Rastrick Street – formerly Rastrick’s Lane. Named after the Rastrick family Joseph Rastrick (1808?- 1874) was a builder of Papanui Road, and his sons, Robinson Rastrick (1838-1900) and William Rastrick (1835?-1898), had a builder’s shop at what became 29 Rastrick Street. They were among the principal local building contractors in the late 19th century. The street was often used to avoid the toll-bar opposite the Carlton Hotel. Rastrick’s Lane is mentioned in the Star in 1889. Rastrick Street first appears in street directories in 1890.A reasonable of information but the library website. I seriously sidetracked researching this family and it is scary how many people get things wrong on the ancestry website.The first mention of Rastrick’s Lane that I found on Papers Past was the auction of goods in 1888. Then in 1889 there was a fire in an old house.In 1902 there were several sections for sale. Also in 1902 there is mention of property of the late R Rastrick sold to W J Rastrick, William Robinson Rastrick the son of Joseph died in 1898. In 1905 2 cottages and land fronting Rastrick St and St James Terrace was sold to John and Joseph Rastrick. Note I found 2 or 3 references to St James Terrace and this street linked to Rastrick St. In 1908 the Rastrick brothers requested the the sewer in this street be taken over by the drainage board.In 1917 there was complaints about the danger of the corner of Tonbridge and Rastrick Streets and requests that the council to take up the offer of land from Mr Rastrick to lesson the danger.Joseph Rastrick was born on 4th August 1808 in Keighley in Yorkshire to Benjamin and Betty Rastrick. Joseph married Sarah Robinson in 1831 but sadly she died in 1852 or 1853. Joseph with three of his children came to NZ on the ship Regina leaving England in December 1959. He was aged 49 and down as a single man.The three children with him were William, Robinson and Mary Ann. In the 1841 census there were 4 children Martha, William, Robinson and Mark. In 1851 census there were still 4 children Martha, William Robinson and Elizabeth Ann. Note Mark had disappeared so I am assuming he died.This street has 18 properties and one is a big complex of flats. Three houses date from 1910 and one from 1930. The are from 1990s. There are businesses at the Papanui Rd end. I am really kicking myself that I didn’t walk to the complete end of the street as I would have discovered Tonbridge St. My excuse is that one of the houses near the end had a hose going and the water was going across the entire road. I didn’t want to get wet and it is a narrow street. I still had at least 3km to walk home.

Dorset Street – Formerly Park Street. Named because of its proximity to Hagley Park. Re-named Dorset Street. Named after Dorset, a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. Park Street first appears in street directories in 1885. Re-named Dorset Street on 7 March 1904. Among a number of streets re-named in 1904 and given the names of place-names in the United Kingdom.A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name of the street. I believe that the reason for renaming was that councils merged and there were duplicate names.Hardly any mention on Papers Past apart from death notices. In 1905 there was one letter to the editor signed ratepayer complaining about the state of this street and the neighbouring Dublin St. In the same year the council announced that they would be doing channelling work. In 1921 there was a note about no buildings to be built with 33 feet of the centre of the street.There is one house here from 1910 and I suspect that it would be the Dorset House Backpackers. I vaguely recall a friend staying here and I was sure that it was called Dorset Guesthouse but I am going back to 2009 so my memory could be faulty. There are buildings from 2015 and they are at Hagley Park end. I was surprised to find out that the ugly buildings opposite Dublin St have a heritage listing. They are called Dorset St Flats and designed by Miles Warren and built in the late 1950s to early 1960s. Described as a good example of Modern Movement. Damaged in the earthquakes and currently under repair. I had no idea what is happening at the Victoria St end except that a big building seems to be going up. Googling tells me that it is possibly Bishopspark Retirement Village and I vaguely recall that there was objections to this earlier in the year. It will be replacing the complex that was damaged in the earthquakes. I thought at the time that if I had to go into a home that it would be a convenient location being so close to the city and Hagley Park but after seeing them in flesh so to speak not so sure.Trying to search for details on Papers Past wasn’t easy as there were so many entries for a Dorset St involved the Jack the Ripper murders

Dublin Street – formerly Carlton Street Named after Dublin, capital, county borough, and seaport of the Republic of Ireland. Carlton Street is first mentioned in the Star in 1879 in a report of a meeting of the Municipal Committee. First appears in street directories in 1885. Re-named Dublin Street on 7 March 1904 after amalgamation of St Albans with the city in 1903. Among a number of streets re-named in 1904 and given the names of place-names in the United Kingdom.A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name of the street. Didn’t find a huge amount of information on Papers Past. Found the same information about the renaming of the street. Carlton Street was taken over as a public street in 1878 and the channelling of the street was finished in 1879. In 1882 there were sections for sale from the Barker Estate and in 1886 there were more sections available. In 1888 things get very confusing as several letters to the council and the editor about the name of the street. A petition from Mr Black complaining about the street being named Carlton St as it should be Barker St. Then there are letters about the street name should stay Carlton St as that is what is on the titles. One letter made a comment about being a battle between Carltonites and Barkerites. To add to the confusion there was a Barker St that became Onslow St in 1889, In 1904 Carlton Mill Rd became Carlton St and then returned to Carlton Mill Rd name. I would need to look at a map from 1880s to be able to figure it out. This street has one house from 1910 and one from 1915 but most are from 1990s. One is from 2017. The back entrance to Parkbridge is on this street but technically they are on Park Terrace. I like the location but not really sure what it would be like to live here. I remember years ago taking ages to find a cache here.

Butterfield Ave in Linwood – Formerly Cemetery Road. Named because it ran from Buckleys Road to Linwood cemetery. Re-named Butterfield Avenue. May be named after Thomas Henry Butterfield (1879?- 1951). In 1884 William Attwood (1835?-1889), a farmer of Ferry Road, offered to donate land for a road from Buckleys Road to the new cemetery at Linwood. The road to the “Cemetery Reserve” was finished later that year. Attwood was chairman of the Heathcote Road Board in 1878. He owned large areas of land in Christchurch, Woolston, Sumner and Linwood. Cemetery Road first appears in street directories in 1908. Re-named Butterfield Avenue in 1934. Butterfield was a prominent local body politician.A reasonable amount of information from the library website. I searched Papers Past and the Ancestry website and couldn’t find out much about either Thomas Butterfield or William Attwood. There was also a huge number of cemetery roads in various suburbs and towns. There was one very brief paragraph about the name change for the road. In the 1930s there was improvement to the footpath, the road tar sealed and a public phone box installed. Also in 1938 the Housing Corp purchased a large block of land for housing and the same year there was a new recreation grounds of four and half acres. This is now called Bromley Park and today a large extended family group were having a New Year’s Day picnic. There was very little in Papers Past about either man except that William Attwood lived at a property called Sandhills. There was another Thomas Butterfield who had many entries in Papers Past and this Thomas in 1917 was described as an old man with over 54 convictions including ill treating his wife. This Thomas Butterfield didn’t seem to be related to Thomas Henry Butterfield. Personally I think that it is a pity that the road wasn’t named after William Attwood if he provided the land for the road.The houses here date from one in 1905 and one from 1920. Several from 1930s, 1940s and 1970s. Most are in good condition with some nice gardens. The houses are only on one side of the road as the cemetery and Bromley Park are on the other side of the road.

Leyden St in Phillipstown- Church Street Church Street first appears in street directories in 1892. Re-named Leyden Street in 1909. Another suggestion made at the time was re-naming the street Wesley Street.A small amount of information from the library website. I searched Papers Past, ancestry website and cemetery database and couldn’t find anyone with the surname of Leyden with a Christchurch connection so I have no idea where the name came from. The only place name that I could find was in the Netherlands but the name did seem to have a connection to the pilgrims who went on the Mayflower to America.The church on this street seems to have been here for a long time and the church hall was used by a lot of groups. At one stage it had a kindergarten hiring it as a school room. This didn’t stop other groups from using it for meetings. The hall had various names of church hall, social hall or Leyden St hall. In 1918 it was a sub depot for influenza cases and in November 1918 there was concern as cases had increased whereas elsewhere they were decreasing. In 1926 there was a suspicious fire at the Linwood Congregration Church School Room also known as Leyden St Hall. Luckily there was only slight damage. In 1922 they held the Sunday School Anniversary here but the article didn’t give details of years celebrated. In 1887 I found a couple of death notices for people who lived on Church St. Note there were thousands of entries for Church St as every suburb had a Church St so no wonder it got renamed.The renaming was interesting as the council wanted to rename the street Wesley St and as at least one member of the council gave the reason for the name was of there being a Methodist Church on the street. This did not go down well with the members of the church and there were letters to the editor and one person called themselves Ferry Roader. Several objections to renaming of the street were forwarded to the council led by Rev Sarginson. They had no objection to the names Leyden or Chalmers but as their church was a Congregational Church they were not prepared to accept the name Wesley.This street runs off Ferry Rd almost opposite Wilsons Rd. There are 23 properties here apart from the church. I couldn’t find the age of the the church buildings but suspect that they date from 1880s. There is one house dated from 1880s and it wasn’t the one that I expected. It is a neat wee house next to a very rough rundown house of a similar style. A few from 1915 and1920 and one from 1905 but there are several from 1990 and 2000. There was one house behind a really nice white wooden fence but the house itself looked shabby.

Cross St – Work painting a cottage in “Cross Street, off Duncan’s Road” is advertised in the Star in 1888. First appears in street directories in 1890.A small amount of information from the library website. The Duncan’s Road mentioned is now Nursery Rd. I couldn’t find out the reason for the name Cross. Searched Papers Past and ancestry website. Couldn’t find anyone with the surname Cross that was a likely candidate for the name. My best guess based on other streets with a similar name is that it was a street that crossed a certain section of land possibly land belonging to Andrew Duncan. Became common usage and then formally became Cross Street. Note this is pure guesswork on my behalf.In April 1888 there was a lamp erected on the corner of Matheson Rd and Cross Street but not many entries in Papers Past until 1917 to 1920 when there was discussion about purchasing land for a kindergarten. In 1920 the Education Dept made a grant for the purchasing of land on the corner of Cross St and Nursery Rd for an infant school in connection with Phillipstown school. Other articles call it Phillipstown Kindergarten. There is no kindergarten here any longer and it was possibly on the section that is now Cross Reserve as this is opposite the now closed Phillipstown school.There are 41 properties here and there are two big blocks of flats. The art deco looking flats were built in 1990 and the other block of flats are from 2015. Several houses from 1970s and one modern place from 2020. The house from 1910 has lovely white painted ironwork above the veranda. I was disappointed in the house from 1890 as it is a boring white square blob of a house. A few house from 1920s and 1915 and I suspect that they are the rundown looking ones with high wire fences surrounding them. I first thought that they were blocked off as they were being repaired but there are other reasons for high locked fences. Some nice houses along here but not sure that I would like living here.

Leeds St in Phillipstown– formerly Creek Road and Creek Street. Named after Leeds, a city in West Yorkshire, England. Creek Street, Phillipstown, is first mentioned in The Press in 1876. Re-named Leeds Street on 7 March 1904. Among a number of streets re-named in 1904 and given the names of place-names in the United Kingdom.A small amount of information from the library website. Not a lot that I can add about about the name of Leeds as Leeds is a well known city in Yorkshire, UK. It is also a lovely city to visit. Creek name is more interesting and lots of entries on Papers Past concerning Jackson’s Creek which is the reason for the name. Jackson’s Creek must have been a long creek or there were several creeks with the same name. It is mentioned in connection with Opawa, Sydenham and Windmill St which is known as Antigua St these days. There were problems with stagnant water and many people blamed health issues on this. The drainage board had control of the creek and there were issues with keeping the creek from blocking up. I was slightly confused as in 1877 the drainage board declared that they had abandoned Jacksons Creek and others can fill it in and utilize however they want. Then in 1880 there was notice to the person who had filled in Jacksons Creek to reopen it. I didn’t find out who the Jackson was that the creek was named after. In 1875 Andrew Duncan complained about the creek being blocked as it affected his hot houses. I suspect that Creek Street was developed on land that belonged to Andrew Duncan as in 1880 he resigned from the council and to travel to Australia for the sake of his health.There were death notices for various people from 1894 and in 1898 there were stables available to rent. I wasn’t sure if there were two halls on Leeds Street or just one hall going under several names. In early 1900s the elite band hall was mentioned but sometimes it was just called band hall. There was mention of lodge meetings at the Leeds Street Hall and again not sure if they had their own hall or if it was the same hall that the band used. The hall was a busy place and usually just called Leeds St Hall.This street seemed to get more businesses from 1920s onwards and now it is totally businesses on the street. In 1924 there was a fire at Hannah’s new boot factory. The same year Harcourt’s furniture business had a small fire and in 1940 Harcourt’s furniture factory was totally destroyed by fire. I couldn’t find mention of families on the street after the 1920s or 1930s. Death notices are the best source of this type of information. In the 1900s there was mention of Mary Ann and Jonathan Barrett who are direct ancestors of mine and this was really cool. Not a lot I can say about the buildings here as they are all businesses and none stood out for me. There was street art and I love street art.

Hillview Rd in Phillipstown – formerly Hills View Road. Hills View Road first appears in street directories in 1890.A tiny amount of information from the library website. The name of the street is fairly obvious as they would have had a good view of the Port Hills. I found more entries in Papers Past under Hill View Road rather than Hillview Road.In 1889 and 1891 there was talk of channelling work to be done on this street but they but have been slow at getting it done as there was a request in 1898 for channelling and asking the Education Board to share the cost of getting the work done.The earliest mention about the street that I could find was 1882 and it was about a missing dog. Two entries from 1940s and one was the Education Board asking for tenders to remove a residence and outbuildings from 17 Hillview Rd. In 1940 there was an obituary for Annie Jane Shaw who had died at the age of 86. She came to NZ in the ship Michelangelo in 1873 and had lived on Hillview Road for 64 years. I wonder if it was her house the Education Board wanted removed in 1941.I couldn’t find any mention of people living on this street after this date and this street now has businesses on one side and the Phillipstown Community Centre on the other side. The Phillipstown Community Centre is at the old Phillipstown school and there was a huge uproar when this school was closed a few years ago. The original school was opened 5th March 1877 and in the early 1880s there were a lot of talk about a drain that ran through the school. It was called Toom’s drain and Jackson’s Creek was mentioned. This drain and creek was a likely source of typhoid and there were many cases of typhoid in the area. Christchurch cemeteries are full of people who died from typhoid.

Papanui Road – Originally an accommodation road ie. a route for stock. Papanui Road is first mentioned in The Lyttelton Times in 1851 when tenders were called for its construction. First appears in street directories in 1878. At first it went to the junction of Sawyers Arms Road and then became Main North Road. It now stops at the junction of Harewood Road and Main North Road. Another early informal name was Boot Jack’s Road. According to local legend, Mary Blackmore (1818- 1878), wife of Henry James Blackmore (1812?-1875), was travelling along Papanui Road, got stuck in the mud, and had to be pulled out leaving her boots behind.A reasonable about of information from the library website. Couldn’t find Mary or Henry Blackmore in Papers Past, ancestry website or cemetery websites. Found the same information from 1851 and in April 1852 there was mention of the new road. Many sections for sale in 1860 and 1880 and previous to those dates it was mostly farmland. In 1858 there was discussion about building a church yet I found a marriage that took place in Papanui in 1856. There were a huge number of entries for this road in Papers Past. In 1918 a woman went missing from the Salvation Army Rescue Home. A hotel called Papanui Hotel was mentioned as early as 1850s. Papanui Woods or Bush was frequently mentioned and I found information that there was at least 200 acres of native bush still standing in Papanui. I found two meanings for Papanui. One was platform in a tree from which birds are snared. Second meaning that I found was big or large flat land.This is a long street that covers four suburbs. It starts near Northlands Mall where Papanui Road, Harewood Road and Main North Road meet. Mostly shops at this end plus a wee reserve with a war memorial. This is where a RSA Memorial Hall used to stand. Then there is mostly houses but there also St Andrews College. As you get closer to town there is St Georges Hospital plus many of the older houses has businesses in them mostly health related. Then more shops plus Merivale Mall. Many of the motels and hotels are this end. The road ends at Bealey Ave and it has covered the suburbs of Papanui, Strowen, Merivale and St Albans. Papers Past mentioned a house called Strowen in a death notice. The houses here cover most decades with several in 1960s and 2020.There is a fake tudor house and I was surprised to find that it was only built in the 1960s. There is also a plaque to Louise Henderson outside what used to be her house. I saw a display of her paintings this year at the Art Gallery. A building whose name many of my friends will recognise is Acland House. Technically St Margarets School is on Winchester St but there is also an entrance on Papanui Road. There is a gorgeous house dating from 1880s but really hard to get a decent view of it thanks to a high fence plus modern garage blocks it. Probably sick of nosy people like me. I have probably missed many interesting features but not possible to remember them all. Just one photo and it is of the house from 1880.

Wattle Drive in New Brighton / Red Zone – Named after the Australian wattle tree. This was the favourite tree of William Nicholas Ryan (1885-1950), a contractor. Named by his wife, Mary Catherine Ryan (1892- 1978). First appears in street directories in 1960. Information supplied in 2008 by Ryan’s son, Jack Ryan, in a letter to Margaret Harper. A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name of the street. Half of this street is in the red zone and the other half still has houses. The New Brighton Road end which is closer to the river is in the red zone and the Travis Rd end still has houses. Most houses seem to be from 1950s with a few from 1960. Quite a few from 2000 which seem to be practically identical. There was one house from 1990 that was a different style to the rest of the houses but it would need painting frequently to stop it from looking tired.