Redwood, Christchurch
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Redwood is a northern suburb of
Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
, New Zealand, which includes the sub-division of Redwood Springs. It is bordered by the
Styx River In Greek mythology, Styx (; ; lit. "Shuddering"), also called the River Styx, is a goddess and one of the rivers of the Greek Underworld. Her parents were the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and she was the wife of the Titan Pallas and the mothe ...
to the north. Before the area was settled the original forest cover was
tōtara ''Podocarpus totara'' (), commonly known as the , is a species of Podocarpus, podocarp tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island, South Island and rarely on Stewart Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura in lowland, ...
and
kahikatea ''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori language, Māori) and white pine, is a Pinophyta, coniferous tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. A Podocarpaceae, podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining hei ...
. Like much of Christchurch, the early settlers drained the swamps and cut the bush to create
farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...
land. The area was originally part of the Waimairi County but was amalgamated into
Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council (CCC) is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Ma ...
as part of the 1989 New Zealand local government reforms. The Main North Road runs through the suburb, connecting it to both the
Christchurch Central City Christchurch Central City or Christchurch City Centre is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the Four Avenues (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Aven ...
and settlements further north including Belfast and
Kaiapoi Kaiapoi is a town in the Waimakariri District of the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region, in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is located approximately 17 kilometres north of central Christchurch, close to the mouth of the Waimak ...
. Redwood is part of the
Christchurch Central Christchurch Central is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate in the South Island city of Christchurch. The electorate was established for the 1946 election and, until 2011 had always been won by the Labour Party. Since 2008, the incumbent ...
parliamentary electorate.


History

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
collected food from several areas in the
Styx River In Greek mythology, Styx (; ; lit. "Shuddering"), also called the River Styx, is a goddess and one of the rivers of the Greek Underworld. Her parents were the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and she was the wife of the Titan Pallas and the mothe ...
catchment, but there appear to have been no permanent settlements in the area before
European colonisation The phenomenon of colonization is one that stretches around the globe and across time. Ancient and medieval colonialism was practiced by various civilizations such as the Phoenicians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Han Chinese, and Ar ...
. The area was covered in low-lying
raupō ''Typha orientalis'', commonly known as bulrush, cumbungi, or raupō, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the genus ''Typha''. It is native to Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, China and th ...
swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
and
marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
land. Before the area was
settled A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...
the original forest cover was
Tōtara ''Podocarpus totara'' (), commonly known as the , is a species of Podocarpus, podocarp tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island, South Island and rarely on Stewart Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura in lowland, ...
and
Kahikatea ''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori language, Māori) and white pine, is a Pinophyta, coniferous tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. A Podocarpaceae, podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining hei ...
. Like much of Christchurch, the early settlers drained the swamps and cut the bush to create useful farmland. By the late 1950s many of the rural sections were being subdivided into residential houses. The row of shops near Prestons Road began opening in 1957. The suburb was first named ''Styx'' but renamed following a popular vote of local residents in the 1960s. Voters were asked to choose between ''Caselwood'', ''Clearview'', ''Northpark'', ''Redpark'' and ''Redwood''. The name comes from a large protected
redwood tree Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of Pinophyta, coniferous trees within the family (biology), family Cupressaceae, that range in the Northern Hemisphere, northern hemisphere. It includes the List of superlative tree ...
still standing on Prestons Road. The tree was planted in the late 19th century by Thomas Preston, who was an early settler in the area and after whom Prestons Road is named. The site of Redwood Park was purchased in 1960 to be used for a
secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
. By 1963 the plan for a high school had been abandoned. The land was made the Sturrocks Road Reserve, and was being prepared for a
sports ground A pitch or a sports ground is an outdoor playing area for various sports. The term ''pitch'' is most commonly used in British English, while the comparable term in Australian English, Australian, American English, American and Canadian English is ...
and
kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...
. By 1964 the plans had been extended to include a
community centre A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...
. By the end of the year the sports field had been levelled and sown with grass. A bonfire was lit on
Guy Fawkes Night Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual commemoration list of minor secular observances#November, observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain, involving bonfires and firewor ...
to raise money for the project. In 1965 the
industrial park An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...
on the corner of Sturrocks and Cavendish roads was established. In 1967 the reserve was renamed to Redwood Park. The Redwood
Public Library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...
opened on 9 November 1968. The
octagon In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...
al building was designed by Waimairi County Council
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
Len Wooding. The library building also contains a
child care Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...
centre. A
public toilet A public toilet, restroom, bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils or pris ...
and plunket rooms were also built in front of the library. The plunket rooms are now used by a community group. The suburb underwent a rapid expansion beginning in the 1970s. The Redwood
scout hall A Scout hall (also Scout hut, Scout den or Scout headquarters) is a building owned or rented and used as a meeting place by a Scout Group. General description A Scout hall typically consists of one or more large rooms which are used for games an ...
was constructed between 1978 and 1980. In 1986 a refuse transfer station was opened on the northern side of Styx Mill Road. The refuse station was the subject of some community pushback. The area was originally part of the Waimairi County but was
amalgamated Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan ama ...
into
Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council (CCC) is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Ma ...
as part of the
1989 New Zealand local government reforms The 1989 New Zealand local government reform was the most significant reform of local government in New Zealand in over a century. Some 850 local bodies were amalgamated into 86 local authorities, on Regions of New Zealand, regional and Territo ...
. The suburb saw further growth in the 2000s, with the Regent's Park subdivision in the north-west, and the Redwood Springs subdivision in the north-east. Redwood has its own
community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting. Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...
station called Classic Gold Radio Redwood 107.5FM.


Demographics

Redwood covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Redwood had a population of 8,184 at the
2018 New Zealand census The 2018 New Zealand census, which took place on Tuesday 6 March 2018, was the thirty-fourth national census in New Zealand. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,699,755 – an increase of 457,707 (10.79%) over the 2013 census. Resu ...
, an increase of 72 people (0.9%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 147 people (−1.8%) since the 2006 census. There were 3,051 households, comprising 3,990 males and 4,194 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female, with 1,587 people (19.4%) aged under 15 years, 1,632 (19.9%) aged 15 to 29, 3,705 (45.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,260 (15.4%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 83.4% European/
Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...
, 11.9%
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
, 3.2% Pasifika, 9.2% Asian, and 2.4% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 18.2, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 51.5% had no religion, 37.1% were
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 0.4% had
Māori religious beliefs Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
, 1.0% were
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 0.8% were
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, 0.7% were
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
and 1.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 1,047 (15.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 1,437 (21.8%) people had no formal qualifications. 984 people (14.9%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 3,354 (50.8%) people were employed full-time, 1,002 (15.2%) were part-time, and 255 (3.9%) were unemployed.


Politics

Redwood is part of the
Christchurch Central Christchurch Central is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate in the South Island city of Christchurch. The electorate was established for the 1946 election and, until 2011 had always been won by the Labour Party. Since 2008, the incumbent ...
parliamentary
electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district ...
. The currently elected member of
parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
is
Duncan Webb Duncan Alexander Webb (born 1967) is a former law professor in New Zealand and now a politician. He was elected as a Member the New Zealand House of Representatives for Christchurch Central, representing the Labour Party, in the 2017 general ...
of the Labour party. Redwood is part of the Papanui Ward for
Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council (CCC) is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Ma ...
local body elections. The currently elected
councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...
is Victoria Henstock. The area is also represented by the Waipapa Papanui-Innes-Central community board.


Transport

The Main North Road is a major four-lane
arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights o ...
that runs north-south through the middle of Redwood, connecting it to both the
Christchurch Central City Christchurch Central City or Christchurch City Centre is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the Four Avenues (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Aven ...
and suburbs further north including
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
and
Kaiapoi Kaiapoi is a town in the Waimakariri District of the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region, in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is located approximately 17 kilometres north of central Christchurch, close to the mouth of the Waimak ...
. The
Christchurch Northern Motorway The Christchurch Northern Motorway is the main northern route into and out of Christchurch, New Zealand. The motorway forms part of (SH 1) and (SH 74). The motorway, which heads in a northerly direction, is approximately 16.5 km in length ...
runs north-south just to the east of Redwood, allowing traffic to bypass the suburb.
Environment Canterbury Environment Canterbury, frequently abbreviated to ECan, is the promotional name for the Canterbury Regional Council. It is the regional council for Canterbury, the largest region in the South Island of New Zealand. It is part of New Zealand's ...
operates several bus services that serve Redwood, including the 1, 95, 107 and 125. The Styx overbridge on Main North Road was first constructed in the mid 1930s. A second bridge was added alongside the first in 2004 to widen the road. The Main North Railway passes through Redwood. Redwood was the location of the Styx railway station which was open to passengers between 1872 and 1977. The station was located in the area of the Redwood Springs subdivision, near the Styx overbridge. The station was finally closed in 1984. Alongside the rail tracks west of Main North Road is the
Christchurch Northern Line Cycleway The Christchurch Northern Line Cycleway (previously informally known as the Railway Cycleway) is a long shared pedestrian and cycle path following the Main North railway in Christchurch. The route currently extends from Kilmarnock Street (Ricc ...
that connects Redwood to the central city. The cycle path extends north through Redwood to connect to Main North Road in Belfast.


Education

Redwood School and Northcote School are contributing primary schools catering for years 1 to 6. They have rolls of and , respectively. Redwood School opened in 1969, and Northcote in 1960.
Papanui High School Papanui High School (PHS) is a co-educational state secondary school located in Papanui, Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated on Langdons Road, in a rapidly growing commercial area. It was formerly bounded by Northlands Mall, and Firestone. ...
is the major public high school zoned for the area. St. Bedes College, a special-character integrated
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
boys A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is usually described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy ...
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
is also located in Redwood.


References


Bibliography

*


Citations

{{Christchurch City, New Zealand Suburbs of Christchurch