Carrington Street in St Albans – Named after the Very Reverend Charles Walter Carrington (1859- 1941). Carrington was the dean of Christchurch Cathedral 1913- 1927. One of three streets named in 1923 and formed on land that had been originally owned by the Anglican diocese. Sales of land were made for “increased revenue for Diocesan purposes”. First appears in street directories in 1924.

A reasonable amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name of the street.

Not a lot of information in Papers Past and it was mostly birth and death notices. Between 1923 and 1926 there were ads for the sale of sections. In 1925 Mr W Newman was mentioned as erecting houses in the street. Might explain why the houses all looked very similar. In 1927 and 1928 the Carrington Street Sunday School were meeting in a private home belonging to Mr and Mrs Bishop. In the 1960s and 1970s there were mostly entries about the best street competitions.

It was a pleasant street and apart from a couple of houses built in the 1970s the houses were built in the 1920s. They also had nice gardens.

Pascoe Avenue in Mairehau – formerly Shaw Avenue. Shaw Avenue first appears in street directories in 1939. Re-named Pascoe Avenue on 1 September 1948 when 120 streets were re-named.

Unusual for a cul de sac to be called an avenue as I would have expected it to be place. The council didn’t give a reason for the name Pascoe but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was named after a person.

A small amount of information from the library website. The street was renamed because there was a Shaw Avenue in New Brighton. Not a lot of information on Papers Past. Under Shaw Avenue there were sections for sale in the late 1930s plus death notices. In the 1960s there were lots of ads for selling Siamese kittens and pup puppies.

Apart from one house built in the 1960s all the houses here were built in the 1930s. Most of the houses seemed quite nice but the residents are really bad at parking.

Kensington Avenue in Mairehau – Named after Kensington, a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Named because it runs off Westminster Street. First appears in street directories in 1923.

A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name.

The entries in Papers Past in the 1920s were mostly birth notices and flooding issues. There were also sections for sale in the late 1920s. There were complaints about the state of the road which seemed to relate to the flooding issues plus in 1942 there were complaints about cows on the street. In 1952 there was a letter to the editor saying that there wasn’t a need for another shop in the area as there was already a shop on the corner of Kensington Ave and Westminster Street. In 1958 the 19 residents of the street requested that the trees on the street be removed. This was declined and the trees are apparently hornbeams. I had to google them as I hadn’t heard of these trees. In 1959 it was proposed to build a library and in 1961 the new children’s library was opened. In 1964 the adult section of the library was opened. There wasn’t many entries in the 1970s and the 1980s.

I came onto the street through a walkway beside the library and there are still trees lining half of the street. Most of the houses on this street were built in the 1920s and the 1940s with only about six houses built in other decades. Many of the older houses on the street are lovely but the house that really stood out for me was painted in a Christmas theme. Near the Westminster St end of the street there is a drain which is the drain which caused the flooding issues in the 1920s and the 1930s. The building that used to be a shop is in very poor condition.

Fergusson Avenue in Mairehau – Named after General Sir Charles Fergusson (1865-1951). Fergusson was the Governor General of New Zealand 1924-1930. Described as a “new” street in The Press in 1927 when land is advertised for sale there. First appears in street directories in 1930. [His surname is spelt correctly in 1930 but over the years one “s” was dropped. This was corrected in 1959.]

A reasonable amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name of the street. I found the entry in 1959 about having to change the street signs to fix the spelling mistake.

I remember a Governor General Sir Bernard Fergusson and he was Governor General in the 1960s. He was the son of Sir Charles Fergusson.

In Papers Past there were ads for the sale of sections in 1927 and 1928. Between 1929 and 1931 there were complaints from the 9 residents of the street about the state of the street especially with the damage from the cattle that roamed the street. The street was eventually sealed in 1954. There was a rabbit farm on the street in the 1930s and it was sometimes called Mairehau Rabbitry and sometimes called H Lawrence Rabbitry. H Lawrence leased land from the council to grow rabbit food. The land was supposed to be a reserve. There were a few death notices over the years. In 1958 it was announced that a kindergarten was to be built and it was opened in February 1959. Most entries in the 1960s and 1970s relate to the kindergarten.

Most houses on this street were built in the 1920s or the 1950s and it looked like a pleasant street. There is still a kindergarten here on the street. One reason that I liked this street was that there is a book exchange here and we all know how I love these little street libraries. I did take a book called A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. The book exchange is in front of a nice 1920s house.

Greenwood Close in Mairehau and wasn’t any information on library website either the old or new website.

I searched the Ancestry website for anyone with the Greenwood surname but couldn’t find any who had lived in this area.

The only entry in Papers Past under Greenwood Close was from the council in 1989 about changing the street name from Greenwood Street to Greenwood Close. There were lots of Greenwood Streets throughout New Zealand. For this Greenwood Street I could only find a few death notices, a couple of accidents plus sections for sale in the 1950s.

I walked to this street through a walkway from Innes Road and most houses here were built in the 1950s with a couple built later. One house had a fun looking garden.

Manuka Street in Mairehau – First appears in street directories in 1957.

A tiny amount of information from the library website and the street would have been named after the plant. There are lots of Manuka Streets in cities and towns in New Zealand.

Papers Past had a few death notices and engagement notices. In the early 1950s there were sections for sale. In the 1970s most entries in Papers Past were for a horse called Manuka Street.

Most houses on this street were built in the 1950s with a few built later. Most houses were of a style typical for the 1950s and it looked like a pleasant street with well kept gardens. There was one house which had a lawn that looked a bit strange and when I looked at google maps it showed the house in February this year. In February the house had a lawn with a flower bed on the street boundary but now there are no flowers and there are neat curved edges. I had to take a screenshot to show the difference.

Te Pihopa Way in Halswel – Te Pihopa means: the Bishop. Named because it was formed on land owned by the Catholic Diocese since the 1880s. Named in 2003.

A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name of the street.

The houses here were built in 2000 and a few had nice gardens. The footpath was on both sides of the street and it looked like a pleasant street. The name of the street explains why the reserve is called Bishop’s Green.

Cunneen Place in Halswell – Named after Bishop John Cunneen (1932?- 2010). Formed on land subdivided by the Roman Catholic Church. Named in 2003

A small amount of information from the library website. Cunneen was Bishop between 1995 and 2007.

I walked from Meeking Place on a walkway and the little reserve is pleasant. The houses here were built in 2000 and most just had lawns and shrubs rather than flower gardens. Footpath on only one side of the street and the only house that stood out for me was rather ugly but not quite toilet block style.

Meeking Place in Halswell – Named after Bishop Emeritus Basil Meeking (1929-). Formed on land subdivided by the Roman Catholic Bishop. Named in 2003.

A small amount of information from the library website. Meeking was Bishop from 1982 to 1995 and he died in 2020 aged 90.

I was geocaching in the area and walked to this street from Dunbars Rd on a small walkway. The houses here were built in 2000 and most just had lawns and scrubs. One did have an interesting garden but I didn’t manage a photo. Footpath on only one side of the street and there is a walkway that takes you to Cunneen Place. I did like the decorative street sign. There is an entrance to a religious place called Living Waters Christian Centre.

Harakeke St in Riccarton – Harakeke means: flax. Named to commemorate the Deans families’ efforts to conserve the native forest trees in Riccarton. The naming was also designed to showcase the Maori names of plants. Named in 1892 when John Deans split up 150 acres of the Deans Estate into 105 lots which were then auctioned. Referred to as “formed and opened up” in The Press in 1898.

A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name of the street.

A reasonable amount of information from Papers Past. Between 1901 and 1915 there were mostly ads for sections plus a few ads for servants. In 1917 there was a new boarding house for Christchurch Boys High and this boarding house get mentioned frequently between 1917 and 1989. In 1925 the boarding house is given the name of Adams House.

Many death notices over the years plus a few birth notices. Drainage and flooding issues are frequently mentioned and in 1959 the stormwater drains were improved to fix the flooding problems. I don’t know if this helped as flooding is mentioned again in 1986. In 1929 there was a big fire in a pine plantation that was on this street. There was a kindergarten built in 1957/ 1958 and it is still here. The street was extended in 1954 and sections were available in 1957. I checked old maps and the extension to the street was at the Fendalton Rd end of the street. It would have been formed on Daresbury property and there is a street called Daresbury Lane nearby. In the 1960s there were several applications for establishing a garage and service station on the corner of Harakeke St and Riccarton Rd but they kept getting declined. There was an engagement notice that stood out for me in 1967 and it was for a Susanne Jones. Susanne used to babysit my younger brother and me when we were young. In 1971 there were three sections available at 75 Harakeke St. The house belonged to Sir Joseph Ward and he died in 1970. His grandfather was a New Zealand Prime Minister and he was also Sir Joseph Ward. The house is still there and it was built in 1905.

In 1984 and 1985 a property at 7 Harakeke Street is mentioned as being a special care unit for the elderly with mild confusion. It was also described as an experimental home for Alzheimer victims. It is now called Enliven Positive Aging Services and includes the Totara Club and Harakeke Club.

I walked this street on Saturday after visiting the Buddhist Temple as part of Open Christchurch. The Buddhist Temple entrance is on Riccarton Rd but their address is Harakeke St. The Enliven Positive Aging Services is almost opposite the Buddhist Temple’s car park. The kindergarten is also near the Riccarton Rd end of the street. There is a mixture of house styles and houses date from 1905 to 2020 on this street. There are two streams here Ilam stream and Wairmairi Stream so no wonder there have been flooding issues on this street. At the end of the street there is Daresbury Park plus a walkway that takes you through to Fendalton Rd. There are some lovely houses on this street but they are well beyond my budget.