On the Up

A few weeks ago, I shared the story of Mary Wilson, a former resident of my house who ended up going insane. Since then, I've researched burial records and other documents and found snippets of information about more people who lived on the street from 1890 to 1910, including photographs of three of them: Harriet Burton, Frank Ryan, and Lizzie Park.

Harriet Burton

Swan Avenue was a well-planned neighbourhood designed for working-class families. The homes were larger than average, comfortable, and filled with natural light. Rental prices were around 45 pence per month, which would be equivalent to about £600 today. It’s believed that the houses had electric lights. However, photographs from that time suggest that daily life was still far from easy.

Frank Ryan

Frank worked at the Hastings Ice and Cold Storage Company, while Rose and Lizzie were laundry workers.

Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Park

Between 1891 and 1920, records show that a new resident moved into each house nearly every year, indicating that they were rented to itinerant workers.

Interestingly, by 1930, residents began staying longer, making the houses their homes. Just before the Second World War, the houses on the north side of Swan Avenue were given picturesque names: ‘Kia Ora Cottage,’ ‘Northesk,’ and ‘Avalon,’ while those on the south side were simply numbered 1, 2, and 3.

Soon after the war, one of the residents made a planning application to convert one of the bedrooms into a bathroom with an indoor toilet. Swan Avenue was very much ‘on the up’.

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