Opawa
Opawa is an inner residential suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located approximately south-east of the city centre. Prior to European settlement, much of the area consisted of marshlands and mixed-use vegetation. By the 1850s, the area was sparsely populated by settlers and became a dairying locality, with many of the early settlers being farmers and people of English descent. Opawa had little development in its early years as it transitioned into a residential suburb.
An early sign of an emerging European community in the area was the arrival of Rev. William Willock, an early settler area who built a cottage titled "Opawaha Cottage", a reference to the Māori name of the area. Another early European settler, Joshua Strange Williams, abbreviated his property as "Opawa Farm". Opawa, eventually became the recognised name for the area. As Woolston emerged as an industrial hub nearby, Opawa was heavily urbanised. This transformed it into an upscale residential area with a population largely consisting of factory workers and businesspeople. Opawa and its neighbouring suburb of Hillsborough were also formerly home to multiple brickmaking and clay related-industries. Though the suburb is predominantly residential at present time, and lies mostly within a U-shaped bend of the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River. Opawa was amalgamated in to the Greater-Christchurch city area in October 1916.
At a national level, the suburb is part of the Christchurch Central parliamentary electorate. Locally, it is part of the Heathcote Ward for local body elections. The suburb contains three primary schools and two kindergartens. The suburb hosts two local sports clubs; the Opawa Bowling Club and the Opawa Lawn Tennis Club. Additional sporting amenities are located in Hansen Park which accommodates two rugby fields, two football fields and the clubrooms of a local athletics club.
Its population largely consists of European New Zealanders, and contains numerous landmarks known for their connection with the early settlers in the area. Notable individuals associated with the suburb include politician William Pember Reeves, wartime women's labour administrator Noeline Baker, and Anthony Wilding, one of New Zealand's most successful tennis players.
Toponymy
The toponymy of 'Opawa' is an anglicisation and an abbreviation of the Māori name for the area, Ōpāwaho, a name it shares with its neighbouring river. Ōpāwaho is a combination of Ō which means 'a part of' and pā and waho which means 'outer' or 'outside a defined area'. Ōpawaho could also translate to 'the seawards pā' or 'an outpost pā'. The first anglicised names of Ōpāwaho were 'Oparia' and 'Oporia' first seen used in April 1844, though these spellings are no longer in common usage. Another archaic spelling for the area is 'Opawaha', used in the 1850s. The anglicised name, 'Opawa', was first known to be used by early European settler Joshua Strange Williams to address his property. The name, Opawa, was first known to the Lyttelton Times in 1862.History
Māori settlement
Māori began to settle in the Christchurch area in 1250 AD and Māori settlements were scattered throughout the area. A kāinga was located near the present-day Vincent Place and Judge Street intersection. It was also a resting place for travellers between Kaiapoi Pā and the Banks Peninsula. The land in this area was marshy and covered with raupō and tussock. Māori lived in the marshy regions of Opawa and used its surrounding swamplands, creeks and the river as an abundant food source of duck , lamprey and eels.The name of the Māori kāinga itself was Poho-Areare. It is also the name of an early rangatira of the settlement and the name is also applied to an old Māori walking track that led from the village over the sandhills to the kāinga in South New Brighton. Later, Tūrakipō was the Opawa settlement's chief. A hapū of Ngāi Tahu built the Poho-Areare village in the 18th century and the name given to this hapū was Ō-Roto-Repo meaning 'swamp dwellers'.
In 1927, a local resident of Opawa "Mr. Rees", discovered a skull and some bones, which are believed to be those of a Māori person. A piece of pounamu was also discovered at the site near the Poho-Areare settlement, beside the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River. Mr. Rees's discovery could indicate the area could have been a tapu burial site for Māori.
European settlement
Early European settlement began in the 1850s and Opawa sparsely populated by European settlers and the area south of modern-day suburbs Linwood and Woolston became an agricultural locality. An early sign of an emerging European community in the area was the arrival of Rev. William Willock, an early settler in the Canterbury Region who arrived to Lyttelton Harbour on the Randolph in 1850. Willock built a cottage and used to hold church services at his home, known as "Opawaha Cottage". His cottage was still standing in Albert Terrace 100 years later and was used as a stable. Willock Place in St. Martins is named in honour of him.St. Martins, Hillsborough, and Murray Ansyley Hill were originally parts of Opawa, before the districts began to acquire an importance of being their own. Many settlers in Opawa were farmers and people of English descent, many of whom came from relatively wealthy families. Prominent early European settlers in the Opawa district included Edward Richardson, Edward Steane Harley, and Thomas Tancred.
Various names represented the area until 1862, when an early European settler, Joshua Strange Williams, addressed his property as "Opawa Farm" to the Lyttelton Times. "Opawa" eventually becoming the recognised name for the area.
A number of opulent houses were initially built on large sections and was considered a desirable suburb at the time because of its location surrounded by the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River, which attracted many to settle here. Opawa developed little during its early years in becoming a residential suburb, the centre of the locality was reportedly the corner of Locarno Street and Opawa Road. Opawa was established around a U-shaped bend of the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River. Up until the 1890s, the only regular means of transportation, was a stagecoach which ran along Opawa Road.
As Woolston emerged as an industrial hub nearby and became the centre of the country's rubber industry in the 20th century, the population of Opawa grew considerably, transforming it into a fashionable residential area. Subsequently, Opawa was urbanised as factory workers and businesspeople from Woolston's industrial areas relocated after being unable to find housing within Woolston itself.
A number of brickmaking and clay industries were formerly based in Opawa, Hillsborough and the surrounding hills, which contributed in the industrial development of Christchurch.
Opawa suffered some damage in the 2010 Canterbury earthquake. A section of shops along Opawa Road had been closed due to the damage, while the other shops remained operating as usual, and several homes had been damaged by collapsing chimneys. In the February 2011 earthquake, two churches in the suburb had some structural and surface damages.
Geography
In the 19th century, much of the area consisted of grasslands and mixed-use vegetation. Its surroundings largely consisted of marshlands and swamplands which were heavily connected to the ecosystem of the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River. At present time, State Highway 76 and the Main South Line traverses through the suburb. Other suburbs nearby include, Murray Aynsley Hill, Huntsbury, St. Martins, Waltham, Hillsborough, and Linwood. Most of Opawa lies within a U-shaped bend in the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River.Opawa's proximity to the river has resulted in numerous flooding incidents in the area. Notable instances of significant flooding in the area occurred in August 1941, April 1962, and January 1980. In 1986, the Woolston Cut began to allow flood waters to bypass a long loop of the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River. In recent times, noted flooding incidents in Opawa occurred in 2014 and 2017. The suburb's main roads are Opawa Road and Ensors Road, and the suburb's main retail precinct is centred on Opawa Road, which was developed on one of the earliest settled routes, at the intersection of Hawford and Reeves Roads. Opawa Road is no longer the primary thoroughfare through to Lyttelton and Heathcote Valley.
Landmarks
Opawa contains several landmarks and locations of historical interest, known for their connection with the early European settlers in the area:- Risingholme, a Victorian homestead built in 1864 by European settlers Mary and William Reeves. Up until 1943, the building was owned by several private owners. It was later purchased by philanthropist John McKenzie in 1943. The building was gifted to the community for the "health, amusement and instruction of the public". A community centre was established here in 1944. It has a Category 2 listing with Heritage New Zealand.
- Another place of historical interest is an untitled house located on 41 Opawa Road. The section was taken up in 1851 by early settler William Draper. Later in 1852, Alexander Sherwood Jackson bought the land. Later selling it to another settler, J. S. Williams the same year. A businessman, William Wombwell Charters, built a house here in 1879. Opawa was a considered a desirable suburb at the time with lots of "gentlemen's estates". The house has strong window elements and is fairly "French" in its character. Its location was formerly adjacent to the Opawa Farm.
- The Hollies was built in 1871, it is an early colonial house built by English-born mechanic Edward Richardson. The land it was built on was originally part of the 50 acre Opawa Farm, the site of The Hollies was later sold to Mr. Richardson. Richardson was responsible for overseeing the completion of the Lyttelton rail tunnel. Richardson was born in England where he trained as a civil engineer before emigrating to Christchurch. At the farther end of the house, is a billiards room which overlooks the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River. The Hollies is a Category 2 heritage-listed building.
- St. Mark's Anglican Church is an Anglican church located on Opawa Road. Its foundation stone was laid in May 1865 by Bishop Selwyn, the first Primate of New Zealand and the first church itself was designed by English-born architects Benjamin Mountfort and Maxwell Bury. In December 1949, the church was largely burned by a fire. This severance with the church for many people was one of the few remaining links to Christchurch's early European settlers. A new church was constructed on the same site and opened four years later in 1953.
- Another landmark in Opawa is the Fifield located on 14 Hawford Road. It is unclear what exact year the Fifield was built but it is understood to have been in the early 1880s. The building is historically significant for its connection with civil engineer William Bray and pharmacist William Townend and his family. It is a large two storey mid-Victorian villa, that contains a smoking room, a nursery, and a servants' quarters. After the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquakes, the dwelling's chimneys partially collapsed and were removed as a result.