Story: Place names
The Canterbury Association thought to name the stream that flowed through their planned inland settlement ‘Shakespere’. But it was renamed Avon at the request of the pioneer Deans brothers, after a stream in their native Scotland. Perhaps the change was acceptable because an Avon River also flows through Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford.
About this item
Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: A-195-014
Ink drawing by William Fox
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.