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Sydenham is an inner suburb of
Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
, New Zealand, two kilometres south of the
city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...
, on and around the city's main street,
Colombo Street Colombo Street is a main road of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It runs south-north through the centre of Christchurch with a break at Cathedral Square. As with many other central Christchurch streets, it is named for a colonial Anglica ...
. It is a residential, retail and light industrial suburb.


History

While the Sydenham area had seen development from the earliest days of European settlement in Christchurch, it was originally split between the Heathcote and Spreydon road districts instead of being a locality of its own right. The name Sydenham originally referred only to "Sydenham House", a crockery and china shop in the area so named by its owner, Charles Prince, after the north-west Kent town of
Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne ...
, which is now a London suburb within the
London Borough of Lewisham Lewisham () is a London borough in south-east London; it forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council, based in Catford. The Prime Meridian passes throug ...
. At a meeting regarding the formation of a borough council for the area, brought on by growth in the area, surveyor and future mayor Charles Allison advocated for the area to be named Sydenham, after the shop. The name was agreed upon, and Sydenham Borough Council came into existence in 1876. The first council and its mayor, George Booth, were elected in 1877. The population of the borough around this time was between five and six thousand, a number which doubled by the end of the 19th century, making it among the largest boroughs in New Zealand at the time. Sydenham quickly flourished as a suburb. By 1902, the population of the suburb had more than doubled since its formation, making it the largest borough in New Zealand. It had roughly 2500 buildings with a combined value of roughly one million pounds, of roads, and 95 gas lamps for street lighting. On 31 March 1903, the borough amalgamated with the City of Christchurch and became a suburb. At that time Sydenham already had its own swimming-baths, fire-engine, cemetery and recreation grounds. The shopping precinct located on Colombo Street was badly affected by the 2010 and
2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...
s with many commercial buildings demolished. Approximately 35 sites lost buildings. The Christchurch City Council produced a master plan in 2012 for redeveloping Sydenham after the earthquakes. The business district located south of Moorhouse Avenue was nicknamed "SoMo" by Lonely Planet in 2012. There were around 800 businesses employing 5000 people in Sydenham in 2013. The business precinct had branded itself as "Sydenham Quarter". This marketing campaign was part of the Sydenham master plan. The Sydenham school site surrounded by Colombo, Brougham, Buchan and Waverley streets was purchased by the New Zealand Government from the Christchurch City Council for $4.5 million dollars in 2015. This was then sold to Fletchers who built 76 terrace style houses on the site and named the development "350 Colombo".


Geography

Sydenham is located near the centre of Christchurch, and is separated from the
central city In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city ...
by the
South Island Main Trunk Railway The Main North Line between Picton and Christchurch and the Main South Line between Lyttelton and Invercargill, running down the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, are sometimes together referred to collectively as the South Isl ...
and Moorhouse Avenue. State Highway 76 runs through the middle of Sydenham before connecting to the
Christchurch Southern Motorway The Christchurch Southern Motorway is the main southern route into and out of Christchurch, New Zealand. The motorway forms part of (SH 1) and (SH 76) . The motorway, which heads in a generally south-west direction, is approximately 20 k ...
in the neighbouring suburb of
Spreydon Spreydon is a suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, south-south-west of Cathedral Square. The most central street through Spreydon is Barrington Street. Spreydon is flanked by the suburbs Hoon Hay, Sydenham, and Lower Cashmere. State Highway ...
to the west. A number of suburbs are located to the south of Sydenham at the base of the
Port Hills The Port Hills are a range of hills in Canterbury Region, so named because they lie between the city of Christchurch and its port at Lyttelton. They are an eroded remnant of the Lyttelton volcano, which erupted millions of years ago. The hi ...
, including
Somerfield Somerfield (; originally Gateway) was a chain of small to medium-sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The company also previously owned the Kwik Save chain of discount food stores. The company was taken over by the Co-operative ...
,
Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...
and Cashmere. To the east, Sydenham is separated from neighbouring St Martins by the
Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River The Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River lies within the city boundaries of Christchurch, New Zealand, and is fed from springs near Templeton Road, with a catchment area in wet weather extending as far west as Yaldhurst and Pound Road. It meanders around t ...
, and from Waltham by Waltham Road.


Demographics

Sydenham comprises four statistical areas. Sydenham Central is almost entirely commercial and light industry. Sydenham West, North and South are primarily residential.


Sydenham Central

Sydenham Central covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Sydenham Central had a population of 138 at the
2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...
, an increase of 24 people (21.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 12 people (9.5%) since the
2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
. There were 57 households. There were 81 males and 60 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.35 males per female. The median age was 30.9 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 15 people (10.9%) aged under 15 years, 48 (34.8%) aged 15 to 29, 72 (52.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 3 (2.2%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 67.4% European/Pākehā, 13.0% Māori, 2.2% Pacific peoples, 21.7% Asian, and 2.2% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 34.8%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 50.0% had no religion, 32.6% were Christian, 2.2% were Buddhist and 4.3% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 27 (22.0%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 6 (4.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $42,100, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 93 (75.6%) people were employed full-time, 9 (7.3%) were part-time, and 3 (2.4%) were unemployed.


Residential areas

The residential areas of Sydenham cover . They have an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. The residential areas had a population of 6,105 at the
2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...
, an increase of 549 people (9.9%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 948 people (18.4%) since the
2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
. There were 2,583 households. There were 3,057 males and 3,045 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female, with 810 people (13.3%) aged under 15 years, 1,659 (27.2%) aged 15 to 29, 2,721 (44.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 909 (14.9%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 74.2% European/Pākehā, 9.0% Māori, 4.4% Pacific peoples, 17.4% Asian, and 3.3% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 31.6%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 49.1% had no religion, 35.1% were Christian, 3.8% were Hindu, 1.0% were Muslim, 1.3% were Buddhist and 4.3% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 1,371 (25.9%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 816 (15.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 2,838 (53.6%) people were employed full-time, 669 (12.6%) were part-time, and 204 (3.9%) were unemployed.


Economy


The Colombo

The Colombo shopping centre is a shopping centre in Sydenham. It has 44 tenants, including the Academy Gold Cinema. In July 2020, Christchurch-based retail chain
Smiths City Smiths City is a New Zealand retail chain selling furniture and home appliances. It was originally founded by Henry Cooper Smith in 1918 as City Market initially involved with auctioning grain and product. History Early history In 1918, Henr ...
moved its flagship store to The Colombo centre.


Restaurants

There are many restaurants and takeaway food establishments on Colombo Street.


Art district

There is a vibrant art district in Sydenham with at least five art galleries located in Sydenham. These include Chambers Art Gallery, Jonathan Smart Gallery, Fiksate Studio & Gallery, Form Gallery, City Art Depot, and NZ Art Broker. Buildings feature street art works and many public art events have been held in Sydenham. As part of the Sydenham master plan, artwork was installed on Colombo street as a gateway into Sydenham.


Light industry

North of Brougham Street, there are many light industrial businesses located in Sydenham.


Education

Sydenham School, on the corner of Brougham and Colombo Streets, was first opened in 1872 and known as Colombo Road School. The land cost one hundred pounds to purchase and a further 862 pounds to build the school. By March 1873, there were almost 400 children enrolled. The school was renamed Sydenham school in 1880. At one stage it was the largest school in New Zealand. The school was closed in December 2000. In 2021, There were no primary or secondary schools within the suburb of Sydenham. Somerfield School takes students to the west of Colombo Street and south of Brougham Street. Waltham School takes students to the east of Colombo Street and south of Moorhouse Avenue. Addington School takes students to the west of Colombo Street and to the north of Somerfield school's zone. Beckenham School takes students to the east of Colombo Street and south of King and Huxley Streets.


Heritage buildings

Sydenham has a number of heritage buildings registered by
Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...
, with some already lost or to be lost due to the February
2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...
. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Woolstore in Durham Street is the only Category I heritage building. Coming from the south, the Sydenham Post Office and the
Sydenham Heritage Church Sydenham Heritage Church, originally known as the Colombo Street Methodist Church or Colombo Street Wesleyan Church or Colombo Road Wesleyan Church was a heritage-listed stone church building located in Sydenham, an inner suburb Christchurch, New ...
formed an entry into the strip shopping area along Colombo Street, but the church was controversially demolished shortly after the February earthquake. Nazareth House Chapel is located west of Sydenham Park and belongs to a retirement village. Blackheath Place are residential brick terrace houses that are rather uncommon in New Zealand. Three registered cottages are located in Shelley and Tennyson Streets.


Sporting teams

Sydenham Park is public open space that also acts as the home ground for Sydenham Cricket Club, Sydenham Hockey Club and Sydenham Rugby Club. All three clubs have provided players for their respective New Zealand teams. These including
Stephen Fleming Stephen Paul Fleming (born 1 April 1973) is a New Zealand cricket coach and former captain of the New Zealand national cricket team, who is the current head coach of Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. He is considered one of the g ...
for
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
, John Radovonich for
hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
and Charlie Oliver for
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
. Ben Stokes, the English cricketer spent time in 2020 working with the Sydenham Cricket Club.


Christchurch South Police station

The Christchurch South Police Station is located on Colombo Street in Beckenham. The previous police station for Sydenham was in Stanley Street, and was replaced by the Christchurch South station. It was opened in 2009 by the minister of police
Judith Collins Judith Anne Collins (born 24 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 14 July 2020 to 25 November 2021. She was the second female Leader of the Natio ...
. The building cost $7.5 million to build.


References

{{Authority control Suburbs of Christchurch