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Christchurch's Heathcote River
Dorothy - 23/04/04
A bus trip following the course of the Heathcote River with a
well-informed and enthusiastic guide greatly changed my view of this
river. The trip gave us an insight into the history of the area, its
role as a food source and a route for Maori crossing Canterbury,
navigation by early colonists, the flooding problems and control
measures, the Wigram Retention Basin, the Malthouse, the Farnley
Reserve, Merchiston historic house , the Woolston Cut, Steam Wharf
Stream, the towpath walk, and the saltmarsh near the Avon-Heathcote
Estuary.
A river with a varied history
During much of the twentieth century the Heathcote River was regarded as
far less attractive than the Avon River which features in so much of the
tourist publicity for Christchurch. This is not surprising. Industrial
waste had been discharged into the lower reaches for many years fouling
the water, the banks and bed, and little was known of its early history
and its role for Maori in pre-European times.
How Maori used the Heathcote
Maori valued the Heathcote as a source of shellfish, and set traps for
whitebait, flounder and eels. In the swamp forest along the river they
gathered water fowl and forest birds. In its upper reaches near Wigram
airfield the Heathcote is close to the head of the Halswell River.
The Ngai Tahu are thought to have dragged their canoes from one
river to the other, thus being able to travel by water from Waihora
(Lake Ellesmere) to Otautahi (Christchurch).
European settlers used the Heathcote for transport
The First Four Ships bringing colonists organised by the Canterbury
Association arrived at the end of 1850. By 1851 a ferry was operating
across the Heathcote.
The settlers soon discovered the value of the river for transporting
goods, but bringing goods to Christchurch from Lyttelton was a hazardous
and costly journey.
Soon sailing ships began transporting goods from Lyttelton. First they
had to sail through the shifting sands of the Sumner Bar, and long
delays, or worse still shipwrecks, were common.The Heathcote was tidal
for eight miles, but the sharp bends, the wind from the hills and the
swamp flats made navigating difficult. To assist the ships a towpath 25
feet wide was built on each side of the river. Bullocks and horses
pulled the ships through the most difficult sections, except where the
ground was too swampy for the animals to walk across it. Rowing boats
from the larger vessels pulled them through these stretches.
Wharves were built on the north side of the river and industries were
established with river access. One wharf was near the point where the
Steam Wharf Stream joins the Heathcote. Here there was room for the
ships to turn and the Steam Wharf became a busy port. Cargo was taken to
the town by carts and drays pulled by horses or bullocks.
Once the railway to Ferrymead was opened in 1863 and the Lyttelton
railway tunnel was opened in 1867 the role of the Heathcote in
transport diminished greatly.
The towpath has recently been restored as a walkway and native plants
have been cultivated along it.
1970 - Trade Waste Sewer upgrades river's water quality
Early industry developed along the Heathcote River and the Lyttelton
railway line and much industrial waste was pumped into the river,
resulting in murky water and unattractive banks in the lower stretches
of the river near the Avon-Heathcote Estuary until 1970 when the
Christchurch Drainage Board (CDB) built a Trade Waste sewer which
collected these wastes and pumped them to the sewage treatment works at
Bromley. There was an immediate and continued improvement in the water
quality.
The bus trip
Our exploration of the Heathcote began near its source at St John of God
Hospital. Next stop was in Warren Crescent where a short walk took us
to the retention basin and wildlife reserve at the back of Wigram
Airport. This pond collects the storm flows from the Hornby area and
discharges them at a controlled rate into the river so that flooding
further down the river system is not aggravated.
We followed the river along the foot of the Cashmere Hills beside banks
planted with willows. Turning into Colombo Street we were able to see
the old Malthouse, built in 1867 and renovated in recent years as the
home of the Canterbury Children's Theatre.
Following the course of the river we came to the Centaurus Road shopping
centre and the Farnley Reserve, so named because the Farnley Brick and
Tile Works built in the nineteenth century was on the nearby hillside.
This delightful area has been created along the bank of the river behind
the shops where not long ago there was knee-high grass and litter,
including discarded bricks and tiles.
The Christchurch Soroptimists and the City Council combined their
efforts and from 1994 they worked to develop a reserve. Other community
groups joined the Soroptimists in clearing the area and preparing it for
cultivation. Community planting days were held to plant the area with
riverbank plants that would have grown there long ago - rushes, sedges,
kahikatea, rimu, native shurbs, pungas and ferns. The walkway is paved
with bricks, and seats, a boardwalk, timber jetty and steps have been
built. Bing Dawe's sculpture of bronze eels swimming through paving
tiles and loose stones has a central position.
The Soroptimists' work was acknowledged at the opening of the reserve on
26 September 1998, fifty years since their community service began. A
further honour for their work came at the Soroptimist International
Convention in Finland in 1999 when the Christchurch branch received an
award for "exceptional service in the area of environment."
Merchiston, a house with a history, at 80 Riverlaw Terrace, was the next
stop. Built in 1879 for Andrew Anderson the house is named after
Merchiston Castle, the school he attended in Scotland. The house began
with four rooms and was expanded to meet the needs of a growing family.
The property was bought by Ewart Smith in 1927. Methodist churches held
social functions there and Christian Fellowship groups and Girls' and
Boys' Bridgades now use the house for meetings and small camps.
In Clarendon Terrace we were able to view the remains of the old wharf
at the upper end of the towpath.
Heathcote flooding and control measures
The Heathcote River has often been praised for its slow flowing between
shallow banks, but this has been the cause of numerous floods. Between
1925 and 1960 sixteen major floods occurred.
People were attracted by the appearance of the river upstream from the
industrial area and had their homes built to look out on the river with
its grassy banks and willow trees.
Many home owners in Richardson, Aynsley and Clarendon Terraces had
their sections and garages flooded and the flood waters entered 23
houses. The situation was aggravated by the slow flow of the river
around the Woolston loop.
The choice of schemes to remedy this situation was to widen the river
bed around the Woolston Loop or to construct a flood channel across the
neck of the loop. The latter scheme, called The Woolston Cut, was to be
much more effective in reducing the flood levels upstream, and would
cost one third of the river widening scheme.
The Woolston Cut
This was constructed by the CDB in 1986. It was 510 metres in length
and cost over two million dollars.
Environmental problems resulted because saline water was able to travel
much further upstream. Along the banks as far upstream as the Opawa
bridge most of the trees died. To remedy the situation control gates
were built at the upstream end of the Cut and left closed except in
times of flooding. When they are opened the flood waters can flow
rapidly through the Cut instead of slowly around the loop.
The tour concluded with a short walk to the bird hide and the
information platform beside the Towpath .
Some weeks after the bus trip my husband and I explored the river again
and walked up the Heathcote Quarry track from Bridle Path Road and
photographed the lower Heathcote - a valued reminder of an interesting
River.
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