Sequel Road in Halswell and it is too new to be mentioned on the library website. The council minutes said that it is named after a racehorse called Franco Sequel and was stabled at Spreydon Lodge. The houses here were built between 2022 and 2024 with houses still being built. A couple of houses had nice gardens but most had lawns and shrubs. I was able to walk through to this street from Gisele Crescent using a walkway that took you to a playground. At the other end of the street there was another walkway where there were a couple of seats near the entrances of the walkway. No street view on google maps

Gisele Crescent in Halswell and too new to be mentioned on the library website. The council minutes said that the street is named after a racehorse Gisele Franco that was stabled at Spreydon Lodge. I lived near Spreydon Lodge and I honestly can’t remember seeing the racehorses that were stabled here.

The houses here were built between 2022 and 2024 but none really stood out for me. Another street where there were lawns and shrubs but very few gardens had any flowers. There was a footpath on both sides of the street which always gets a thumbs up from me. There were two walkways that ran off this street. One went to a another walkway that runs almost parallel to Sparks Road. The other walkway led to a playground on Sequel Road.

Summerleas Lane in Halswell and it is too new to be mentioned on the library website. Couldn’t find the council minutes for the naming of the street but I did find a couple of items mentioning Summerleas Farm at 79 Milns Road on Papers Past for the year 1987. I didn’t take any photos here as nothing stood out for me. The valuation website said that the houses here were built in 2023 and 2024. Google street view for May 2024 only shows about three occupied houses and a couple of houses being built plus empty sections. There are still a couple of empty sections. The houses had very tidy lawns with a few shrubs. There was a footpath even if it was on only side of the street.

Thackers Quay in Woolston – Named because it is near Thacker’s Slipway and also the Heathcote River. A cul-de-sac serving 15 warehouses at 119 Connal Street. Named in 1999.

A small amount of information from the library website and it is exactly the same information that was on the council website.

Note it was actually called Thacker’s Wharf and the earliest entry I found for the wharf was in 1852 and this information was in Papers Past and on the Ancestry website. Thacker’s Wharf was named after John Eagleston Thacker who came out from Ireland on the George Seymour. He had a store in Christchurch but eventually settled in Okains Bay. As well as being a printer he was involved in shipping.

I was surprised that I hadn’t already walked this street as I have geocached in the area. There was an article about this street on 5th September and I had plans to walk this street that weekend but I ended up in hospital instead.

There is a lot more buildings than the 15 warehouses mentioned in the library website. They all have apartments above the warehouses and they actually look quite nice. I couldn’t see the one that had been occupied by the gang mentioned in the news article and the owner must have repainted it. There is now a green space behind Thackers Quay where 119 Connal Street used to be and the Thackers Quay runs off Barton St. The map from 1958 shows that there used to be a factory where the street now exists.

Barnsfield Close in Halswell – There has been a barn associated with this property for nearly 100 years. The old red wooden barn, built around 1920-30, was a well-known feature in the neighbourhood and prominent landmark. The old barn was demolished after the September 2010 earthquake and replaced with the new red barn. The fields below the barn have provided grazing for sheep, deer and cattle. The new subdivision will overlook the ‘fields’ of the new Hoon Hay Basin Reserve

Too new for the library website but I found information on the council website. The houses here were built in 2023 and 2024 plus there are sections for sale. Footpath is mostly on only one side of the street and parking is very limited. I managed to get a photo of the new barn that the street is named after. There is also a walkway through to the wetlands area. I didn’t get a photo of the house that looks just like the red barn. The houses here are very modern. Because of the limited parking I had parked in the wetlands car park and walked to the street. I attempted this street a couple of weeks ago but because of all the vehicles from builders it was impossible to park and I was still recovering from my recent illness. I am now able walk a reasonable distance without any problems.

Another random post while I am recovering from an illness and I found this building after walking Ensors Rd in August. Entries on Papers Past started in 1910 when the fundraising started for the Girls Hostel connected to the Technical College. The foundation stone was laid in January 1912 and the hostel was opened in April 1913. The hostel had students who lived in and were taught domestic science. The chairman of the Board of Governors for the Technical College is occasionally mentioned and there is a plaque for George Scott nearby. The hostel seems to be mentioned frequently in connection with the Technical College sports grounds. The hostel was closed in 1952 and in 1954 there was a proposal that the building should become a nurses hostel. I didn’t find out if this actually happened. A letter to the editor in 1954 suggested that it would make a good home for the elderly. I hope that this building can be saved and not get demolished.

This is obviously not a street but as I am recovering from an illness called Guillain Barre Syndrome that saw me in hospital for a week I am under orders not to overdo things. I will probably post some random stuff that interests me.

This is the only photo that I found on my computer for this building and I thought that I had more photos of it. The building Harley Chambers has been in the news recently as it is probably going to be demolished even though it is a heritage building. The recent article said that the building is 90 years old yet I found an article about Harley Chambers from 1931. It was a letter to the editor about the traffic problems here with a taxi stand outside the building. There was also a garage and a petrol station nearby to add to the traffic woes. Article in May 1933 solved the mystery as it mentions that the Harley medical chambers has been sold to a company called Harley Chambers Ltd and they will extend the chambers that is currently occupied by a wooden building. The new building was finished in 1934 and it was mentioned that it had given work to many of the unemployed in the city. The articles in the 1940s and 1950s were all about the shares of the company. Most ads were from dentists from 1930s onwards. The 1970s got a bit more interesting plus confusing. In 1970 there was a takeover bid for the company and I got the impression that it was a bit of a hostile takeover. In 1974 a Mr Hanna took over the company but in 1979 the company was wound up and went into liquidation because of bad debts. Mr Hanna also owned a property in Hanmer Springs called The Lodge. In 1978 there was a new owner of the building and it had been a mortgagee sale. The new owner was NZ Insurance Finance Ltd and they would restore the building to the former standard as a building for medical and dentists businesses. I was amused by a court case in 1977 where a woman was charged with running a brothel in the building. In 1984 anti abortionist picketed the because because of a doctor in this building. In the late 1980s and early 1990s there was obviously still dentists in this building as I took both my sons here for their braces on their teeth. I lost track of this building in later years and it was obviously damaged in the earthquake. Heritage New Zealand say that the original building was constructed in 1929 and extended in 1934.

Merton Place in Bryndwr – Named after George Henry Merton (1855‐1932). Merton was headmaster of the Cathedral School and later of the Lower School at Christ’s College. One of the streets in the Papanui area formed on land belonging to Christ’s College. First appears in street directories in 1958.

A small amount of information from the library website. Not much information on Papers Past. There were several ads plus the usual death notices. The most interesting article would be the one in 1976 when the leases were renewed and the annual lease went from $65 to nearly $600. At this stage the land was still owned by Christ’s College. I did get a bit side tracked reading Papers Past as there were a few articles about Horatio Nelson and Lady Hamilton as they lived together in a house called Merton Place. Lady Hamilton’s husband also lived with them.

George Henry Merton grew up in Rangiora where his father had a private school. Just to amuse my friends I will add that I found in the court news information about George Henry Merton being fined in 1900 for riding a bike on the footpath. Yes I do approve of cyclists on footpaths being fined.

All the houses on this street were built in the 1950s and some were obviously from that era but others had been modernised. There is a walkway that leads to Jennifer Street. A pleasant street and I was visiting a friend here. It is a short street just in case my friends think that I am disobeying the advice of the neurologist about limiting how much walking I do after my recent illness.

Ensors Road in Waltham and Opawa – formerly Ensor’s Road. Named after Edmund Henry Ensor (1840-1884).Ensor arrived in Canterbury in 1860 on the William Miles. At different times he shared ownership of several farms, worked as a land and estate agent and part-owned a flax mill. He is listed in street directories in 1864 living at Creek Cottage, Opawa. Ensor’s Road first appears in the Star in 1877 in a report of a meeting of the Heathcote Road Board. Ensors Road first appears in street directories in 1892.

A reasonable amount of information the library website. The first entry that I found on Papers Past was in 1872 when there were complaints about gorse growing in the road. In 1875 the ratepayers on the street also were complaining about the state of the road. There was a cottage available in 1878 and in 1880 there were sections available. In 1881 Duncan and Son nursery moved to the corner of Ensors Rd and the railway. Between 1878 and 1883 there was discussion about a railway platform to be built here. There were more sections available in 1885. In 1887 the road near the river was flooded. From the 1890s onwards it was mostly death notices and ads. R Duncan in 1907 had sections available and in 1913 the railway dept was to build on the land that originally belonged to the Duncan family. In 1919 there were lots of complaints about the smoke from the railway sheds. After 1914 most the entries were about games being played on the Technical College sports grounds. In 1912 the foundations for the Girls Training Hostel were laid. As well as buildings for staff there were rooms for 18 resident students. They were to be taught cooking and how to run a household.

As usual this street is named after a man who went bankrupt. Edmund Ensor went bankrupt in 1872 along with his brother Alfred Ensor. After 1872 he was living out in the Lake Forsyth area. When he died in 1884 he was living in Leithfield. He was only 44 years old when he died after a fall from a horse. He had been warned that the horse was too dangerous to ride.

I decided to walk this street after reading an article in the Press about guerrilla gardening. The guerrilla garden is at the Ferry Rd end of the street. At the Ferry Rd end it is mostly businesses and there is a big empty section where the charity barn used to be. This is the same corner where I remember there used to be a boat that sat there for years. One side of the street seemed to have lots of social housing. On the other side there was Isabella Reserve and then houses. As you get closer to the railway lines there is the Ara Institute of Canterbury campus and the Girls Hostel building from 1912 is still here but it is fenced off. On the other side it is railway line plus a building for Community Corrections. There is empty sections here where at least one big business building has been demolished. After the railway line and you walk towards the river there are several of the older houses. There is several houses being built at this end of the street and when I checked street view there had been a gorgeous older house on this site. There is no longer a sports ground on the Ara site but I have friends who can remember playing sports here. When I walked near the railway line I tried to remember what the train station that used to be here looked like. I don’t recall ever getting off at this railway station when I travelled on the school train. I managed to get a photo of some of the older houses and two had the years that they were built above the doors. One had 1910 and the other 1915 above the doors. The houses on this street date from 1880 to 2024 with a big block built in the 1990s. There was a variety of styles of houses here but I did prefer the older houses.

Isabella Place in Waltham – formerly part of Ensors Road. Named after Isabella Maria Ensor, née Le Fleming, (1830?-1900) Isabella Ensor was the wife of Edmund Henry Ensor (1840-1884). Their daughter, also named Isabella, died aged 7 months in 1865. Named in 1975.

A small amount of information from the library website. Papers Past had an article in 1975 where it is mentioned that the street was going to be Isabel Place but the council realised that they had the wrong name for Mrs Ensor. This street was created by the Ensors Rd deviation. I checked old maps and Ensors Rd used to end at Ferry Rd opposite the Edmonds Factory. Ensors Rd now aligns with Aldwins Rd. Papers Past mostly had ads and a few death notices. Isabella Place at the Ferry Rd end is blocked off and there is a couple of businesses this end. There is also some very modern houses this end. The houses are only on one side of the street as there is a reserve on the other side of the street. There is a house dating from 1880 but it is in poor condition. There was a lovely house from 1910. In the reserve there is a Llew Summers sculpture called Joy of Eternal Spring.

I got rather sidetracked researching Isabella Ensor on ancestry website. Papers Past didn’t help by having a Lady Isabella Le Fleming. The various family trees on Ancestry also didn’t help as there were so many mistakes. Isabella who married Edmund Henry Ensor was born Isabella Maria Fleming and her father was Richard Fleming. Lady Isabella Le Fleming was possibly Isabella Ensor’s sister-in-law. Very complicated family history. Isabella Ensor’s father possibly became a baronet or the various people researching the family have mixed up ancestors with similar names.