Street name variations spell confusion

This is the story of Macbeth. Then again it could be MacBeth, or even McBeath.

All appear to be possibilities for the spelling of a Caversham street name that has two different versions at each end, and a third that has emerged from the mists of time.

Last week, the Otago Daily Times uncovered the story of signs in North Dunedin featuring two different spellings of both Pine Hill and North East Valley.

That prompted a Caversham resident with a long memory to contact the newspaper about MacBeth St, which is spelled that way at one end of the short street, and Macbeth at the other.

The man, who wanted to remain anonymous, said when he was living nearby about 50 years ago, there were also different renditions at each end of the street, one spelled "McBeth" and the other "McBeath".

That was changed after he alerted the Dunedin City Council, but 50 years later there are still two different spellings.

He wanted the council to identify the correct spelling, and then change the signs.

But that may not be a simple task.

Council archivist Chris Scott said an unpublished and as yet not fully checked book on Dunedin street names said the street was renamed in 1916 from Calder St to MacBeth St, the latter apparently the official name.

That was done to avoid confusion with Calder Ave in North East Valley.

The name MacBeth came from Isabella MacBeth, the mother of the man who subdivided the street, David Calder.

But that was not necessarily the end of the matter.

Mr Scott referred the Otago Daily Times to a letter to the editor of The Evening Star in November 1959.

That letter, from an M.L. Gibb, who said they were "one of the family", said the mother of David Calder, a pioneer, was Isabella McBeath.

The letter also referred to the name of the street at the time as "McBeth St".

The council said yesterday it was looking into the issue, and would fix the sign when it found out which spelling of the name was correct.

That may involve some serious historical research.