street was also taken over by the city council in 1883. Re-named Otley Street on 1 September 1948 when 120 streets were re-named. The change had been suggested in 1932. Otley was a builder. He was a partner in Winny and Otley, Winny being Charles Winny (1850- 1924), who was Mayor of New Brighton. Otley was also a freemason and also a Linwood borough councillor and Christchurch city councillor 1903-1917.A reasonable amount of information from the library website, Not sure that it is correct that street is named after Henry John Otley and I must see if I can access the street naming details from 1948.So many North Streets that I limited my search to Central Christchurch and St Albans but still probably missed information. Mostly found death notices. There was a house and section for sale in 1888. In 1891 a body of a baby was found and the mother was eventually charged. Then in 1908 there was a body of a baby was found on the footpath. The body was in a box and probably had been buried. Coroner said that the baby was likely to have been a stillborn baby. They didn’t find the mother of this one. Only a couple of complaints about the state of the road. Not a lot of entries for this street on Papers Past. Henry John Otley lived in St Andrews Square and then Hereford St in Linwood. In 1902 he is on record of being opposed to increasing wages for his workers. He also wanted factory workers to have their wages lowered. In 1917 he was standing for election to the Hospital Board. Henry Otley was a timber merchant and builder. Henry had a brother Charles Edward Otley who also was a timber merchant and his business was called C E Otley Ltd and the business address was 381 Madras St. Charles and his wife Annie lived at 387 Madras St. Otley Street runs off Madras St very close to where Charles Otley has his home and business, My personal feeling is that the street was named after Charles Otley rather than his brother. The street runs from Madras St Barbadoes St and it is a fairly narrow street. The property website said that there is only 29 properties here but it seemed like a lot more than that. Many are multi dwellings especially the ones from 1990s. There was a big block of modern apartments that looked much more recent and perhaps the property website hasn’t updated it’s information. Only about three older houses left on the street and the one from 1880 was looking rather rundown. I did rather like the very modern looking apartments but you are too close to the neighbours. I know, it is very strange for me to like a modern building. Parking was also be a big issue on this street. I both liked and didn’t like the street.

Airedale Place in the Central City- formerly Gosling’s right-of-way and Gosling’s Lane. Formerly Goslings Lane. Named after Joseph Gosling (1792?-1883). Re-named Airedale Place. William Gosling (1820- 1900) and his family arrived on the Randolph in 1850. His father, Joseph Gosling, a blacksmith, and his sister, Mary, arrived in 1863. William Gosling bought land for them in Salisbury Street west. At a city council meeting held 5 April 1880, it was reported that Gosling’s right-ofway had been “channelled, formed and shingled”. Gosling’s Lane first appears in street directories in 1892. Re-named Airedale Place in 1914.A reasonable amount of information from the library website. As early as 1880 there was a death notice for someone on this street. In 1899 there was sections for sale. Joseph died in November 1883 and the death notice said that his funeral will leave his residence on Salisbury St. There were at least two businesses here as in 1907 a workshop was for sale and Osborne’s Yard was looking staff. In 1914 residents requested that the street be renamed Salisbury Crescent. This obviously didn’t happen as there were council reports in 1914 and 1924 about renaming the street Airedale Place. Airedale is a place name in Yorkshire. Both names overlapped for a few years. In 1926 the Lucas Brothers were selling their business here. In 1936 there was a fire at H Willis & Co Foundry at 26 Airedale Place. They were similar businesses so it is possible that H Willis was the new owner of the business that the Lucas Brothers were selling. In 1945 two women were charged with using their premises as a common gaming house. The Gosling family – both William and Joseph were living on Market Place and both were blacksmiths. In 1880 / 1881 Joseph was on Victoria St and William still on Market Place and both were described as out of business. The roll for 1885 has Joseph on Victoria St and out of business still but no William on the roll. As Joseph died in 1883 aged 91 it took a couple of years for the roll to catch up. Joseph is buried at Barbadoes Cemetery along with his sister Baston Mary Gosling. I couldn’t find shipping records for Joseph. William Gosling probably ended up living at a property called Coonour assuming that the library linked the correct William to Joseph. The ancestry website wasn’t much help but William who came out on the Randolph was a blacksmith so it is probably correct. Many of the family trees on the ancestry website have William’s father as James Gosling but you know how much I trust the information on family trees. I don’t trust family tree information. What is annoying me is that I know that I have searched the Gosling name previously for something totally different but can’t remember why. I will have to confess that I didn’t actually walk this street as I didn’t feel comfortable or safe doing it. Airedale Place runs off Salisbury St and it is several two story blocks of social housing which was built in 1966. They had earthquake repairs done in 2016 and the tenants apparently made a fuss about the disruption to their lives.

Westwood Tce in the Central City- formerly Davis’ right-of way and Davis Lane. Re-named Westwood Terrace. May be named after Elizabeth, known as Lizzie Hurd, née Westwood, (1826- 1910). A report in the Star of a city council meeting held on 5 April 1880 says Davis’ right-of-way has been “channelled, formed and shingled”. Davis Lane first appears in street directories in 1894. Re-named Westwood Terrace in 1913.A small amount of information from the library website. It is quite possible that the street is named after Lizzie Hurd but there is also a place called Westwood near Peterborough in the UK. Westwood Tce is close to Peterborough St. I couldn’t find a huge amount of information about this street. In 1901 there was a property for sale. A room for let in 1906 and in 1900 a boy was charged with throwing stones. I couldn’t out who the Davis was who had the right of way. Without a full name it was impossible to search. Davis was a very common surname. Between 1914 and 1916 there were coroner reports on 4 elderly men who had died suddenly. They all died of natural causes but one poor fellow was found dead at his front gate. In 1918 four old age pensioners were injured in a fire in their house. This wasn’t a safe street for the elderly.. In 1944 this street was included in a discussion about if the council should maintain rights of ways and easements. I couldn’t walk this street as it looked like a private driveway but the street sign didn’t say private. The street runs from Salisbury St to Park Tce and the Park Tce ended is blocked off. I found a recent report which said that 13 properties had legal access to this street. The street was described as being a vehicle and service road for Bishopspark Retirement Village and they were concerned about the safety of the inhabitants. It makes you wonder how long this area has housed the elderly with the street in the early 1900s seeming to have a large number of elderly living on it. I don’t know if the street is named after Lizzie Hurd but she sounds like an interesting character. Frank Hurd was her third husband and the library have more information about her that is worth reading.

Salisbury Street in the Central City- Named after the English bishopric of Salisbury. One of the original streets of Christchurch named in 1850 by Captain Joseph Thomas (b. 1803?) and Edward Jollie (1825- 1894). The names were taken from bishoprics listed in Burke’s Peerage. First mentioned in The Lyttelton Times in 1858 when land for sale there is advertised. A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name of the street. There was thousands of entries on Papers Past. The earliest entry that I could find was a Jury List dated 1860 and two men with the same names of John Atkinson. In 1862 Henry Crooks had a freehold section here and in 1863 the council received a letter from him saying that residents were unwilling to subscribe to the one third cost of metaling. Later that year the council put out a list of who paid and how much they had paid. Henry Cook’s name was not on that list. Same year the landowners on Salisbury St requested that the council do the formation of the other streets in the area but the council reply was that they didn’t have the funds. In 1861 there were letters to the editor about the nearby creek being dangerous. In 1863 the council said that they have taken steps to make the bridge safe. In the early 1900s there was at least two maternity homes. Nurse King at 90 Salisbury St and Nurse Irving’s Canadian Villa at 139 Salisbury St. There was a huge number of birth and death notices for the street. This is a long street that runs from Park Tce to Barbadoes St. There are 351 residential properties here and oldest one was built in 1905. Huge number of properties built in 2000 and 2020 and most are high density blocks of apartments. Some are so ugly and for some reason these are the ones that win awards. Many businesses on this street and the most well known would have to be Briscoes. Salvation Army have a huge building on the corner of Salisbury St and Colombo St. There is Maryville Courts which is a retirement home. A couple of the housing blocks look like they could be social housing. A building that I did like was The Salisbury Hotel but I couldn’t work out if it was a brand new building or an old building done up. They give their address as Madras St but it is on the corner of Madras St and Salisbury St. To stay here costs rather more than I am prepared to pay.

Peterborough Street in the Central City – Named after the bishopric of Peterborough in England. One of the original streets of Christchurch named in 1850 by Captain Joseph Thomas (b. 1803?) and Edward Jollie (1825-1894) in March 1850. The names were taken from bishoprics listed in Burke’s Peerage. First mentioned in The Lyttelton Times in 1852 when 1/4 acre sections are advertised for sale there. small amount of information from the library website and there is nothing that I can add about the name of the street. Huge amount of entries on Papers Past especially birth and death notices. One of the first settlers on this street was John Raven a clergyman and he was on the roll as early as 1853. In 1863 there were calls for tenders for forming and metalling the street but in 1868 in a letter to the editor a resident asked why the delays in forming the street. He said that in winter they are up to their ankles in mud. In 1869 the cost for shingling the street was £27 so the work was eventually done. In 1863 someone suggested cutting the flax that was at the peat swamp near St Lukes Church so that the ground could dry over summer. I am not sure that this was successful as there were letters to the editor in 1870 about the state of the swamp as it was being used as a cesspool. No wonder early Christchurch had so many outbreaks of typhoid. In 1866 the committee of the Female Home were able to purchase the building that they had been previously leasing. The Female Home was in the news again in 1867 when a man was charged with attempted arson. Luckily only a shed at the property was damaged. Still in the year 1866 and Charles Hilton was given permission to build a boathouse on the river opposite his house. In 1864 there was discussion about converting Free’s Creek to a covered drain. I will have to see if I can find an old map that will tell me where this creek was situated. In the 1860s there was much discussion about sinking an artesian well and in 1870 Artesian well sinkers Burton and Hollingsworth got the contract for this work. The 1860s and 1870s the street seemed to have several disorderly houses. One man in 1862 was charged with renting houses to women of loose character. In 1870 Fanny Hardy and Annie Driscoll were charged with keeping a disorderly brothel. These houses always seemed to be disorderly and was it likely that there were orderly brothels. In 1866 there was a coroner’s report about a married man from Rangiora who was the father of five children. This man went to a house of ill fame where he told the inmates that he had taken laudanum. He was taken to hospital where he expired. Verdict was suicide. There was the Phoenix Brewery on this street and it was established by Richard Taylor but was then run by A Moore and Co. I mostly only looked at Papers Past pre 1900 for this street because of the thousands of entries but a couple of the businesses on the street in the early 1900s were Browns Laundry and Hayward Bros. The street runs from Park Tce to Barbadoes St, Most the dwellings are from 1990 onwards with many built post earthquakes. They are high density building crammed onto the sections and most are really ugly. There were a few houses from 1950 and there are two houses from 1905. The house from 1915 is fenced off so I would expect that it will be demolished. The older houses are at the Barbadoes St end. Many businesses on this street and too many to name. Forte Health covers a big area. The Casino covers one block here but only has loading bays and a car park entrance on this street. The building that housed the library after the earthquakes is now a campus for NZMA a vocational college whatever that means. A building that stands out for me is the Clark Boyce building because of it’s shape. I didn’t get a photo this time but have taken photos of it previously. On the corner of Peterborough St and Montreal St is the Peterborough Centre previously the Teachers College. This heritage building was damaged in the earthquakes and still closed off and hasn’t been repaired. On the corner of Peterborough St and Park Tce is Georges Hotel. Trying to cross Victoria St and Montreal St is a nightmare as there are no lights or pedestrian crossings.

Harper Avenue in the Central City – Formerly Park Road and North Park Road. Named because it runs alongside Hagley Park. Re-named Harper Avenue. Named after George Harper (1843- 1937) Joseph Cornish Helmore (1832-1920) constructed a road through his land which was named Park Road, then North Park Road. These names do not appear in street directories because they had no residents. J. C. Helmore advertises in the Star in 1883 for his spectacles lost in North Park Road. Re-named Harper Avenue. Harper was chairman of the Christchurch Domains Board. On 8 May 1931, at the annual general meeting of the Christchurch Domains Board, Henry Kitson moved “that North Park Road between Carlton Bridge and Fendalton Bridge be re-named Harper Avenue as a compliment to the retiring chairman and his early family associations with Canterbury”. The proposal was confirmed at a city council meeting on 18 May 1931.A reasonable amount of information from the library website. One thing that the library website doesn’t mention is that George Harper was Sir George Harper when he died as he had received honours in the New Year Honours List just a few months before his death. I had always assumed that Harper Ave was named after Bishop Harper so I was surprised to learn that this wasn’t the case. George Harper was Bishop Harper’s son so it was within the family. There was discussion after George Harper’s death of renaming the street Sir George Harper Ave but that obviously didn’t happen. At the same time there was discussion about beautifying the area. Huge number of entries on Papers Past for both Park Rd and North Park Rd as most cities and towns in New Zealand had streets with the same names. Most of the entries pre 1900 concerned forming the road. In 1919 Hurst Seagar wanted the street to be a memorial Ave. The council announced in 1927 that the proposed upgrade to the street wouldn’t be going ahead and the reason given was the the Riccarton Council refused to pay their share. This might explain the letter to the editor in 1928 about the street being a vile road. I think that the best information that I found were the letters to the editor. One man in 1932 complained about evergreen trees being planted as they were dull and green. In 1935 and 1936 there were complaints about horses in the park and on the footpaths. The complaints said that the horses were prohibited from being in the park and that many riders were galloping at some speed and at times narrowly missing pedestrians. I only have cyclists on the footpaths to bitch about and can you imagine what I would be like if I had horses to contend with. I am still amused about the bullock that escaped from the sale yards and terrorised golfers and cyclists on this road and in the park. The vision of the cyclists being forced to climb a tree is priceless. This street runs from Bealey Ave to Fendalton Rd and there are no houses on this road. There are no footpaths either but that doesn’t matter as you have a lovely path to walk in North Hagley Park.