Shanaway Close in Halswell – In the Oaklands subdivision. First appears in street directories in 1987.

A tiny amount of information on the library website. I couldn’t find out the reason for the name and there wasn’t anyone with that surname in New Zealand that I could find. I check ancestry website and cemetery databases. It is a placename in Ireland so that is a possibility for the name.

Not much information on Papers Past. A few ads plus garden contests.

I only walked a small part of the street as there was a footpath on only one of it and there was a car blocking it. The houses were mostly brick houses and none stood out for me.

Rowanwood Close in Halswell – In the Oaklands subdivision. First appears in street directories in 1992.

A tiny amount of information from the library website. This street runs off Lancewood Drive and it is probably named after a tree.

Only 8 entries on Papers Past and they were ads. There was a section for sale in 1986 and a two year old house for sale in 1988. The houses here were built in the 1980s.

I only walked a small part of this tiny street as the footpath only went halfway down the street.

Rosamund Place in Halswell – In a joint development by Andrew James Cunningham (1906- 1985), a farmer of 250 Halswell Road, and International Homes. The street was legalised on 10 September 1970. First appears in street directories in 1972. Information supplied in 2014 by Bob Pritchard, subdivisions officer, Christchurch City Council.

A small amount of information from the library and I couldn’t find out who the street was named after. Papers Past only had a couple of death notices and a few ads.

Most of the houses here were built in the 1970s and are on fairly large sections. The ones built in 2015 were built where there had been a large house going by google maps.

This was a pleasant street and many of the properties had nice gardens. One house I really did like and it had a lovely garden. One house had a fun letterbox.

Cunningham Place in Halswell – Named after Andrew James Cunningham (1906-1985) Cunningham, a farmer of 250 Halswell Road, was the developer of the subdivision, the Cunningham block, in 1958. It was the first subdivision of land in Halswell. He had married Miriam Anne Anderson in 1928. First appears in street directories in 1968 Information supplied in 2014 by Bob Pritchard, subdivisions officer, Christchurch City Council.

A small amount of information from the library website. I checked Papers Past and the ancestry website for Andrew James Cunningham and he was born in Akaroa plus got married in Akaroa. Grew up in Pipers Valley in Duvachelle but was living in Halswell by 1954.

Not a lot of information on Papers Past for this street. A few ads and death notices. Several entries for Oaklands School as it was frequently used as a polling booth. In 1962 the water mains and service connections were installed. In 1964 two sections were purchased for a playground.

Most of the houses here were built in the 1060s with a few built in the 1990s. None of the houses stood out for me but many had nice gardens. There is still a playground and the main entrance to Oaklands School is at the end of the street. Parking is probably horrible at the end of the school day. It is probably a pleasant street but my walk was spoiled by a couple of noxious children. I was surprised that the older wasn’t hit by a car as he was riding his bike all over the place including the footpath. The mother who had yet another younger child with her was busy on her phone. She just managed to grab this younger one when he was about to run onto the road. I don’t know why the older child wasn’t at school as he was about 10 years old and the school was open. The father was nearby and I had to cover my face as he was vaping. Decided that I didn’t like this street and it is probably why I am having sinus issues today.

Cobra Street in Halswell – Named after Gay Cobra, a racehorse. The racehorse was owned by Andrew James Cunningham, (1906-1985), a farmer of 250 Halswell Road, who developed the subdivision where the street was formed in 1960. He was living in Cobra Street at the time of his death. First appears in street directories in 1962. Information supplied in 2014 by Bob Pritchard, subdivisions officer, Christchurch City Council.

A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name of the street. Papers Past had over 500 entries for Gay Cobra.

There were lots of ads on Papers Past plus the residents on this street seemed to be an accident prone lot. Between road accidents and work place accidents but the saddest was the drowning of a young child. Several mentions between 1962 and 1964 of a new school to be built. In 1963 the article said that it would be opening in February 1964 and will be called Cobra Street School. By the time it opened in February it was being called Oaklands School. In 1964 two sections were purchased to create a playground.

Most of the houses on this street were built in the 1960s with a few built in the 1990s. The ones built in the 1990s are all on back sections. The sections on this street are fairly large and a lot of people subdivided their properties in the 1990s.

I know I was getting tired yesterday when I was walking this street as I was walking back to where I had parked my car and I had already managed to walk 10k but to miss a school. I had to check google maps as I was surprised to realise when researching that there is a school here as I hadn’t seen a school. There is an alley way that leads to the school grounds but the main entrances to the school are on other streets. None of the houses stood out for me and the street is orange road cone alley at the moment. The entire length of the street has road cones on both sides of it. The only photo that I took is of the playground.

Carol Place in Halswell – In the Oaklands subdivision. First appears in street directories in 1972.

A tiny amount of information from the library website. I couldn’t find out how this street got it’s name and I checked ancestry website and Papers Past. I couldn’t find any relatives of Karl Scott called Carol. It could have been named after a horse as Karl Scott owned racehorses. Papers Past only had a few ads and a couple of death notices for this street.

Looked like a pleasant street but cars parked blocking footpaths I find very annoying. I am able to walk around them but people on walking frames and in wheelchairs really struggle with this.

Balkwell Street in Halswell – Named after Balkwell Avenue, Newcastle Upon Tyne. John Henry “Jack” Hindess (1937-1910) was a survey cadet with Osborn & Co., the survey firm carrying out the subdivision where the street was developed. He had lived in Balkwell Avenue. Developed in 1961 by Andrew James Cunningham (1906- 1985), a farmer of 250 Halswell Road. First appears in street directories in 1981. Information supplied in 2014 by Bob Pritchard, subdivisions officer, Christchurch City Council.

A small amount of information from the library website and I am amused by his year of death on the library website. He managed to die before he was going by the library website. He actually died in 2010. It was Balkwell Ave in England where he had lived.

Practically nothing on Papers Past as it was only MED ads on there. Can anyone else remember when MED used to turn off the power to do maintenance work. The valuation website that I use had the five houses on this street built in 1990 but they were actually built in the 1960s. The houses didn’t stand out for me but there were some nice gardens. I only managed a photo of a garden decoration.

Jarrow Place in Halswell – Probably named after Jarrow, a town in the north-east of England. In the Oaklands subdivision. First appears in street directories in 1968.

A tiny amount of in information from the library website and the new library website says Probably named after Jarrow, a town in the county of Tyne and Wear in the north‐east of England.

The developer might have been a Catherine Cookson fan but I doubt it.

Very little information on Papers Past. In 1962 the water mains and services were connected. A few ads and a couple of death notices.

It is a small street with a back entrance to Oaklands School. Most of the houses were built in the 1960s and the school gate had the years 1964 to 2014 on them. None of the houses stood out for me and I imagine that parking here would be a nightmare at the beginning and end of the school day.

Tomes Road in St Albans – Named after Thomas Bennett Tomes (1821?- 1875). Tomes, a grazier, bought Rural Section 276, 50 acres in Papanui Road. His daughter, Emma, married John Stanley Monck (1845- 1929). A Papanui war memorial street. First mentioned in the Star in 1882 and first appears in street directories in 1892.

A small amount of information from the library website. Thomas Bennett Tomes died in September 1875 at Scotstown aged 54. His wife died October 1875. I found another Thomas Bennett Tomes who died in 1945 and he was the grandson of the other Thomas Bennett Tomes. The ancestry website’s family trees weren’t much help as they had too many mistakes. Several had Thomas living in the UK in 1881 which was a few years after he had died.

The earliest entry that I found in Papers Past was in 1887 and in 1888 there were complaints about the state of the road. I found the street name spelt as Tome’s Rd and Tomes’ Rd and possibly Toome’s Rd. In 1895 there was a bakehouse for let. In 1898 the Avon Road Board received correspondence asking if they were planning to rename the street. They replied that as it was one of the first streets in the area that they wouldn’t be renaming the street. There were sections for sale in 1898. In the 1910s it was mostly war information. In 1924 there was an application from residents concerned for the permission to lay out the new road which would be an extension of Tomes Rd. In 1925 there were sections for sale in the Tomes Rd extension. From 1930s onwards there were many entries about the best gardens competitions. The 1950s saw articles about Rutland St to be extended to Tomes Rd. A few complaints about this extensions not being done in time for the opening of Paparoa St School. There was a back entrance to the school om Tomes Rd. The extension was finally finished in 1961. There was a massage parlour on the street in 1976 and the owner claimed that her staff weren’t doing extras for the clients. I recognised a couple of surnames connected to this street and in 1975 I recognised a Lyttelton name. Hugh Collett got engaged to a girl who lived on this street. We used to travel in the same train carriage when going to high school.

I walked this street on Tuesday afternoon and made the mistake of doing this at the end of the school day. The street was full of parked cars from the parents and some were badly parked. Don’t get me started about cyclists on the footpath. The houses covered every decades from 1920 to 2024. Most houses were built in the 1920s, 1970s and 1990s. There was a wide variety of styles and there were some lovely older houses. I started my walk at the Rutland St end where there is the Rutland Reserve. Next to the reserve there is the Paparoa Primary School. It was a pleasant tree lined street but the school parking puts me off. I managed to get a couple of photos of houses that were a bit quirky. The war memorial street plaque was at the Papanui Rd end of the street.

Scotston Avenue in St Albans – Formerly Worcester Street. Named after Worcester in England, the county of origin of the early landholder, Thomas Bennett Tomes (1821?- 1875). Re-named Scotston Avenue. This was derived from Scottston or Scotstown, the name given to the block of land when owned by William Thomson (1818-1866). Tomes, a grazier, bought Rural Section 276, 50 acres in Papanui Road. He was formerly of Cleeve Prior, Worcestershire. His son, John Bennett Tomes (1854?- 1914) advertises land for rent on Scotson Farm, Papanui Road, in 1881. Worcester Street is first mentioned in the Star in 1882 and in street directories in 1892. Mrs John Tomes is a resident. Re-named Scotston Avenue in 1913. Thomson was the Provincial Auditor who had emigrated from Scotland. This land was later bought by Thomas Ingham Joynt (1830-1907), Provincial Solicitor. A Papanui war memorial street. [When the kerb and channel was renewed in 2008 efforts were made to retain the appeal of the liquidamber trees so they could remain a WW2 memorial for the community.]

A large amount of information from the library website. This is from the old library website and the new library website for streets has less information.

On Papers Past there were huge number of entries for Worcester St but most were for the Worcester St in the Central City. The only entries that I could find for this Worcester St was for sections for sale between 1884 and 1898. The first entry that I could find for Scotston Ave was in 1912. Several death notices including ones for John Bennett Tomes and wife of the late George Brett. There were entries for best garden competition from 1930s onwards, A couple of large properties were sold in the 1940s.

William Thomson died in 1866 aged 48. He had a military style funeral because he had been a Captain in the Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry. In 1866 the property called Scotstown was for sale in 1866 and as William Thomson was born in Scotland this would be a reason for the name of his property. There is also a hamlet called Scotstown in Scotland.

This tree lined street runs between Tomes Rd and Mays Rd. A few houses date from 1920 plus one dated from 1910. Several houses were built between 1960 and 1980 with one house built in 2000.

I walked this pleasant street on Tuesday afternoon and I liked the older houses and I almost liked the modern house. Managed to get a photo of the oldest and newest houses together. This is also a War Memorial street.