Following the recent the New Brighton Residents Association post on the classic ‘Pier Mall’ a highlight of Christchurch shopping for at least a decade from 1977, there were there other shopping arcades connected like ribs in the coastal suburb from the main Seaview Mall spine down the middle.
Carnaby Street’s official opening celebrations in April 1982 (five years after Pier) included specials to be announced by loudspeaker and prizes drawn each hour through the day, from 9 a.m. to 6 pm. Customers receiving coupons with their purchases from the various shops in the walkway and prizes drawn at the end of each hour and a major winner drawn at end of day.
Carnaby Street, the new offshoot to the main Brighton Mall, had a mix of shops offering a wide range of goods and services, including STAFFORDS SHOE STORE on the Seaview Mall corner (across from Woolworth’s in the main mall) and on the same site for over 30 years (no sign of it today apart from a presence on the ETSY an American based internet commerce site).
Carnaby Street Mall was formed when the old Stafford’s premises was pulled down opening that space.
Not hard to find where its name came from for those familiar with Carnaby St within London’s West End close to the exclusive Regent and Oxford Streets (on your Monopoly Board)
The origins of that dating back to the 1600s and given its name from Karnaby House, the first house to be built upon the street.
In the following century, the area was redeveloped to include a market for meat, fish and vegetables.
Carnaby became known to be the place to go if you were seeking inspiration in the 1960s with vibrant colour, new cultures and music unlike anywhere else. Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Brigitte Bardot, and Elizabeth Taylor were all regulars in the street.
By the 1970s new cultures were taking over the area, and the Sex Pistols pictured on the street in 1976. The Jam released ‘Carnaby Street’ in 1977.
Meanwhile back to 1980’s New Brighton next door to Stafford Shoes was the SANDWICH FACTORY, offering muffins, gateaux, fruit and fresh fruit salad, creamy, natural ice-creams; sundae’s, milk shakes with either fresh fruit or flavourings, pure fruit juices and, of course, tea and coffee.
Owner Allan Sinclair “sandwiches” were in the American style — each one a meal on its own with a choice of more than 300 varieties using white or rye bread, plain or toasted. Top specials included “South of France” with beef, tomato relish, beetroot, cheese and coleslaw. “Hawaiian,” with ham, cheese and pineapple, “Italian Dream” with garlic, salami, tomato relish, onion and cheese or “Tasty Tennessee” with ham or beef, mustard, cheese .and corn.
All costing somewhere between $1.50 to $2.50
Alongside the Sandwich Factory, with its distinctive green decor, was the FABRIC BAZAAR, one of four in Christchurch.
The Bazaar sold Style and Simplicity patterns and is handily placed close to Staffords to match their prospective garments with suitable footwear.
Across the Carnaby walkway from Staffords and the Fabric Bazaar was the Canterbury Building Society with the same hours as the shops, that is 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday inclusive, and 9am. to 9pm. on Saturdays. CBS later swallowed up by Heartland Bank and anybody’s guess who owns that.
Besides term investments and ordinary savings accounts, it offered a Christmas Club providing not only interest but the chance of a trip to Fiji.
Behind the Building Society premises, the CAROUSEL BOOKSHOP ran right through in an L-shape to the main mall.
Alongside the Fabric Bazaar and across from the Carousel, was WILSON NEILL APPLIANCES with white goods including Fisher and Paykel products Leonard refrigerators and dishwashers. The stoves included Shacklock and Atlas brands and television sets by National, Philips, Pye and Sanyo and video equipment and quite a selection of second-hand items from trade-ins
COLLINSWOOD FLOORS & WALLS moved into the Carnaby St from its former premises in Pier Mall to a bigger space with upstairs showroom.
At the far end of Carnaby, next to the Hawke St carpark, was MURRAY’S FURNISHINGS, on the corner opposite CFM Shackel Meats.
Murray’s relocated to Carnaby Street from the Surfside Mall but retained Surfside shop as a manchester outlet while the soft furnishings expanded into the new premises.
Later arrivals in Carnaby Street Mall advertised “Cleanliness and fish and chips without that greasy after-taste” included the newly opened CAPTAIN SCOTTY’S fish and chip shop, at the car-park end adjacent to the Hawke St carpark.
Customers could purchase their orders ($1.70 for fish and chips) and run by Wallace McNeill, the former owner of the Balmoral Restaurant and stating: “all food is fried in fresh vegetable oil”. Pink salmon fillets were available for $1.60, hoki fillets for $1.30, chips $1.20 a bucket,
Lane’s Appliances spent time in Carnaby Mall in premises taken over from Wilson Neill Ltd, then relocating into bigger premises in the main Seaview Mall. Sharing the building with Warehouse Clothing Ltd backing onto Beresford St and like Wilson-Neill before it, also sold second hand appliance trade ins.
Lane’s manager and co-owner with his brother Glen was Max Percasky, going on to develop Shirley Mall in the 1990s and currently developing a bulk 24,000sqm retail site Homebase shopping centre on Marshland Rd, making it the biggest large format retail site in Christchurch and current home to Bunnings and 14 businesses.
In those day malls like Carnaby Street were often good income generating investments, for instance the 900 Waitaki N.Z. Refrigerating Ltd members of the company’s superannuation scheme, had a stake in the shopping centre.
Today investors are more likely to invest in much bigger shopping centres similar to Riccarton’s Westfield, one of the largest and the oldest in Christchurch opened in 1965.
Carnaby Lane is rebuilding under the Carnaby Collective initiatives in the 2020 era and has the opportunity with the right balance of neighbouring tenants to become an ikon on a much lesser scale to its famous namesake, but a focal point none the less.
Investment will come from business owners in collaboration with landowners, supported by an increasing customer base.
261 stores under the banner City Mall
The opening of the $640,000 City Mall on Saturday represented a massive face-lift for the commercial heart of the city, and, with it, a change of character. With 261 stores under the banner of City Mall, the shopping centre is huge even by world standards. The redevelopment of existing buildings instead of demolishing commercial buildings has been adopted in creating the mall. It is-a policy which is now more 1982
New Brighton Mall open
Retailers in the New Brighton Mall are looking forward to a busy day’s trading today as the only Christchurch shopping centre allowed to open on Waitangi Day. The president of the New Brighton Business Association, Mr Noel Hobbs, said the mall retailers were “thrilled” that they could open their doors to shoppers after being granted a 6 feb 1988