Halswell_Quarry_Park

Halswell Quarry Park

Halswell Quarry Park

Former quarry in Canterbury, New Zealand

Halswell Quarry operated between 1861 and 1990 before becoming the 60.4 hectares (149 acres) Halswell Quarry Park, one of many Christchurch City Council reserves. It offers a combination of walking and mountain biking tracks, historic sites, picnic areas, botanical collections, and six sister city gardens.[1][2][3]

Quick Facts Location, Coordinates ...

Location

Halswell Quarry Park is located in the suburb of Kennedys Bush at 185 Kennedy's Bush Road in Christchurch, New Zealand.

History of Halswell Quarry

Halswell Quarry provided crushed stone for roading and cut stone for significant works including the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings, Durham Street Methodist Church, Cranmer Court formerly Christchurch Normal School and the Sign of the Takahe. The stone was a distinctive blue-grey colour. The rock formations were first noted by the Deans brothers, who named the outcrop Rock Hill. James Feather and James Forgan opened the quarry in c. 1861. They sold it to Guise Brittan, who took Grosvenor Miles and William White Sr (father of politician of the same name). Brittan sold to the Lincoln Road Tramway Company, and White and William Wilson managed the quarry operations.[citation needed] Wilson took over the quarry, and many important Christchurch buildings were constructed from its stone, including the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings, Sunnyside Hospital, Durham Street Methodist Church, Canterbury Museum, Normal School, Teachers' College Building, Sign of the Takahe, and the Robert McDougall Art Gallery.[4]: 260  In 1925 by the Christchurch City Council who managed it until 1990 when it became commercially unviable due to reduced stone reserves. It is thought to have been the oldest and longest continually operating quarry in Australasia.[5]

Halswell Quarry buildings

Three original buildings are still located in Halswell Quarry Park which are the crusher plant workshop (1912), the singlemen's accommodation barracks (1922), and the manager's residence which is listed in Heritage New Zealand as Halswell Quarry stone house and garden (1927).[6] All three buildings were renovated after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.[7]

  • Formerly the manager's residence for Halswell Quarry
  • Formerly the singlemen's quarters for Halswell Quarry
  • Crusher plant buildings formerly in use at Halswell Quarry

Halswell Quarry walks and tracks

  • Canterbury Wetland walk[8]
  • Cashmere Hill loop[9]
  • Cashmere Road shared use track[10]
  • Findlay's walk[11]
  • Kennedy's Bush access track[12]
  • Quarry Rim track[13]
  • Quarry view[14]
  • Sister city walks[15]

References

  1. [1]
    Christchurch City Council (2 December 2014). "District plan – Listed heritage place: Heritage assessment – Statement of significance – former Halswell Quarry – 185 Kennedys Bush Road, Christchurch" (PDF). Christchurch City Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 July 2021.
  2. [2]
    "Halswell Ward profile" (PDF). Christchurch City Council. February 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 July 2021.
  3. [3]
    "Christchurch City Parks" (PDF). Christchurch City Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  4. [4]
    Ogilvie, Gordon (2009). The Port Hills of Christchurch (2nd ed.). Christchurch: Phillips & King. ISBN 9780958331562.
  5. [5]
    "Halswell Quarry walks and tracks". Christchurch City Council. Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  6. [6]
    "Halswell Quarry Stone House and Garden". Heritage New Zealand. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  7. [7]
    "Historic Quarry building reopens to the public". Christchurch City Council Newsline. Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  8. [8]
    "Canterbury Wetland Walk". Christchurch City Council. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  9. [9]
    "Cashmere Hill Loop". Christchurch City Council. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  10. [10]
    "Cashmere Road shared use track". Christchurch City Council. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  11. [11]
    "Findlay's Walk". Christchurch City Council. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  12. [12]
    "Kennedys Bush Access Track". Christchurch City Council. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  13. [13]
    "Quarry Rim Track". Christchurch City Council. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  14. [14]
    "Quarry View". Christchurch City Council. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  15. [15]
    "Sister City walks". Christchurch City Council. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
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