Thanks are due to Don Hudson of Kiwi Publishers who recently donated several copies of the Kiwi Publishers 1998 reprint of George Walsh’s book “Richmond Christchurch – a Regional History” to the Richmond History Group. Don has also given us permission to copy the book and make it available online, so it is great to be able to make this scarce publication more readily available. The 48-page booklet, originally published in 1973, is hard to find nowadays; there are copies available in the New Zealand Collection at Tūranga, but these cannot be borrowed. The booklet is now available here as an 18MB PDF file; click the link at the end of this post.

George Walsh (1901–1975) was born in Richmond and his parents were long-time residents. His book is still the only publication that describes the development of Richmond from rural hinterland in the 1850s–60s to inner city suburb by 1890s and after.
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The booklet is not without faults; the title is something of a misnomer — there is nothing regional about the book, and some of the history pages include errors and should be read with a grain of salt. The strongest sections are:

Despite its shortcomings, the book is a valuable resource for people interested in our local history and we are indebted to Don Hudson for making it so readily available. 

Papers Past (https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/) is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in our history. The website is a service of the National Library of New Zealand and houses scanned copies of many historical New Zealand publications. Items include more than 150 newspapers, as well as magazines & journals, letters & diaries and parliamentary papers.

The 2 September 1918 issue of The Star included an article about Richmond on page 6. The image above has been compiled to make the article easier to read on-screen — the article originally appeared as a single column running almost the whole length of the page. 

There are several errors in the article, but it gives a vivid impression of Richmond 100 years ago, especially the area beyond North Avon Road, which had not long become part of Christchurch City. In the document below I have transcribed the article and included a contemporary map of the area. I have also added some notes where appropriate, to provide context and correct the errors. It’s good to know we live in a ‘sturdy’ suburb.
Feel free to explore the riches of Papers Past.

PERMANENT LINK TO THIS ITEM: 
​https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TS19180902.2.47

The image above shows the cover of the St Saviour’s Orphanage Monthly News for March 1923. The orphanage had a large presence here in Richmond where, from 1910, the St. Saviour’s Home for Girls was located at 73 Stapletons Rd (the site later became Churchill Courts). However the photo on the cover of this issue shows the Boys’ Home which was located in Morgans Road, Timaru. The full 8-page document is available for download below.

The regular bulletin included news from the orphanages and acknowledgements of donations of goods and cash to the orphanages. Both homes relied completely on donations and represented a huge voluntary effort on the part of many people to function. To give an idea of the scale of the operations, the Timaru Home was built in 1918, not long after a new building had been added on the Richmond site. The combined cost of the two projects was £30,000 — equivalent to over $3 million* today(!?) and all from donations. This probably explains the emphasis on the money side of things in this and other orphanage publications.

* Calculated using the Reserve Bank inflation calculator (www.rbnz.govt.nz/monetary-policy/inflation-calculator)

​In August David Grantham donated a set of nineteen Richmond School class photos, taken between 1956 and 1974, the period when David's father, Tom Grantham, was a teacher at the school. As well as ten formal class photos there are three staff groups and several other photos of sports and cultural groups, as well as a few informal photos taken on school outings. I have scanned these photos and combined them in a PDF document which is available below for viewing and/or downloading.

I have recorded pupils’ names underneath each scanned photo. I have transcribed these names as best I can; some of the handwriting is difficult to decipher. If people can help correct any spelling errors, add their own memories or other information about the photos, we would love to hear from you — please contact Avebury House: (admin@aveburyhouse.co.nz).
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Our thanks to David Grantham for his generous gift. The photos are now stored with the Richmond History Group collection in the Richmond Room at Avebury House, along with a wide range other material recording Richmond's history.

This short history (40 pages) of Holy Trinity Church, Avonside, was written for the parish's centenary in 1955 by the vicar of the time, Archdeacon W. T. Williams. I came across a copy in a bookshop some time ago and have scanned it for others to enjoy.

The booklet makes interesting reading...if you're into that kind of thing. We learn, for example, on p21, that the building now known as Chrystal Palace at 12 Chrystal St, was originally St Aidan’s Mission House, an outpost of Holy Trinity Avonside, established after 1912 when Rev. O. Fitzgerald became vicar.

Although the stone church at Avonside was demolished after the 2011 earthquake, the churchyard and cemetery are still well worth a visit. Richard Greenaway has compiled a guide to the cemetery and the many people who are buried there, available on the Christchurch City Libraries website: http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/Cemeteries/Avonside/AvonsideParishCemetery.pdf

​David Hollander

Some years ago, it was proposed to have Avebury House registered as a historic place. The Canterbury earthquakes and their aftermath caused some delay, but the process has now been completed and Avebury House has recently been classed as a Category 2 historic place (#9075) by Heritage New Zealand. 

The report below was prepared by Robyn Burgess of Heritage New Zealand as part of their investigations. While there are some overlaps with the two CCC Avebury House documents posted on this site recently, this report offers a different perspective and brings the official record of Avebury up-to-date.
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List Entry Type: Historic Place Category 2
List Number: 9075
Date Entered: 16th May 2019
Date of Effect: 5th June 2019

Is Slater Street really named after a creepy-crawlie? Who was Warwick? And whatever happened to Bruce? If you have ever wondered why our streets have the names they do, this document might be of interest.

Margaret Harper and other CCL staff have prepared fifteen documents recording information about the names of Christchurch streets. I have copied some of this material and combined the information about Richmond streets in a single document. My thanks to Christchurch City Libraries for their permission to use the information in this way.

If anyone has more information about any of our local streets, please get in touch; contact Avebury House: email: admin@aveburyhouse.co.nz

​​This 21-page document was prepared by Louise Beaumont in 2010 for the Christchurch City Council, and outlines the history and development of the what were once the grounds of Avebury House, now Avebury Park. The report nicely complements the 2000 report on the house itself (available below on this site) and includes several new historical photos of the house and grounds, as well as a detailed look at the landscape elements of the park.
The report’s date, August 2010, makes it a poignant reminder of how much things can change in a short time. Some of the photos show nearby buildings that are now gone. This is another precious document for anyone interested in the story of Avebury House & Park.

​The document below is a conservation plan for Avebury House, prepared in 2000 for the Christchurch City Council Property Unit, by Malcom Kitt and Amanda Ross. For 30 years previously, the house had served as a Youth Hostel (1966—97). For some time after this, the future of the building was uncertain. The house was saved from demolition when the CCC agreed to restore the building. It was not yet decided what uses the building might serve; the report offers a range of possibilities, which included use as a community centre. The 32-page document offers a historical overview and assesses the house’s cultural significance before offering a detailed survey of the building and outlining a conservation plan. 

About this time Avebury House underwent a large-scale refurbishment. In 2001 the Avebury House Community Trust was formed to administer the house as a community resource. The building was officially opened by the then Prime Minister, Helen Clark, on 18 September 2002.

Given the huge changes wrought by the earthquakes of 2010–11, the document offers insight into the thinking and planning that went into saving a vital local landmark, and makes interesting reading for anyone interested in Avebury House.