THE BELT AND STREETS OF CHRISTCHURCH.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXV, Issue 1636, 14 March 1866, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE BELT AND STREETS OF CHRISTCHURCH.

All fiat seems to have been done to rtf road' between the Albert Edward Oak, kj the von which crosses the belt at the SS,* of Kilmore street has been to Sate it from the side walks by digging She* a spit deep, and rounding oft the 2 3 of them on the road sale ; and conseniieutlv the road is in a bad state. In such weather as the present it is well -h, but in winter it is so bad that horsemen and the drivers of carts frequently turn aside from it and ride or drive along the. side walks; and by the ruts and sloughs so made, render them impassable by pedestrians. All along the east side, the frontages of the adjoining > lands are fenced ; and this is true, with very few exceptions on the town side also. And on this side there is a hotel at the corner of fashel street, a xnodest-looking building called " The Eastern." Four of the streets which abut on the belt are continued on the other side of it and are the means of communication between it and several considerable suburban neighbourhoods. These streets are Cashel, Worcester, Gloucester, and Armagh, and besides these outlets of the city eastward, there is an accommodation road in the same direction. At the junction of Armagh street tfith the belt, there is, even in this dry weather, a pool of water which comes from the artesiau well in this street belonging to Mr. Hobbs ; and some of this water is continued along, what may some day be entitled to be called a side channel, to the river, where it does not discharge itself through a wooden culvert planted there. There is, probably, not sufficient fall to the culvert, but another cause is that the pretence of a side channel is choked with weeds and mud. Between Chester and Kilmore streets there is a terrace, from two to three feet high, extending half over the eastern side of the belt, and having a post and rail fence along its front; and at the back of this terrace, on private property, is a very fine row of gum trees extending northward to the malthouse of Messrs. Hamilton Ward & Co., the brewers. On the other side of the belt, and opposite the malthouse, is the brewery, and tnese two building* terminate that part of the east town belt which i 3 south of the Avon. There is no bridge across the Avon here, nor would one bridge suffice, for the stream is so ortuous at this point that no fewer than three bridges would have to be built to connect the two parts of the belt. The nearest bridge' is that at Madras street. Haviug crossed the Avon, we find the remaining part of the belt to be narrower by about one-third than that south of the river, but the road is much better, being metalled. No footpaths, however, have b-3n made. A creek which runs along the Nc.'ih Belt crosses the East Belt here, runnin : southward for a short distance, and then tur.iing off eastward into the enclosed ground. This creek is spanned by a bridge of pl.:nks placed on a level with the road. A fe ." yards further on, and we are at the north.rn extremity of the East Belt, and by the grounds of his Honor the Superintendent, which form the outer angle of the junction between the east and north sides of the Town Belt. In these grouuds are abundance of handsome willow and gum trees shading well-kept drives, lawns, and flowerbeds ; among which the open gate seems to invite the hot wayfarer to rest awhile. We have now quitted the metalled road, which cpntinues its course northward, and turned into the almost entirely unimproved North Town Belt. Having again crossed the creek just mentioned, and by a bridge similar to the other, we come upon an area which is entirely covered -with weeds and a few flax bushes, having a narrow track on the north side worn by the feet of passengers, but bearing scarcely a vestige of horse or carriage traffic. Passing along this wilderness of scrub and tussock, by the margin of the fcreek which skirts its northern side, we find no continuations of the streets which abut on it and until we have reached Colombo street, no accommodation-road; but here there is one called Caledonia road, and a little further west another—Springfield road—both leading to the suburban village of St. Alban's. Between Barbadoes and Madras streets there is a creek or ditch across the Belt, bridged at its north end by a culvert, affording carriage way of about fifteen feet in width. But as this culvert is covered with earth, it would not aflord any indication to a driver approaching the spot of the presence of the creck ; and, especially in the dusk of evening, iie would be very likely to make that discovery by having driven his horse into it; and as it is about live f'- ot wide and three deep to the water, and rem >te from help, he would find himself in a very troublesome position. West of this cre jk the soil seems to be composed of peat, and is so spongy as to be quite impassable for wheels ; even the footpath is interrupted in some places by a bog, which the passenger has to make a circuitous route to clear. At Madras street there ii another stream across the belt, conveying water from the creek along its North side int.) the town. This stream, which is as large as the last, is quite open, except for the spa' e of a foot bridge of planks. Running into this from the westward, along the South tiide of the belt, is another watercourse, which has apparently been made partially to drain some swamps in its neighbourhood, chiefly lying in a piece of unini io.;ed land within the town. The compoi: ;nts of the belt at this part are chiefly bog s'.id stagnant pool. At Manchester street things begin to mend. A strip _ of bare ground into which wheel marks are indented, connects this street with the belt and curves westerly, soon improving into a tolerable road. Here cottages, and dwellings deserving of a better name begin to appear, and trees to adorn and shade the belt, from the enclosed grounds on both sides. At Durham street two fine rows of these extend themselves as far as Montreal street. Of course there have been hitherto no trees planted on the belt itself; but at this spot there are, on its north side, two long open plantations, in which the trees are not placed as in those on the east belt, in positions in which they are to remain, but close together, as in a nursery. One of these contains only a few trees at its east end, covering about one-tenth of the area; the remaining nine-tenths being possessed by weeds, f hiefly docks and sow-thistles, some of the 1 ttter being grown to a height of five feet, '■'he other plantation is nearly full of healthy young trees of various descriptions. From t 'iese we immediately approach the Whately Road and the Carlton Hotel, and from this point to the west end of the belt—a very fihort distance—the road is metalled. At the extremity of the belt it is divided into two, the fork crossing the Avon, and gunning on to Prebbleton, and the other being continued Parallel with the river in nearly a western direction. Turning southward from the western extremity of the North Town Belt, we find that the so-called Town Belt has been misnamed, for it is not a belt. It does not encircle the town, but comprises only three sides of a parallelogram. Along the west side of the town, the belt is absent, but instead of it, there is Antigua street. Into this we pass over a n incline of about four feet, which runs obliquely across the street, and find it covered with tussocks and flax bushes. The ground Is firm, but very uneven, and two sections of it are cut off from the main area by gullies through which the Avon flows when the water is high. The width of this street, as far south as Arm.igh street, is irregular, as its western boundary is the river, whose curves it follows. There are several excellent dwelling houses on the east side of the street, the most handsome of which is that of Mr. Hawdon, at the cornsr of Salisbury

street. South of this point, the ground becomes more level, the flax has been left behind, and the tussocks are fewer and smaller. Opposite Peterborough street there is u boathouse. The road has continued to improve, and may now be said to be easily passable by vehicles, and there is a good footpath. At ArmagU street there are a foot-bridge across the Avon into Hagley Park, and a neat palisade along ihe margin of the river, the latter being intended for the protection of unwary passengers travelling westward. The road is here metalled, and exhibits signs of much traffic on its surface, ihe river now winds off to the west, and the road is skirted by the close of Christ's College Grammar bclioel and Library, whose spire hud been long visible in the distauce Within this scholastic precinct is an assemblage of Gothic and cloisteied wooden buildings — a humble colonial offshoot of the grand and time - honoured universities of Great Britain, made to appear as ancient and venerable as newness of material would permit, and the skill of an ecclesiastical arcnitect could accomplish. At the south extremity of the College grounds the street is abruptly narrowed about 40 feet by a projection of the Government Domain, which is continued southward to Cashel street, where it is terminated by the river, which, having pursued its devious track round the collegiate estate and through the Government Domain, here runs eastward and crosses Antigua street. Opposite the Domain, are the house of the Rev. Mr. Torlesse, and the asylum known as the Refuge. There is no bridge at Antigua street, but there isoue at the next—Montreal street. " The first noticeable objects south of the | Avon in our line of walk are the Hospital, the grounds of which lill the angle between the river and the street, and the deep draiu which, running from the South Town Belt, along the west side of this street, here passes between it and the Hospital, and discharges itsef into the river. A little further on, between Oxford terrace and Tuam street, is the Presbyterian church, a very pretty building, standing, on a plot of ground which is a pattern of neatuessand pleasantness. On the further side of I'uarn street is the house of the Rev. Mr. Fraser, the officiating minister. That part of the drain which runs between Oxford terrace and Tuaui street has a good fence, but the remainder of it is unfenced. The road is metalled and in good conditional! the way from the river to the South Belt, where it becomes narrower, and is continued by the name of Windmill road. This end of Antigua street contains an hotel—the Shearer's Arms—and a store. On reaching the South Town Belt from this street, we find it to extend right and left, showing that at this point the limit of the town on the west is not Antigua street. The Belt is continued westerly as far as Lower Lincoln road, and on proceeding along this part of it we cross a street which is parallel with Antigua street, and which also communicates with the Lower Lincoln Road. It is known as Selwyn street, and the angle which it make 3 with the Lincoln road is occupied by Kohler's Gardens. The figure of Christchurch, therefore, is not perfectly quadrangular. At this point it has a triangular addition, the sides of which, are Antigua street, between Oxford terrace and the South Town Belt, the South Town Belt between Autigua street and Lincoln road, and the course of the Lincoln road which connects the extremities of the other two sides. The western extremity of the South Belt is distinguished by the brewery of Messrs. Brown, and disfigured by a swamp which is said to proceed from the brewery, and which, even in dry weather, makes the belt at this part almost impassable by foot passengers. Returning eastward towards Antigua street we pass several neat cottages on the south side of the belt. The road here has b.en separated from the footpath, but nothing more appears to have been done to it. East of Antigua street the belt gets softer and more sloughy, and tussocks are more plentiful. There is an accommodation road opposite Montreal street, and an inn at its corner called the Crown Inn. The part of this belt, which lies between Antigua and Colombo streets is quite in a state of nature, and the cottages are few and of inferior size. andappearance.Theiniermittentattention paid to the road has been resumed at Colombo street, but no metal has been placed upon it, and the road-making force had soon grown weary as before, for a little further on the improvement subsides and the road is again left to take care of itself. At Colombo street the Belt is skirted by the railway enclosure with its stores of coal and timber and other goods. Opposite Manchester street is the Custom-house, a very plain building of reddisli brick, and a row of sheds built of galvanized iron, terminating on the east by the book-keeper's office. A little further on is a very primitive looking building, a relic of old Christchurch in the days when the Triangle was a swamp and honourable gentlemen wore Guernsey frocks. It is a sod hut with the eaves coming down to the door-way, having a sod chimney at one of the gables with sticks nailed across the gable to form a ladder by which an ascent could be gained to sweep the chimney by drawing a ounch of gorse up and down it, The building has been thatched, but the roof has been renovated at one end with galvanized iron ; so that while it is a monument of the slow age of the first settlers, and commemorates an antiquity of fifteen years, it serves to connect that remote period with the faster days of railways and 1866. Opposite Madras street are the waiting and refreshment-rooms of the railway ; and here is also a post-office receiving post, with an inscription informing whom it may concern that it is cleared of letters at 7 o'clock a.m. and 12 at noon. Opposite Barbadoes street are the Christchurch Gas Works, and between these and the railway premises is an accommodation road crossing the railway and leading to Wilson's Bridge over the Heathcote. A gale is placed at the railway, and a signal-man is stationed there to prevent accidents. This road is metalled and we have heard it called Occupation froad, but on inquiry of some who live at its junction with the belt we learned that, so far as they knew, it was nameless. We thus bring our description of the boundaries of the city to the point we started from.