Paradyne Place in Wigram and it isn’t on the library website. I did find a mention on Papers Past and I did have a wee laugh. In 1977 there was an article about suggested names for a new street in an industrial subdivision owned by J G Rutherford and Toledo Holdings Ltd. The names of Carlin Place and Harvard Place had already been rejected. The short list of suggested names were Plastics Place, Paradyne Place, Generator Place, Generation Place and Industries Place. Obviously Paradyne Place was successful and paradyne was a liquid fuel additive. I was amused by the councillor who suggested that the street be called Generation Gap.
It is still an industrial area and I ended up having a brief chat with one of the business owners. I did ask him about his car number plate and he is a huge David Bowie fan which was the reason for the personalised number plate.
McClintock Lane in Sockburn – Named after Brother James Ignatius McClintock (1910-1985) Brother McClintock was foundation principal of St Thomas of Canterbury College 1961-1966.
Formed on land purchased from the school. Named in 2003.
A small amount of information from the library website for a tiny street. There are apparently 7 houses here all built in 2005 but I didn’t walk this wee street. There wasn’t a footpath and I wouldn’t have been comfortable walking it. To walk it you would have been practically in the houses front gardens and the lane was like a narrow driveway.
Takaro Ave in Sockburn and another street that isn’t on the library website. Takaro means either play or sport and I suspect the name is because of it being so close to Sockburn Park. In 1976 there was discussion about building 22 pensioner units and in 1978 and 1979 the units were available for occupation. The units are still there and they are on Takaro Ave but are known as Greenhurst Court. The units are at the Greenhurst St end of Takaro Ave. The rest of the houses in the street were built in 1980s and 1990s. The Sockburn Park Recreation Centre is mentioned as being at the rear of the Sockburn Park swimming pool. The swimming pool which is no longer there was built in an old quarry. A couple of houses that I quite liked. I was amused to see that the Hoon Hay Squash Club is in the Recreation Centre as it is a long way from Hoon Hay. It was a busy street yesterday as someone had a huge Christmas party and the footpath was blocked by cars being parked on the footpath. Luckily there was a footpath on both sides of the street.
Weaver Place in Sockburn and there wasn’t any information on the library website yet the units were built in the 1960s.
Sockburn Park is one side of the street and Weaver’s Court are on the other side. Weaver’s Courts is social housing built in 1965 and owned by the city council. Weaver’s Court is at 10 Weaver Place and the only other building on the street is Springs Community Early Learning Centre. There used to be an office for the Sockburn Pool here but the pool was closed in 2006 and demolished in 2007.
The 35 units were originally built as pensioner cottages by Paparua County Council. The street was named after J H Weaver the chairman of the council who died suddenly in 1964. Mr Weaver was in the middle of making a speech at his niece’s wedding when he collapsed and died. He was 70 years old.
The units actually looked in reasonable condition and when they were still pensioner cottages the street was entered in the best street competitions.
Craven Street in Sockburn- formerly part of Middle Park Road (later Middlepark Road).Named after the Craven Plate, a horse race run at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney. Named because of its proximity to the Riccarton Racecourse. First appears in street directories in 1934.
A small amount of information from the library website.
Edited as I found that there was a race at Addington called Craven Handicap Race so it is possible that the street is actually named after the Addington race or the person who the race is named after.
I didn’t find anything on Papers Past about the name change. There seemed to be a lot of accidents in this area and it is probably because of how close it is to the Main South Rd. There was one sad case in 1959 where an elderly man died from accidently drinking detergent. In 1961 a new college called College of St Thomas was opened. The main entrance is now on Middlepark Rd but there is a footpath leading to the school on Craven St.
One family had a bad year in 1957 as their house was damaged by arson and a couple of months later their daughter fall from a racehorse. There was possibly only a couple of families living here until the 1940s but most of the houses were built from 1960s onwards. One of the landowners was George Murray-Aynsley a horse breeder who died in 1949. There was also a racehorse owner and trainer E J Jennings who lived here until at least 1970 when he then moved out to Weedons. The houses didn’t stand out for me apart from the two dating from 1910. The street now has a cycleway which is apparently part of something called South Express cycleway.
Pinehurst Crescent in Russley and another street that isn’t on the library website. Most houses were built in the 1960s with a few built in 1990s. Papers Past had several ads in 1960 for the sale of sections in the Paramont subdivision. A few death notices plus a couple of engagement notices. In the 1960s there were a few accidents involving the residents on this street. The Plunket rooms are mentioned from about 1965 onwards. In 1976 there was a plan for a kindergarten on this street but I didn’t see a kindergarten when I was walking here today. The Plunket rooms are still there. I was in this area a few months ago geocaching and there was a reserve here with a path that led to Russley School. It was a pleasant wee reserve with a playground. Today the reserve is blocked off with big fences and looks a mess. Going by the sign the school is extending into the reserve. The houses are typical 1960s houses and nothing stood out for me except for how rundown the street was looking. When I looked at google street view it showed the street in September 2022 and it was looking like a nice and tidy street. Must be another group of water rate protesters on this street. I am not sure how successful their protest is as I just got the feeling that I wouldn’t like to live here and wouldn’t buy in this street.
Oakhurst Place in Russley and another street that isn’t mentioned on the library website. The houses date from 1950 through to 2000. The street is possibly named after a place in the UK but couldn’t actually find this information. Papers Past had a few death notices and they were a rather accident prone street considering it is a tiny street. A couple of car accidents including one death in the 1960s. Sadly a young boy in 1962 died in a fall of earth. Nothing outstanding about the street and houses are typical for the 1950s and 1960s. Mostly fairly tidy but a couple had overgrown grass berms.
Geraldo Place in Russley and nothing on the library website for this street. Most houses date from 1980s and Papers Past had ads for 18 sections for sale in 1977 so it is rather surprising that there is no mention on the library website. It was described as an exclusive cul de sac. I suspect that the street is named after a person but couldn’t find any information. It looked like a pleasant street and I quite liked 2 or 3 of the houses. Most of the houses were looking very tidy but many of the grass berms were overgrown. This was slightly weird as google street view from September 2022 has the grass berms looking nice and tidy. When walking the street today I did wonder if the residents are part of the group who are protesting the new water rates as that group are refusing to mow the grass berms.
Fenhall Street in Russley and this street isn’t on the library website. It is surprising as most houses were built in the 1960s with a few houses from 1970s and 1990s. Not a lot of information on Papers Past and the builder of the houses on this street was a company called R G Mauger. The name of the street is possibly from a place near Lanchester in the UK. The street runs from Bentley St and ends at the back entrance to the Airport Business Park. The houses were typical 1960s style and none stood out for me. Parking would be terrible here because of the business park yet there were signs saying 60 minute parking only. These signs are obviously ignored as cars were parked bumper to bumper here. One house had a weird religious sign on it and that would also put me off from living on this street.
Glenarm Tce in Dallington – formerly Landsdowne Terrace. Named after the Glenarm Kennels which, in turn, were named after Glenarm Castle, the ancestral home of the Earls of Antrim in Northern Ireland. Landsdowne Terrace is first mentioned in The Press in 1892 when land for sale there is advertised. First appears in street directories in 1903. Re-named Glenarm Terrace in June 1948 when 24 streets in the Waimairi County were re-named. Hiram Hunter (1874-1966), a labourer, teamster, trade unionist and local politician, bred dogs at the Glenarm Kennels. They were on his land on the eastern side of, and towards, the river end of Gayhurst Road.
A reasonable amount of information from the library website. Researching this street was frustrating as information on Papers Past was limited. As Landsdowne Tce there was a subdivision in 1892. There was at least one large property on the corner of Landsdowne Tce and Gayhurst Rd which had an orchard and grew vegetables including asparagus. It is possibly the same property called Groveley which was owned by William Andrews. William Andrews subdivided part of his property in 1912 and after his death in 1927 the property was sold and subdivided. William Andrews was one of the first engineers in New Zealand and he started the company Andrews and Beaven. Between 1920s and 1940s dairy cows and pigs are mentioned occasionally. In 1933 there were charges laid against three Chinese for smoking opium. I couldn’t find any mention of Glenarm Kennels. Edited as I have now found mention of Glenarm Kennels but only after the 1949 and the address for the kennels was 42 Gayhurst Rd which was Hiram Hunter address. There was a huge amount of information about Hiram Hunter on Papers Past. I did find two properties called Glenarm but one was in Sumner and the other was in Upper Riccarton. In the 1950s and 1960s on Glenarm Tce there was a property called Boxer Lodge and that person bred boxers. It wasn’t Hiram Hunter. In 1950 an old house was removed so that work on the riverbank could be done.
I actually walked this street nearly three weeks ago when I was geocaching in the area. There are no longer any houses here as it is in the red zone. There is a new bridge over the river at the end of the street. There is a sign in front of what used to be someone’s garden saying that 5 generations of the Nankivell and Ozanne families lived on the street. I checked electoral rolls and couldn’t find anyone with the surname Nankivell living on this street but they were on Breezes Rd and Gayhurst Rd. I did find a Florence Ozanne living here. It was probably a pleasant street before the earthquakes.
Lytteltonwitch's Walking the streets of Christchurch Project 