Albert Sheppard Close in Yaldhurst – Named after Albert Shepherd George (1868?-1962). [NB His name is spelt incorrectly in the street name.]The land developed into the Delamain subdivision had been owned by the George family for the last three generations. The original purchaser and his son were both named Albert Shepherd George. Named in 2007.

A small amount of information from library website. The George family possibly owned the land but they didn’t live there. Both father and son farmed in the Amberley area and the farm was called The Mound and was at Waipara. The father moved to Christchurch and lived on Clyde Rd when he retired. His son took over the farm. There was also two daughters and the father tried disinheriting one of the daughters but the courts overturned this.

The houses here look exactly the same but there is a lovely green area behind the houses. The houses were mostly built in 2010.

Rhodes Street in Merivale – Named after Arthur Edgar Gravenor Rhodes (1859- 1922). Rhodes was a lawyer, politician and property investor. He also built Te Koraha, now the nucleus of Rangi Ruru School. Rhodes Street is first mentioned in the Star in an advertisement in 1906. First appears in street directories in 1909. Rhodes is a resident.

A small amount of information from the library website. There was a huge amount of information on Papers Past and there was also Rhodes Streets in Timaru and Waimate. Arthur Rhodes was born in Timaru but settled in Christchurch. The other streets are named after the same family.

Between 1918 and 1920 many entries were about the road being the most dangerous thoroughfare in Christchurch because of the sharp bend. Many accidents including two trams colliding. By 1920 it was decided to widen the road and Mr Rhodes gave land from the front of his property for the widening.

In 1916 the Rhodes Street Home was opened and it was also known as the Presbyterian Home for Boys. The house that the orphanage moved into was called Te Kiteroa and was the residence of the late J C Wilkin. Mr Wilkin had been the manager of the Lyttelton Times. There is also a house in Waimate with the same name which sadly was badly damaged by fire this year. By 1924 the orphanage was a Girls Home.

In 1923 Te Koraha the home of the late Mr A E G Rhodes was for sale. The ad for the sale of the house made a big deal of being the only private house in the Dominion to have been occupied by King George and Queen Mary during their trip in 1901. They were the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York at that stage. It was MR A E G Rhodes’s son Tahu Rhodes selling the property. Rangi Ruru School moved into this property in 1923. Rangi Ruru School was started by the Gibson family in 1889 and run by Helen and Ethel Gibson who were born in Lyttelton to a Captain Gibson. The school outgrew the premises on Webb St which is why the move to Rhodes St. The Presbyterian Church purchased the school in 1946.

I am going to have to go back to this street to take a photo of the lime tree that it is on the street. It was apparently planted in honour of the Duke and Duchess when they visited New Zealand in 1901. Some people in letters to the editor said the the Duke and Duchess planted the tree and it should have a plaque. The editor replied to say that they didn’t plant the tree.

During the 1930s and 1940s there were many entries about the Rhodes Street Reserve and arguments about the council planning on selling the reserve. Rangi Ruru were going to buy the reserve but it stayed public for many years.

Arthur E G Rhodes died in December 1922 and his wife Rose died 10 years later in 1932. She was in London staying with her son when she fell 60 feet to her death from his Chelsea apartment. The inquest couldn’t decide if the death was an accident or suicide but it was hinted that it was probably suicide.

Most houses were built in 1990s and 2000s but one is from 1890 and I did like that house. The house that intrigued me the most was built in 1934 and the architect was Heathcote Helmore. The house was built for a widow and she wanted it to be flats. She lived in one flat and rented the others out to other widows. The house was damaged in the earthquakes but the new owners decided to restore it and it is now two flats. The house has always been called St Ives. The street obviously still has the school here and I believe that it is the boarding house part of the school on this street. The street runs from Helmore Lane and is split in half by Rossall St and it then comes to a dead end at Carlton Mill Rd end.

Carlton Mill Road in Merivale – formerly Carlton Street. Named after the Carlton Mill, a local flour mill. Richard Woodford founded the original Carlton Mill about 1853. Carlton Mill Road is first mentioned in The Press in 1871 when a Mrs Baber advertises for a general servant. First appears in street directories in 1887. Re-named Carlton Street on 7 March 1904 after amalgamation of St Albans with the city in 1903. In 1919 residents asked the city council for it to be returned to its original name of Carlton Mill Road. Residents felt there was confusion with Carleton Road (re-named Kirkwood Avenue).

A reasonable amount of information from the library website. There was a lot of information on Papers Past and it sounds like Richard Woodford only owned the mill for about 10 or 15 years. It got rather confusing and he moved to Kaiapoi after he went bankrupt in 1869. There were lots of birth notices plus many death notices. In 1870s there were complaints about the millrace damaging the road but in 1876 engineers report said that the millrace wasn’t damaging the road. In 1897 and 1899 residents were still complaining about the condition of the road. In 1880 several sections were for sale and possibly connected to the Carleton Mill being for sale in the same year. In 1898 there was a report of bats being seen near the river. I love bats. There was at least one shop called Moneys Store. A private hospital called Santa Cruz was mentioned in 1920s. In 1935 a guest house was refused permission to operate on the street as such businesses weren’t permitted to operate on this street. I was especially amused by a story from 1963 were a sheep escaped from Hagley Park and caused havoc on the street. The description of the public and the police trying to capture the sheep was funny. The mill also seems to have occasionally been referred to as Avon Mill.

Carlton Mill Road runs from Bealey Ave to Rossall St and for a fairly short street it has a large number of dwellings. There are several tower like blocks of multi dwellings that were built in 1970s, 1990s and a huge number built in 2000. A couple of nice villas from 1920s and I thought that there was a house from 1900 but that was outdated information as it has now been demolished. The Christian Science Church has an unusual looking building. There was an entrance to a house with the words Woodford Grace on it but I couldn’t see the house as it was a long driveway. Edited to say that I googled Woodford House and it is a passive house. It is worth googling and checking out their website. It wouldn’t let me post the link. Along the riverbank behind the houses there was the Carlton Mill Reserve and I didn’t attempt to walk along it as it gave off a private keep out type of vibe but when I was on the other side of the river I did see people walking there.

Millbank Lane in Merivale and there wasn’t any information on the library website. It is possibly a private lane but the signpost didn’t say private lane. The name is fairly obvious as the tiny street runs off Carlton Mill Road and the houses back onto the river. The street was developed between 30 and 42 Carlton Mill Road. Only 8 houses here and most were built in 2000. Personally I thought that they were really ugly. Well beyond my budget.

Dovedale Ave in Ilam – Named after Dovedale, a village in Derbyshire. Sarah Hodgkinson, née Mellor, (1825?-1895) was born in Dovedale. She and her husband Charles Hodgkinson (1826-1888) were employed at Ilam Hall, having been among the servants who sailed to Canterbury with the Hon. John Watts-Russell in 1858. Hodgkinson is described as a “gardener of Ilam farm” on the 1860-1861 Christchurch Militia List. He was the verger at St Peter’s Anglican Church, Upper Riccarton 1861-1888. First appears in street directories in 1972.

A small amount of information from the library website and there is a small mistake in this information as Dovedale isn’t a village in England. It is actually called Dovedale Valley and the village in Dovedale is called Ilam. I have also added Dovedale Valley to my list of places to travel to. Every entry in Papers Past related to the teachers college. I walked this street over a week ago when I was doing a geocaching lab adventure. One side of the street is part of the University Campus and there are student hostels here. The student hostel is called Sonoda Village. The other side of the street had houses that were built in the 1970s and 1980s. Many of the houses looked more modern than having been built in those two decades. I remember dropping off two overseas students here after a walk with the 360 trail group about two and half years ago. One of the students was studying braided rivers and New Zealand obviously have the best examples of braided rivers.

Athol Terrace in Upper Riccaton – Formerly Godley Street. Named after John Robert Godley (1814-1861). Re-named Athol Terrace. Godley was a lawyer, writer, administrator, coloniser and public servant. Godley Street first appears in street directories in 1930. Re-named Athol Terrace on 1 September 1948 when 120 streets were re-named.

A small amount of inform the library website and couldn’t find out where the name Athol came from. It was either someone’s name or because it is in Riccarton it has been named after Atholl in Scotland but spelt wrong. Under the Godley name there was very little information on Papers Past. Under the Athol name most entries were about Carpet Manufacturing Company which was later known as Feltex Carpets. In 1963 University of Canterbury purchased 5 acres of land on the corner of Waimairi Rd and Athol Terrace and possible use to be a hostel for students. Where the Feltex Carpet Factory used to be is now Parkstone Retirement Village. I actually walked this just over a week ago when I was doing a geocaching lab adventure. The retirement village takes up a huge block of land here. On the other side of the road was a group of apartments called Athol Courts. I couldn’t find any information about these buildings but they are possibly student flats. The street is split in half by Peer St and the older houses from 1950s and 1960s seemed to be between Peer St and Waimairi Rd. I suspect that this street could be a nightmare because of the students and I personally wouldn’t like to live here.

Exeter Street in Merivale – formerly part of Winchester Street. Named after Exeter in the Southwest of England. Winchester Street was formerly Princes Street and had been re-named earlier

that year on 7 March 1904. Winchester Street from Andover Street to Carlton Road (later Carlton Mill Road) was re-named Exeter Street on 12 December 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 many entries on Papers Past. A few death notices and in 1919 there were 3 houses being built that were being offered for sale. My main memories of Exeter in the UK is that I always seem to get lost in the area. There was an orange elephant and I always knew I was lost if it was on the wrong side of the road that I was driving down.

The houses date from 1990 onwards and many were multi dwellings. I didn’t particularly like this street.

Cheltenham Street in Merivale – formerly Regent Street. Named after Cheltenham College in Gloucestershire, England. Regent Street first appears in street directories in 1890. Re-named Cheltenham Street in 1909. One of a number of streets in the area named after English public schools.

A small amount of information from the library website. Papers Past didn’t say how the street got the name. It could have been named the town Cheltenham and there are actually two colleges with the Cheltenham name. The reason for the name change from Regent St is that there was also a Regent St in Woolston. The name change was recorded in Papers Past in 1909 and 1924. Not a lot of information in Papers Past. A few death notices and in 1934 there was a complaint about dust from the road. There were sections for sale in 1890. Most houses on this street were built between 2017 and 2022 but there are still two houses from 1920. Many of the modern houses are ugly but I did love a house built in 1920.

Desmond Street in Merivale – Desmond is a first name popular with the Helmore family. Frederic Desmond Helmore (1882?- 1934) served as a Lieutenant in the Royal Army Service Corps, Mechanical Transport Section in World War I. John Desmond Helmore (1913-1988) was the father of Desmond W. Helmore (1940-) who wrote Drawings of New Zealand insects. This street was cut through land which was part of the Helmore Estate. Described as a “newlyformed” street in The Press in 1921. First appears in street directories in 1924.Information supplied in 1997 by Miss Skellerup of Desmond Street in an interview with Margaret Harper.

A reasonable amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name of the street. The author Desmond W Helmore is still alive and you can borrow his book at the library.

In 1921 it was described as a new street in the Millbrook subdivision. The entry on Papers Past also said that this street is where the original Helmore homestead is sited. This is interesting as the library information for Helmores Lane says that it is on Rhodes St. The surname that is mentioned the most on Papers Past for this street is the Skellerup name. Their house was called Danmark. In 1958 there was another subdivision called Avonbank and it was from the estate of the late George Gould. A sad entry was for a local solicitor Ken Neave who committed suicide in February 1931 just a couple of days after the Napier earthquake. He apparently mentioned the earthquake in his suicide note. He was also worried about the state of the world. In August 1930 there were two residents from this street who were on a ship called RMS Tahiti which sunk in the Pacific. Thankfully everyone was rescued but this ship was jinxed as it seemed to have had a few mishaps including hitting a ferry in Sydney Harbour killing 40 ferry passengers. In World War One it was a troop ship and more troops died from the ‘ Spanish Flu’ on this ship than any other troop ship. Note I prefer not to use the term Spanish flu but in this case the Wikipedia page used that term. Also it is easy for me to sidetrack when maritime history is involved.

I walked this street in the weekend and it is a lovely street but well beyond my budget. There are still houses here from the 1920s and 1960s subdivisions. Many of the post earthquake rebuilds are ugly and there is one that I thought was particularly ugly yet it has won awards. You can’t see the house from the street as it is on a back section but if you walk along the riverbank you can see it. I actually thought that it would be at risk of flooding and at the time didn’t realise that it was part of this street. They call the house Desmond House so I wondered if it was where the original Helmore family home was situated. I would need to look at old maps to confirm this.

Helmores Lane in Merivale – formerly Helmores Road. Named after Joseph Cornish Helmore (1832- 1920). Helmore, a solicitor, arrived in Canterbury in 1862 and built his house Millbrook (now at 59 Rhodes Street) on a 50 acre block. He also constructed a road through his land which later became Harper Avenue. He built the bridge at the end of Helmores Road in 1864 which opened up the area for subdivision. It is now of historical interest as one of the few remaining examples of the art of timber bridge construction. It was badly damaged in the earthquakes of 2010/2011. Helmores Road is first mentioned in The Press in 1865 in the annual report of the Surveyor presented to the Heathcote Road Board. He reported that the sum of 14 shillings had been spent on the road. First appears in street directories in 1894. Becomes Helmores Lane in 1960.

A reasonable amount of information from the library website. The street used to have an apostrophe in the name. In 1889 there were complaints about drainage issues. Joseph Helmore built Millbrook in 1865. Between 1923 and 1925 there were lots of entries concerning the new reserve which was opened in 1925 by Dr Chilton. In 1923 there were a few complaints about land next to the river being blocked off by the Millbrook land but the council replied that there used to be an existing towpath but it was given to Mr Helmore in exchange for the land where Helmores Lane was formed. This was the same area that became Millbrook Reserve.

The year 1923 was an active year for media attention as there were several revolvers found hidden in a hedge. This street had several well known Christchurch names living on the street. Derisley Wood, Studholme, Rhodes, Tripp and Cracroft are just some of them. In the 1950s there were letters of complaints about the street being called Helmore Road when it should be Helmore Lane. It actually only seemed to become a lane once the bridge was closed to vehicles and became a foot bridge only. It was talked about in 1958 but was in 1960s before it officially closed to traffic. In 1961 there was a subdivision of the property belonging to the late T F Gibson.

Huge number of entries in the social pages.

The houses here cover every decade from 1910 and some of the houses that I thought were older houses are actually modern houses. There are some ugly modern houses but most of the houses are interesting. Many of the original houses were damaged in the earthquakes. A lovely street and I also walked through Millbrook Reserve. I did like this street and would love to live here but well beyond my budget.