Ferrymead Heritage Park
Encyclopedia
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, housing a number of groups with historical themes, the most frequent of which is transport. Formerly known as Ferrymead Historic Park, it was founded in the mid-1960s by a number of groups, local government bodies and other interested parties. It is in the Heathcote Valley
Heathcote Valley
-Location:The suburb is dominated by the approaches to the Lyttelton road tunnel, a major arterial that passes through the Port Hills. The road is part of the State Highway 74 network...
, at the site of New Zealand's first public railway
Ferrymead Railway
The Ferrymead Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway built upon the formation of New Zealand's first public railway, the line from Ferrymead to Christchurch, which opened in 1863. On the opening of the line to Lyttelton on 9 December 1867, the Ferrymead Railway became the Ferrymead Branch and...
.
Museum of Science & Industry
This was the original name of the park. A number of groups came together in the early 1960s with a common interest in forming a museum of scientific and industrial history. Included in these was the Canterbury Branch of the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, which had formed in the late 1950s to cater for local rail enthusiast interests. A pilot project was set in Garvins Road, Hornby: their original proposed site was at Prebbleton, south-west of Christchurch. When that site became unavailable, interest was kindled at FerrymeadFerrymead
-Geography:Ferrymead is located on the Avon Heathcote Estuary, close to the point where the Heathcote River drains into the estuary, and three km west of the eventual outflow into Pegasus Bay. To the north lie the oxidation ponds from Christchurch's main sewage treatment works, which are within a...
.
Ferrymead Trust
The Trust continued to operate, but in the mid-1990s it had sustained heavy losses in the operation of the park, largely due to having a seven-day-per-week year-round operation with paid staff. As it appeared likely that the mortgage holder would foreclose on the park's assets, Christchurch City Council
Christchurch City Council
The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since 2007, the Mayor of Christchurch is Bob Parker, who stood as an independent candidate...
(CCC) assumed liability for the park's debt in return for hands-on management and the sale of various assets, including surplus land.
Ferrymead Park Ltd
The CCC identified as a major stumbling block the operation of the park by numerous independent societies. In response, Ferrymead Park Ltd was established in 1998, a not-for-profit company owned by the Ferrymead Trust. The park is now managed and operated by Ferrymead Park Ltd, and receives CCC core-funding. The Park's Manager is Newton Dodge. Ownership and control of the various resources of the individual societies continues to be vested in these groups. During the company's tenure visitor numbers and turnover have increased, and Ferrymead now has the 'Qualmark' tourism endorsement. The number of volunteer groups involved in the Park has also increased. The maintenance of the grounds and buildings are predominantly carried out by paid staff whom are enthusiastically assisted by the efforts of a small team of staff and service users of IDEA Services Ltd, a division of IHC, the largest national organisation providing support and advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities.Member societies
- Canterbury Centre for Historic Photography & Film Inc.
- Canterbury Railway Society Inc. (Ferrymead RailwayFerrymead RailwayThe Ferrymead Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway built upon the formation of New Zealand's first public railway, the line from Ferrymead to Christchurch, which opened in 1863. On the opening of the line to Lyttelton on 9 December 1867, the Ferrymead Railway became the Ferrymead Branch and...
) - Diesel Traction Group Inc.
- Ferrymead Aeronautical Society Inc.
- Ferrymead Clydesdales Society Inc.
- Ferrymead Museum of Road Transport Inc.
- Ferrymead Post and Telegraph Historical Society Inc.
- Ferrymead Printing Society Inc.
- Ferrymead Two-Foot Railway Inc.Ferrymead Two Foot RailwayThe Ferrymead Two Foot Railway Society Inc. is a member society of Ferrymead Heritage Park, in Heathcote, Christchurch, New Zealand. The society operates a two-foot gauge railway, on an oval circuit approximately 450M in length, at the Park...
- Fire Services Historical Society Inc.
- Friends of Ferrymead Fraternity Inc.
- Garden City Model Railroad Club Inc.
- Heathcote Studios Theatrical Society Inc.
- Heritage Youth Inc.
- Lions Club of Ferrymead Inc.
- Radio Preservation Society of New Zealand (Ferrymead) Inc. (Radio FerrymeadRadio FerrymeadRadio Ferrymead is a radio station operated by the Radio Preservation Society in Christchurch, New Zealand. The RPS is a non-profit incorporated society based at the Ferrymead Heritage Park whose aim is to collect, preserve and display radio and radio related historical items...
) - Society of Rural History Inc.
- Tramway Historical Society Inc. (operators of the Ferrymead Tramway and trolleybusTrolleybusA trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
system)
Several other societies have come and gone, notably the Ferrymead Military Museum Society. Heathcote Studios Theatrical Society is the most recent member.
Geography
The park is in the Heathcote Valley. Being close to the sea and low-lying, it was historically subjected to frequent flooding. A major event was the "Wahine StormWahine disaster
The Wahine disaster occurred on 10 April 1968 when the TEV Wahine, a New Zealand inter-island ferry of the Union Company, foundered on Barrett Reef at the entrance to Wellington Harbour and capsized near Steeple Rock...
" of 1968, in which a large part of the site, then in embryonic development, was under water. This is no longer a major issue due to the filling of large parts of the site. Since the active involvement of the CCC began in the mid-1990s, flood and stormwater management have been implemented in the park and surrounding lands. The major project of the Heathcote Valley Park aims to integrate these along with the development of wildlife habitat areas and native plantings.
In the days of being managed by the Heathcote County Council, prior to local government amalgamation of 1989, part of the site was used as a rubbish dump. The raised location known as "Woods Hill" was formed artificially by the large-scale compacting of refuse dumped there over a number of years. This area is rather unstable land and buildings constructed there without appropriate foundations have been damaged by subsidence. The Tamaki Brothers of Rotorua have received substantial CCC assistance to construct a tourist Māori village on the site, which opened in 2007.