Our special street
NewRegentStwasdeclaredopen for business on April Fool’s Day 1932. The opening ceremony, led by mayor Dan Sullivan, was held in the evening so the 400 newfangled light bulbs could dazzle the large crowd. Entertainment of this quality didn’t happen every day in Christchurch as the world was in the grip of the grim Great Depression.
That night, the assembled crowd were treated not only to an electric light show but were also entertained by a heckler who declared there was a man in the crowd with a sword.
The heckler was obviously a devout reader of international news as just two weeks earlier, at the official opening ceremony of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, there had been a spot of bother.
Francis De Groot, dressed as a Hussars officer and wielding a sword, rode his horse up to the ceremonial ribbon and sliced it before the NSW Premier could blink. De Groot understandably was arrested and charged with several offences, including damaging a ceremonial ribbon valued at £2. Fortunately, I think the threat of being charged with such a serious offence deterred all the Cantabrian swordsmen that evening two weeks later.
Mrs Manson, wife of the chairman of Regent Street Ltd, was the lucky one who had the honour of cutting the ceremonial ribbon, but only after her husband announced in his speech that half of the 40 shops were already let. Truth must never get in the way of a rousing speech because, as it happens, there were only three tenants had signed up. I will deal with this shocking fake news shortly.
New Regent St started life as a field known as the Circus Paddock as this was where travelling circuses set up when they rolled into town. The Circus Paddock was replaced in 1888 by the Colosseum, which housed an ice skating rink – one can’t help but think this would still be popular today.
Sadly, the ice rink had a short life and was replaced by a boot factory that also didn’t last the distance as it was down at heel, so in time the ice rink was back. By 1908, Christchurch was humming with so much new technology that the Colosseum was reinvented to become Christchurch’s first silent picture theatre.
I can only think that in 1928, the businessman and chairperson of The
Press, George Gould, must have had an extremely mediocre movie experience at the Colosseum, because he proposed to demolish it to create a new road to alleviate Colombo St’s diabolical traffic woes.
Just two weeks later, another proposal was put forward by group of businessmen led by Mr Arthur Stacey. Their radical proposal also involved the demolition of the poor old Colosseum, creating a new street connecting Armagh St to Gloucester St and building 40 small shops. These shops, with a uniform facade on either side of the new road, actually became the forerunner of today’s shopping malls.
Stacey and his consortium were obviously inspired by Regent St in London, which was designed by the great architect John Nash. That Regent St was the first planned street in London and its elegant curving 1.3km façade is as impressive today as when it opened in 1825.
Arthur and his team considered it only fitting that their street, which was the length ofonly one city block, should also be called Regent St. The city council, however, turned down this name as Sydenham had its own very attractive Regent St running off Colombo St.
Now don’t waste your time looking for this street because in 1948, much to everyone’s surprise, Regent St was renamed Roxburgh St.
Arthur and his fellow businessmen eventually got over their bitter disappointment at having to come up with a new name so, after a great deal of heartache and consultation, the name New Regent St was settled upon.
In due course, the company New Regent Street Ltd was formed to develop the site of the ill-fated Colosseum. The movie theatre architect, Francis Willis, drew up some attractive plans for 40 shops in the Spanish Mission style.
No-one is sure why this Spanish style was chosen but, like you, I can’t help but think that settling the score with Sydenham must have played a part.
Over the years New Regent St shops and cafes have changed hands many times and although the earthquakes tried hard to shake things up, our brightly coloured, very special street continues to make everyone feel happy. The trundling tram brings such fun and spontaneity to the area and the affable gorilla waits patiently on his bench for the return of the circus.
Like many Cantabrians, I have fond memories associated with this tiny street and for me it was shop No 4. For many years this was Dunlop’s Opticians and since my brother and I were born with spectacularly bad eyesight, we were frequent visitors there. Having been active, knockabout sort of boys, my brother and I stook it in turns to break our glasses.
The Dunlops were always so kind, helpful and reassuring. Those sorts of memories you treasure and how sad I was that Paul Dunlop tragically lost his life in the 2011 February earthquake while working on the organ in the Durham Street Methodist Church.
Going back to the evening of April 1, 1932, I do want to reflect on chairman Manson’s opening speech. It’s so easy to mock him for telling porkies and maybe he was a cad but please consider this possibility. He and his other company directors had backed what they knew was a terrific idea but nobody was predicting a Great Depression.
Their first builder had quoted them £32,000 and then let them down badly. Not even their quantity surveyor could have predicted they would need half a million bricks to build such a short street and on completion, the cost had come in at an eye-watering £90,000.
If Manson had announced that evening that they had only three tenants signed up, probably these three would have got cold feet and taken a lease around the corner in Gloucester St. He, like so many people who are a little ahead of their time, was in an impossible situation, but he knew deep down that New Regent St was going to be a jewel in Christchurch’s crown.
Just to show no ill will towards Manson, can you all please plan a trip down New Regent St and support one of those fascinating little shops and cafes.