Huntsbury

Huntsbury is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, on the fringes of the Port Hills three kilometres south of the city centre.[1] Huntsbury amalgamated with Christchurch City on 1 April 1941, on the same day as the New Brighton borough joined the city council.[2]

History

The first sections were sold for housing on Huntsbury Hill in January 1920.[3] Before this, the hillside was the site of the Cashmere Sanatorium complex, a tuberculosis hospital which opened in 1914.[4] At the time, best practice tuberculosis treatment consistent of "open air" living, so many patients in the complex lived in "huts", about 9 square metres with permanently open doors and windows, even in winter.[3] After antibiotics largely eliminated tuberculosis, these huts were phased out from 1950, but one was restored by the city council and is found at the end of the private road Kimbolton Lane.[3]

Other huts were built by returned servicemen as temporary homes while earning money to build permanent homes. These people were known as "hutters" or "hutties" and were the subject of complaints by other residents.[3]

Following the discharge of the final tuberculosis patient in the 1960s, the sanatorium complex became the site of Coronation Hospital, before it too closed in 1991. Construction company, Fulton Hogan, demolished the last of the complex to make way for the Broad Oaks subdivision.[4]

A water reservoir with capacity for 35,000 cubic metre was built in 1952. [5] By 2011 it was Christchurch's main drinking water storage facility.[3] During the 2011 Christchurch earthquake a previously unknown shear zone beneath the facility ruptured. The basin was shattered and water drained into the cracked hills, while the pump station was extensively damaged.[5] Following the quake a new pump station was commissioned, and the reservoir was replaced with two structures on either side of the shear zone[5], designed to move independently in future quakes.[3]

The 2011 earthquake also had a marked effect on the suburb's houses. By 2020, many houses had been repaired but many other sites remained empty following demolitions, and retaining walls broken.[3]

Features

Huntsbury Community Centre was fundraised in the early 1970s and opened in 1975. The centre is sited across the street from the water reservoir.[3]

Huntsbury is host to one of four fountains scattered over Christchurch. Huntsbury's fountain is at the top of Conifer Place.[6]

Sources
  • Christchurch City Libraries (2017). "The Hill of Hope – Cashmere Sanatorium". Christchurch City Libraries. Christchurch. Retrieved 8 December 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

References
  1. "Place name detail: Huntsbury". New Zealand Gazetteer. Land Information New Zealand. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  2. Densem, John (1990). Christchurch chronology: a history of settlement (second ed.). Christchurch: Environmental Policy and Planning Policy Unit, Christchurch City Council. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  3. Harvie, Will (8 February 2020). "Port Hills suburb of Huntsbury turns 100 as rebuild continues". Stuff.co.nz. Stuff. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  4. Christchurch City Libraries (2017). "The Hill of Hope – Cashmere Sanatoriumon". Christchurch City Libraries. Christchurch. Retrieved 8 December 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  5. "Huntsbury Reservoir". SCIRT Learning Legacy. Huntsbury Reservoir. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  6. "Conifer Place Fountain". Christchurch City Council. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2019.


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