INTRODUCTION This is just one person's recollections and research into the early years of Kaikorai for a short radius from our home in Jellicoe Crescent, mostly from 1936, but also encompassing some earlier information. Use the top menu to find information both pictorial and data such as who lived where, using information gained from some early Stones Street Directories.   Use the Detailed Index to look for specific items. Naturally, cable cars are covered as they were part of our everyday life in the early years as transport to the various schools we attended.

Many things have changed over the last 60 plus years as some of the photographs will show. Some difficulty was experienced during 2006 in gaining identical views to match with early photographs, mainly due to today's use of trees to enhance the area. The addition or removal of buildings also presented problems. Some early photographs were made available by family or friends to help provide a reasonable coverage of 'our' area of Kaikorai. As we look back over the years to as far as memory takes us, we often tend to drag out those old photographs and reflect on the past.

So to start, and for some perspective, let me say that I was born in 1936. Those were the days when we made our own fun, very few houses had telephones, and while there was a radio, domestic television in New Zealand was not even heard of back in the 1930s to 1950s.   Additionally, very few people owned a car, or a motorcycle, and the accepted mode of public transport was the cable car or electric trams. Searching for additional photographs from those early years and having people say things like "Remember the old Chinese fruiterer in Kaikorai Valley Road? What was his name?" (Tim Wong). This gets you to thinking about saving some of the information in case our children ever become interested. As a start I have put together a few photographs, plus some information gleaned from early Stone's Street Directories which shows who resided where in our particular area of Kaikorai. These pages are not supposed to be a specific record in detail of Kaikorai Valley but more a few bits and pieces relating to the immediate vicinity where we lived, the family church and of course Kaikorai School. More information will be added as time permits. I hope you'll find something of particular interest to yourself.   If you have any early photographs you'd like to loan for possible inclusion I'd be happy to hear from you. Those using dial-up connection will find larger pictures incur some delay before appearing. Please note, this is currently a 'work in progress' and as such the content may vary as more information becomes available.     Click here for more info on author if you REALLY feel the need.     I can convert 35mm slides to digital format for you - Click here to email for details. Please e-mail me at gilchrist@orcon.net.nz if you have photos you could loan me.