and the Originally prepared for Active Christchurch Walk & Talk October 2006
Local legend has it that Matsons Avenue was originally the driveway into the Henry Matson homestead. Henry Matson was born in 1814, son of Robert Matson of Delce Farm, Wingham, Kent. He died on 24th October, 1885, aged 71 at Mrs Cridland s cottage in Blighs Road Papanui. (Mrs Cridland was a daughter, Emma Jane, of his first marriage) He went to sea at an early age, and was wrecked in a storm off Hobart in 1835. He lived and worked in Tasmania and Victoria, and married a Miss Manifold in Tasmania. More than half his life was spent out of New Zealand. Henry arrived in Lyttelton on the Omeo, on 21st January, 1862, his wife having died, as had some five of their children. He brought with him three sons, John Thomas, Conway, and Henry, and (later) two daughters. He came as agent for all J C Aitken s property and also as agent for the firm of Ison & Co. His first advertisement appeared in the Lyttelton Times at the end of July; he was a stock and commission agent, and had made arrangements to import breeding ewes and rams from Australia, and undertook to buy or sell stock, or stations or other property. His office was in Lichfield Street. After four months he joined with C O Torlesse and after Torlesse s return from a trip to England they entered into partnership. Their office in Colombo Street burned down in 1864. The firm of H Matson & Co. was founded in 1862. Henry was recorded by Torlesse as...not one of your keen money makers. I believe him to be a good man in every way. ; and another as easy going, a little dilatory, put off making decisions. In 1867 on June 24th Henry was married to Edith Dearden, (the eldest daughter of Henry Dearden of Rochdale, England,) at St. Michael s in Christchurch by Dean Jacobs. They had at least two sons. 2
On April 2nd 1864, Henry bought a section of 29acres from Christ College s RS (Rural Section) 323, for 580, and immediately mortgaged it to Brittan (and others). It is recorded as being on the Harewood Branch of the Papanui Road. Harewood Road Between 1864 and 1881 there were a number of transactions such as mortgages and releases. Plan of original 29 acre Purchase CT 71/93 One of the parties involved was J C (John Christie) Aitken, Esquire, for whom Henry had come to Christchurch as agent. In the detail of this transaction, Henry is described as Estate Agent. In April 1882 there is lodged in the Deeds DP723, a plan surveyed for H. Matson Esq. for the subdivision of the 29 acre block, (for a copy of the plan see the next page) This plan shows the provision for 91 lots (that is, sections); as well as providing for Matsons Road, and off it Charles Street and Delce Road; and also an almost square block of 5 acres lying behind the sections fronting Harewood Road. After Henry s death in 1885 and until at least 1904, all the land transactions involving the 29 acres of the original purchase, were dealt with by his second wife, Edith, and a son of his first marriage Conway George. 3
In 1863 Henry is recorded as being a member of the Diocesan Synod, and for many years he was a churchwarden at Papanui. There are other records of his interest and concern for the community. In 1864 there was a strong feeling about toll bars and tolls as a way of raising revenue. There had been a toll bar at Carlton which was moved to Papanui where there were meetings of protest. Henry spoke at one meeting and moved a motion against toll bars. DP 723 1882 proposed subdivision into 91 lots The Papanui toll bar was either pulled up and burnt or else it was burnt down before it was put up. He was a member of the first Papanui School Committee It appears from DP 723, the plan showing a proposed subdivision of the twenty-nine acres, that the homestead was already established. Some sections (lots) had been taken up also, and pretty well establishes the local legend that the present significant group of four matching cottages were indeed built for Henry s local employees. 4
Map showing the take-up of the original subdivision s ninety-one lots 5 The first sections (lots) recorded as being taken up were 14 and 15 (ref ) by William Free in 1884. William Free was married to Maria Pattrick who came to New Zealand with her parents in the Cressy. Wm Free is recorded as being a carrier. The next section, lot 8 (ref ) was taken up in 1887 by a William Robinson, and lot 9 (ref ) a year later by John Rees and Ors. Indeed, it appears that these lots were already ocupied by the time of C/T152/30 in 1892. Ref transferred in 1893, shows the four lots which are the site of the still current four matching cottages, said to be those erected for Henry Matson s workers. Somewhat later they were leased for employees at the Sanatarium Health Food Company; and one is registered today with the Historic Places Trust. The next take-up is in June, 1901 by John Campbell (with limitation as to rights of way); and in the same year, a week or so earlier, by Christ s College, possibly as access to property to the north-west.
Also in June, 1901, Catherine Campbell took up, and Charles Simpson in the August. Henry Matson made his home at a place he called Delce on the Harewood Road writes G R MacDonald in his Dictionary of Canterbury Biographies. (M250) It clearly shows in DP723 of 1883 (ref ); although MacDonald records: A bad fire destroyed part of his house at Delce in April 1869. However, it was sufficiently extant in 1880 to be sketched as below. Harewood Road Sketch from the Sail s Land land-sales map of October/December,1880 It was also sufficiently significant, certainly to the Matson family, for DP 2075, surveyed in December 1904 showing the sections fronting Harewood Road and the northwest of Matsons Road and a piece of the 5-acre block, as Township of DELCE. In 1902, when the Papanui Methodist Church was considering the building of its first parsonage, the (adjourned) Circuit Quarterly Meeting of Thursday, 17th April records: Mr Dawson [the minister] was deputed to see Mr Campbell and get particulars of land he has for sale on Matsons Road. A letter was then read from H. Matson and Co. offering for sale the Delce homestead and 5 acres land. The offer could not be entertained. 6
RECOLLECTIONS of MATSONS ROAD by OLD IDENTITIES During the 1900s (about 1910) Mrs Stringer stayed with the Ritchie family in Matsons Avenue at that time it was called Matsons Road. Mr Ritchie had three or four acres on which he grew vegetables. These he took to town in a horse drawn cart and sold them to the vegetable markets. When the Baxters first moved into Matsons Ave their house was connected to gas - gas stove and lamps etc. Soon after their arrival however, they changed to electricity. Mrs Fraser still remembers making her own candles however. As the rates for their land got dearer (it doubled in one year from 15 to f30) Mr Gibson sold off some of the land. The Gibsons bought their land from Mr Richie. Not having electricity prior to 1924 their chicken incubators were run by gas and the milk from their cow was hand churned to make butter. A creek ran through their poultry farm down Matsons Ave and then it crossed under the road and comes out near Windermere Road. Her father use to go eeling there with the garden pitchfork. When she was living there in 1916 there were very few houses but mainly farmland. The roads were all a lot narrower. There was very little traffic only trains At one time one o the landmarks of the district was a huge Wellington Fir tree in Matsons Avenue. This tree had a base nearly as wide as the road is and was about 60ft. high but to the indignation of the Beautifying Association the giant tree had to be removed....matsons Road is also a well laid out street built with a good class of up-to-date residences...this property was owned by Mr Henry Ma\son...The dwelling house was burnt down a few years ago, and afterwards the property was cut up into building sections. (John Joyce in 1919) 7
MATSONS AND OSTRICHES (A kind of Postscript) There are numerous references to Matsons and ostriches, and there are confusions One old identity remembers: The Matsons had an ostrich farm on the left of Sawyers Arms Road. However, there is no record of Matsons living in Sawyers Arms Road. And another, recalling earlier days of Matsons Avenue: The Matson family apparently had an ostrich farm on the property where they lived earlier on. It is noted that even in 1920 it was still called Matsons Road. But there are records of John Thomas Matson, Henry s son, having ostriches!. It is well-established that John Thomas was at least involved with ostriches. At the height of his career as an ostrich farmer, [J T] Matson had 43 birds, some at his farm Isleworth at Harewood (the site of the modern Isleworth Road) and others at a farm in Papanui Road in the vicinity of what is now Murray Place writes Richard Greenaway in Burwood All Saints Church 1877-1977. Even in 1941, in the Ellesmere Guardian, a Mr Schnelle mentioned that ostriches were bred in Canterbury sixty years ago. The late Mr J T Matson, of Christchurch had a property on Papanui Road where quite a number of ostriches were kept. He frequently saw the birds which were quite tame, when he visited Christchurch as a boy. Certainly the Matsons and ostriches at one time in the community were thought of together, particularly as older people remembered and the stories became somewhat confused: there being numerous Matsons at significant sites in those earlier days. 8 a PAPANUI HERITAGE GROUP Publication ISSN 1173-6909 01 (Print ISSN 2253 4830 01 (online)