Street Names in the Moa Neighbourhood: An Historical Overview Axel Wilke Secretary – Moa Neighbourhood Committee This document is available online at http://viastrada.co.nz/moa-history Register of Amendments The current version of this document is version 02. Version 2 Version 2 amendments were issued on 27 March 2008: • Amendments to Figure 1 (Moa Area). • Cambridge Terrace – details on historic street names amended. • Fitzgerald Avenue – spelling of James Edward FitzGerald corrected. Table of Contents Introduction..............................................................................................................1 The Moa Neighbourhood Area.............................................................................1 Early European History relevant to our Area........................................................2 Moa Neighbourhood Street Names .........................................................................6 Aberdeen Street...................................................................................................6 Barbadoes Street.................................................................................................6 Bealey Avenue.....................................................................................................6 Cambridge Terrace..............................................................................................6 Churchill Street ....................................................................................................6 Colombo Street....................................................................................................7 Ely Street .............................................................................................................7 Fitzgerald Avenue................................................................................................7 Kilmore Street ......................................................................................................7 Madras Street ......................................................................................................7 Manchester Street................................................................................................8 Melrose Street......................................................................................................8 Moa Place............................................................................................................8 Otley Street..........................................................................................................8 Oxford Terrace.....................................................................................................8 Peterborough Street.............................................................................................8 Salisbury Street....................................................................................................8 Other Streets........................................................................................................8 References ............................................................................................................10 Table of Figures Figure 1: Moa Neighbourhood Committee area ......................................................1 Page i May 2008 Figure 2: Moa area superimposed onto 1850 plan of central Christchurch .............2 Figure 3: 1862 Plan of the Moa area .......................................................................3 Figure 4: 1874 Plan of Central Christchurch............................................................4 Figure 5: 1883 Plan of Central Christchurch............................................................4 Figure 6: 1883 Plan of Central Christchurch – Detail...............................................5 Figure 7: 1926 Plan of Central Christchurch............................................................5 Figure 8: Ulster Place and Dollans Lane .................................................................9 Figure 9: Amuri Park Lane and Crusader Lane .......................................................9 Page ii May 2008 Introduction As a local to the Moa Neighbourhood area, do you know the following streets? • North Town Belt • Taylor’s Lane • Princess Street • Salisbury Grove • East Town Belt • New Street • Clyde Street Maybe you should, because all those streets were in our area, but they all have a different name these days. Have you ever wondered where street names come from, and what is behind the names? Well, the city library has a useful resource on its website, and I have compiled the information relevant to our area in this document. It is embedded into an early European built history as it applies to our area. The Moa Neighbourhood Area The area that is covered by the Moa Neighbourhood Committee (as we are formally known) has recently grown a little bit. Earlier in 2008, Christchurch City Council approached our group whether we would like to have our area extended in our south-west corner, as that area didn’t belong to a residents’ group. We happily accepted the addition and for the first time, we have ‘jumped the Avon River’. Figure 1 shows the new boundaries as of 2008. Figure 1: Moa Neighbourhood Committee area Page 1 May 2008 Early European History relevant to our Area In 1848, the Canterbury Association sent out Captain Joseph Thomas, accompanied by surveyors, to select and prepare a site for settlement. Thomas originally placed the principal town of the proposed settlement at the head of Lyttelton Harbour, but when he realised there was insufficient flat land there to meet the Canterbury Association’s requirements, he relocated Christchurch to where he had previously placed a town called ‘Stratford’ at a point on the Avon where those coming up the river first encountered slightly higher, drier ground. (CCC, 2005) The Avon River was navigable – just – as far as ‘The Bricks’ by the Barbadoes Street bridge. The site is these days marked by a riverbank cairn. The site got its name when the Deans Brothers had shipped bricks for their Riccarton homestead up the Avon River, which they unloaded in this location. Thomas’s plan for Christchurch (laid out by the surveyor Edward Jollie by March 1850) was the ‘standard’ rectangular grid of colonial settlement (adopted for ease of survey and to facilitate land sales), as shown in Figure 2. Thomas did not allow Jollie to include crescents to provide variety, but the Avon River ran eccentrically across the site. The grid was laid out originally between Salisbury Street to the north and St Asaph Street to the south and between Barbadoes Street to the east and Rolleston Avenue / Park Terrace to the west. (CCC, 2005) Around this square, town reserves, Hagley Park, the Government Domains (now the Botanical Gardens), and the Barbadoes Street Cemetery had been allowed for, with the avenues Bealey, Fitzgerald, Moorhouse, Deans and Harper their outer boundary. Figure 2 shows the Moa Neighbourhood area superimposed onto Edward Jollie's 1850 plan of central Christchurch. As can be seen, much of our area is located in what was originally the town reserve. However, due to financial problems, the northern, eastern and southern town reserves were sold off by the Provincial Government in the 1850s. Other reports that I have read imply that the reserves were always intended to be sold for later expansion of the city. Figure 2: Moa area superimposed onto 1850 plan of central Christchurch Page 2 May 2008 Figure 3 shows an 1862 plan of the Moa area. Colombo, Manchester, Madras and Barbadoes Streets have by now been extended through the town reserve to link up with North Town Belt (Bealey Avenue). The little streets have not been formed yet. Figure 3: 1862 Plan of the Moa area Figure 4 shows an 1874 plan of central Christchurch. Melrose Street, Moa Place and Aberdeen Street are visible, but the area of the former town reserve has not been further subdivided yet. Ely, Otley and Churchill Streets have not been formed yet. Page 3 May 2008 Figure 4: 1874 Plan of Central Christchurch Figure 5 shows an 1883 plan of central Christchurch. West of Barbadoes Street, the area of the former town reserve has now been subdivided. Ely and Otley Streets have been formed. The Barbadoes Street cemetery is still occupying the whole block between Barbadoes, Fitzgerald, Bealey and the Avon River. Hence, Churchill Street has not been formed yet. Figure 5: 1883 Plan of Central Christchurch Page 4 May 2008 Figure 6 shows a detail of the 1883 map. Note the historic street names of Clyde Street (Otley Street), New Street (Melrose Street), Bowen Street and Salisbury Grove (which make up Ely Street), and Taylor’s Lane (Aberdeen Street). Figure 6: 1883 Plan of Central Christchurch – Detail Figure 7 shows a 1926 plan of central Christchurch. The Barbadoes Street cemetery east of Barbadoes has now been subdivided, and Churchill Street has now been formed. The only shown discrepancy with the current streets is that Otley Street is still shown as Clyde Street. Figure 7: 1926 Plan of Central Christchurch Page 5 May 2008 Moa Neighbourhood Street Names All the information given about street names comes from Christchurch City Libraries (2008). Aberdeen Street Aberdeen Street was originally named Taylor’s Lane , after a resident, George James Taylor (1841?-1935). Taylor was a store man. It was re-named Aberdeen Street in 1896. It was recognised as a public street by the Christchurch City Council in 1960. Barbadoes Street Barbadoes Street is named after an Anglican colonial bishopric,