Siska Place – nothing on library website. Surprised that there was nothing on the library website as the houses here are from 1980s. Have no idea how the street got the name. Several meanings for the name. It is a Czech/Slovak name meaning cone shaped dumpling. Also found name on a Library of Congress website meaning African people. It is also the name of an Indian Reserve. It is also possibly someone’s name. The houses were all different here and at least two looked older but they were both built in the 1980s in an older style. They were two story with dormer windows and they were lovely. Another house I wish that I could have got a photo of as it was so unusual. It was all curves with no straight lines. Another house just looked plain weird. At the end of the street there was a tiny reserve. The street ran off Clonbern Place.

Rountree Street – Named after Albert William Rountree (1876?-1931). Rountree is listed as a farmer of 47 Ilam Road in street directories of 1930. This was on the corner of Carleton Road (later Kirkwood Avenue) and Ilam Road, where Rountree Street was later formed. First appears in street directories in 1960.A small amount of information from the library website. You would think that it would have been easy to find information about this man but it wasn’t. Papers Past had very little information. I managed to find a bit of information on Ancestry website but this wasn’t easy as there was at least three or four people with the same name. Found information from grave – Albert William Rountree died 16/09/1931 aged 55 also Elizabeth his wife died 06/02/1950 and they are buried at St Peters in Upper Riccarton. Several family trees has his DOB as 30/03/1873 but I can’t guarantee that they have the correct Albert Rountree. The various family trees has his wife as a Elizabeth Coleman born in Ireland in 1892 but this doesn’t feel right. They haven’t backed it up with proof. They possibly had a son also called Albert but then it looked the family in North Canterbury also had a son with the same name. I do have both Albert and Elizabeth living at 47 Ilam Rd in 1928 and then I have Elizabeth at this address in 1935 and 1938. She is described as a widow. Elizabeth died in 1950 and this would fit in with the subdivision as most houses were built in the 1950s and 1960s with a couple being built in the 1990s. Mostly brick houses here and a few family homes but suspect that many are rented out to students. The Ilam Rd end has a dairy and a fish & chip shop and there is parallel car parking this end of the street. The road is narrowed in several places to slow down the traffic but when I walked the street yesterday this wasn’t working. None of the houses stood out for me and they were very ordinary.

Clonbern Place – nothing on library website. I was surprised that there was nothing on the library website as most of the houses seem to be dated from the 1960s going by the QV website. Most houses were brick and fairly ordinary looking. There was one large house down a long driveway that looked more modern. This street is near the University. Clonbern is a place name in Ireland so it is possible that the street was named after this place.

Straven Rd – The section of street running off Fendalton Road was formerly Cuddon’s Lane. Named after William Cuddon (1835-1924). Re-named Straven Road. Named after Strathaven (pron. Strayven), a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, about 30 miles east of Kilmarnock. Cuddon established a brewery and malthouse on the corner of Fendalton Road and Cuddon’s Lane in 1869. Cuddon’s Lane first appears in street directories in 1894. Cuddon’s Lane is first mentioned in The Press in 1907 when land is advertised for sale at the corner of Cuddon’s Lane and Fendalton Road. The advertisement says the land had been owned by the Inwood family since 1862. Straven Road is first mentioned in The Press in 1903 when land owned by the estate of the late John Deans is advertised for sale. Named to continue the theme of naming Riccarton streets after places in Ayrshire, Scotland, from whence the Deans family originated. As late as 1955 Straven Road was still divided into two streets, Straven Road Riccarton and Straven Road Fendalton.A reasonable amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add as the history of the Deans family is well known in Christchurch. This street has houses dating from 1910 and covers most decades. Some are really lovely but others are looking rundown. Boys High is on this street and I entered the grounds to take photos. Been wanting to do this for years. At the Riccarton end of the street there are shops and the street turns into Clarence St. The street turns into Idris Rd at at Fendalton Rd end. This is an old part of Christchurch and the street is a very busy road.

Mayfair St – Developed when the property belonging to Henry John Washbourne (1816-1898) was subdivided. First mentioned in The Press in 1883. First appears in street directories in 1896.A small amount of information from library website. I searched and searched and couldn’t find out why it was called Mayfair St but there was also a Park Lane nearby. I found the street mentioned in 1878 when sections along Hagley Park and the saleyards were sold by Henry Washbourne. There was a big section of 29 acres which was the homestead block sold off in 1898 after Henry’s death. It was sold to George Gould with George’s intention of cutting up and selling for housing. The ancestry website has his name spelt as Washbourn and he was born in Gloucestershire. Couldn’t find any connection to London and his home in Christchurch was called Brockworth House. His first marriage was at Down Ampney in Gloucestershire and I know this area well and had a client here.This is a short street that runs off Park Tce and only has houses on one side of the street. Most are modern houses but there is one cottage from 1915. The other side used to have houses but 8 houses have been demolished and it is now an overgrown wasteland.

Brockworth Place – formerly named Hagley Street and Park Lane. Named after Brockworth in England. Park Lane first appears in street directories in 1896, Hagley Street in 1902. The two were amalgamated on 27 September 1948 to become Brockworth Place. Henry John Washbourne (1816-1898) purchased Rural Section 10, 50 acres “west of Hagley Park” in 1851. This land ran from the Plough Inn (later Nancy’s Hotel) to the Addington Sale Yards. Brockworth in Gloucestershire was the birthplace of his second wife, Mary Elizabeth Washbourne, née Jones, (1823?-1887). [A 1948 newspaper report said that Park Lane would be re-named Reynolds Street. This was not done.]A reasonable amount of information from the library website. In Papers Past I found Park Lane was mentioned in 1882 plus sections for sale in 1881. In 1895 residents wanted to change the name but it had to be referred back to Henry Washbourne as he was the original owner of the land and nominator of the name.Hagley St had sections for sale in 1899 and in 1928 the Christchurch Council requested that the Riccarton Council change the name of Hagley St as it was too confusing because of Hagley Ave. Riccarton Council refused as Hagley St had been around a lot longer and the Christchurch Council had only recently named Hagley Ave.Henry Washbourne’s house was called Brockworth after Brockworth in the UK. I found several different spellings for Henry’s surname including Washbourn and Washburn.I am not sure why is is a place as it is more of a crescent. Houses date from 1915 to present day. The older houses were probably quite spacious but now all the houses are crammed today and would be considered high density housing. There is a back entrance to Margaret Stoddard retirement home here. I would hate to live here because of the high density style of housing plus this street has a bad reputation. The reason for the bad reputation is high number of students living here.

Broadbent St – First mentioned in The Press in 1918. First appears in street directories in 1924.A small amount of information from the library website. I searched cemetery database and ancestry website with no luck. The only information I found on Papers Past was sections for sale in 1911 and 1918. In 1924 council called for estimate to repair the footpaths.I could find no reason for the name but suspect it was possibly named after a local landowner but couldn’t find any information to back this up. The QV website was playing up so limited information about the age of the buildings here but at least one is dated from 1920. Most the buildings are multi units but 2 or 3 single houses. There were also holiday houses here and are promoted as being close to Westfield Mall.

Bradshaw Tce – Formerly Straven Terrace. Named because it was formed between 10 and 16 Straven Road. Re-named Bradshaw Terrace. Named after Edward James (Ted) Bradshaw (1909-1992). Straven Terrace first appears in street directories in 1936. Its renaming to Bradshaw Terrace was suggested in 1966. Bradshaw was a son of Dr. John Christopher Bradshaw (1876-1950), organist and choirmaster at Christchurch Cathedral. He was a Riccarton Borough councillor 1944- 1955 and the mayor of Riccarton 1955-1968. [A petition from residents to the Riccarton Borough Council protested at the proposed change. They said they did not want to dishonour or detract from Mr Bradshaw, but wanted the name Straven Terrace retained. The petition was unsuccessful.]A reasonable of information from the library website and nothing that I can add to it. This street has a mixture of houses from 1930s and 1950s to 2018. There was one house from 1950 that looked so rundown that I was surprised to see that people were still living in it. This street runs off Straven Rd fairly near Riccarton Rd end.

William Brittan Ave – Named after William Guise Brittan (1809/10- 1876). Brittan was a founder of the Canterbury Settlement and Commissioner of Crown Lands. He was also the original owner of the Halswell Quarry. The street names in the Milns Estate subdivision all have an historical connection with the Halswell area. Named in 1999.Interesting information from the library website. This is a wide street with a grassy area down the middle. Modern large houses but the street has very limited parking. Part of the street borders Halswell Domain and the Domain was busy today with children flying kites. The skateboard area was also busy.

Sentinel Place – This name continues the theme of English heritage and “Courts and Castles” used for the street names in the subdivision. Developed at Milns Road/Sparks Road by Brian Gillman Ltd. Named in 2003. A wee bit of information from the library website. There was much more information from the council meeting.1/ 180 Milns Road Brian Gillman Limited This subdivision will create four new roads serving a total of eighty-three new residential allotments. The subdivision is situated at the corner of Sparks Road and Milns Road. The main access road into the subdivision is proposed to be Six Silvers Avenue, as there are six silver birch trees at the entrance to the subdivision, the roadway will be flanked by trees and centre islands giving an ‘avenue’ effect. The remaining three names proposed, Sentinel Place, Shield Place and Armour Place are connected with English heritage and “Courts and Castles” the three roads are all cul de sacs. A copy of the subdivisional plan is attached for the Board’s information. Recommendation: That the Community Board approve the following names for the new subdivision at Milns Road/Sparks Road: ! Six Silvers Avenue ! Sentinel Place ! Shield Place ! Armour PlaceA small street with modern houses that ends at a small reserve. As usual with these small streets in new subdivisions the footpath is only on one side of the street. My photo was taken from the reserve.