Sar Street
Sar Street in Wadestown is named from the initials of Sarah Ann Rhodes (1837 – 1914). She was the sister of William Sefton Moorhouse who was Mayor of Wellington in 1875 while (curiously) also an MP for Christchurch at the same time.
Her husband William Barnard Rhodes was possibly the wealthiest person in NZ history in inflation-adjusted terms. They once owned a considerable portion of what is today the eastern slopes of Wadestown, living in a large house which over-looked the harbour called The Grange (pictured above).
Sarah Anne Rhodes was William Barnard Rhodes’ second wife (his first died in 1862) but no children came from either of these marriages. However, he had earlier had a daughter called Mary Anne through a relationship with a Māori woman by the name of Otahi who was of Taranaki Whānui descent. Mary Anne was bought up by Sarah Anne Rhodes who adopted her and treated her as if she were her own daughter.
Their family tree was to become somewhat confusing when Mary Anne Rhodes later married Edward Moorhouse, the younger brother of William Moorhouse. As such, she married her step-uncle and her step-mother became her sister-in-law (or looking at it the other way around, Sarah Rhodes' step-daughter became her own sister-in-law). Mary Anne was born a Rhodes and became a Moorhouse while her sister-in-law, Sarah Anne, was born a Moorhouse and became a Rhodes.
Following the death of her husband, Sarah Ann Rhodes became a philanthropist, giving large sums of money to the Boys Insititute, educational institutions and charitable trusts. She also gifted the mayoral chains to the city which are still in use to this day.