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Residential Red Zone

Area surrounding the river that would become part of the red zone

The residential red zone is the area that was affected the worst by the Canterbury earthquakes. It follows the banks of the Avon through the eastern suburbs of

Ōtākaro/ the Avon River flows from a spring in the suburb of Avonhead through the city center and then through the residential red zone to Ihutai/ the estuary and the sea.

Naming

The river at the center of the residential red zone is the the Avon/Ōtākaro. The name Ōtākaro can be read as the place of games possibly referring to the Māori children who used to play on the rivers banks while food was being gathered. The name can also mean the place of Tākaro which would come from the Ngāi Tahu or possibly Waitaha tipuna/ancestor Tākaro. But traditionally Ngāi Tahu referred to prominent sites along the river rather than using the name for the river as a whole. The English name Avon was given by John Deans, a prominent early settler in Christchurch. The name comes from the Scottish Avon which flowed through his grandfather's farm.

Pre-Earthquakes

Māori Settlement

Ihutai/Estuary

This area has been occupied by people since possibly as early as 1200 CE. These earliest people were moa hunters who lived there before northern Maori tribes of Ngati Māmoe and Waitaha arrived. Ngāi Tahu also come to the south island and would eventually become the dominant iwi on the island by taking control through marriage and integration. Ngāi Tūāhuriri a hapū of Ngāi Tahu holds rights over the area between the Hurunui and the Hakatere river which includes Christchurch and the residential red zone. The area that is now Christchurch city and the Estuary are mahinga kai, important places for Ngāi Tahu food gathering. Its water and soil made it an attractive to many birds and fish. Eels would migrate using the river so Māori set eel weirs all along the Avon/Ōtākaro. Because of this the river is regarded as Mahinga kai, an important place of food production by Waitaha, Ngāti Māmoe and Ngāi Tahu. These are the Māori who have rights over the area. Because of its importance Māori were promised that these areas of food production would be preserved for them by the 1848 Canterbury Purchase. The crown and Māori disagreed over the meaning of mahinga kai and when Ngāi Tahu brought their case to the Native Land Court in 1868 the court only recognized Ihutai/ Estuary as a place for food gathering. But this this was also taken by the Crown under the 1958 Public Works Act.

European settlement

From the 1840s Europeans began establishing settlements that would later become part of Christchurch, some of the red zone suburbs like Avonside were some of the earliest to be created. the river also played an important part in trade before the opening of the Lyttelton tunnel, as the Avon and Heathcote rivers were used to transport goods between the city and the port. Both these rivers flow into the estuary. Communities developed along the Avon, one of the most prominent was the community on Avon loop (known as ‘Loopies’). During the 1970s and 1980s the community supported environmental awareness and sustainability.

Burwood began as a plague hospital in 1902

Richmond was orignally known as bingsland

shirley was the site of mnay inter war bungalows

Aranui was a small village around tram line to new brighton

New Brighton had a tram because its beach was a popluar destination

Linwood was an independant brourgh that became part of the city in 1903.

Christchurch Earthquakes

Empty lots by the river where houses used to be

It was initially thought after the 2010 earthquakes that the damaged land could be repaired but then the 2011 quake struck and the damage to the area was made much worse. After this areas affected by the quake were divided into zones that were split amongst the colours of a traffic light. Green zone houses could be repaired, Orange zone houses were still being decided on as well as white zone houses that were at risk of rockfall. The houses that were written off were placed in the red zone, all houses have now been moved to either the red or the green zone.These empty houses became targets for looters, squatters and people breaking into vandalize and graffiti the buildings. The red zone became home to rats, possums and feral cats. Weeds also took over former gardens and species such as blackberry, ivy began to flourish. Juvenile forests of birch, yew, sycamore, karamu, pittosporum and cabbage trees began to grow. In total six square kilometers of land was red zoned. The area on the river to the east of the city center was the place which was impacted most by the Canterbury earthquakes. The area that became the residential red zone saw over 7000 homes demolished which resulted in many families and communities becoming displaced. The government paid out homeowners so that they had the means to find a new home. But as of November 2018 less than 50 houses remained in the red zone, holdouts against the buyouts. Many residents struggled with the payouts and were left with few options but to sell.

Future

Regenerate Christchurch is one organisation that is responsible for the future of the area. Working with community groups they develop plans for the future of the red zone. The red zone has been used since the quakes as a place for walks by the public, as well as a space to grow food. Some community members have expressed interest in leaving the red zone natural rather than developing it.