Kennedys Bush

Kennedys Bush is a south-western suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand.

Kennedys Bush
Aerial view of Halswell Quarry
Aerial view of Halswell Quarry
Coordinates: 43.603°S 172.583°E / -43.603; 172.583
CountryNew Zealand
CityChristchurch
Local authorityChristchurch City Council
Electoral wardHalswell
Community boardWaipuna Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton
Area
  Land1,201 ha (2,968 acres)
Population
 (June 2022)[2]
  Total1,230
Halswell Westmorland
Kennedys Bush
Port Hills
Ladbrooks Lansdowne

Thomas Kennedy

Kennedys Bush was first settled by Thomas Kennedy, an Irishman born in Cork around 1819, who arrived in New Zealand from America in 1838. He met Sophia Streeter in Wellington and they later married. Sophia had sailed on the Aurora, the first immigrant ship to arrive in Wellington.[3]

In 1841 the couple moved to Akaroa where Kennedy worked as a constable for the French settlers, mainly dealing with the crews of visiting ships. He also worked as a blacksmith. Five of the Kennedy children were born in Akaroa; the couple went on to have twelve altogether. After their thatched cottage burnt down, the Kennedys worked on farms before moving to Christchurch. In 1856 Kennedy bought 28 acres on the hills above Halswell with a licence to cut the bush.[4]

Kennedy opened a sawmill and felled trees from the bush using a team of bullocks to haul the processed timber on a sledge down a track. This was known as ‘Kennedys Track.’ Later it became ‘Quarry Road’ then ‘Pattersons Road’ (after one of the quarry managers), and eventually ‘Kennedys Bush Road.’

The full length of the road was surveyed and constructed in 1863.[5]

Kennedy grazed his teams of bullocks on 60 acres of land leased from Doctor A.C.Ward of Christchurch. This was on the site of the new sub-division named ‘Kennedys Green’ bounded by Kennedys Bush Road and Glovers Road.[4]

Kennedy established the first timber business in Christchurch selling sawn timber, posts and rails and firewood- all sourced from the hills above Halswell. He built two houses, the first in the bush, the second on flat land opposite the present quarry park. He named this ‘Waterford.’ Neither house remains.[6]

The flat land at Kennedys Bush was originally owned by William Guise Brittan and Michael J. Burke who bought it as part of the Lansdowne Run from the Canterbury Association in 1851. Brittan bought Burke out in 1860 and in 1873 sold a block of land on the south side of Kennedys Track to Prime Minister Sir Edward Stafford who lived in Old Tai Tapu Road in his house called ‘Lansdowne.’[7]

In 1859 relatives of Kennedy’s wife Sophia arrived from Australia to work for Kennedy. These included Alfred Streeter who married Margaret Watkins. The young couple bought an acre of land from Sir Edward Stafford in 1874 and built a house on the corner of Kennedys Bush Road and Glovers Road. They raised twelve children there.[4] This house still stands, probably the oldest surviving dwelling in Kennedys Bush.

Halswell Quarry

Formed in the Lyttleton volcano six million years ago, the basalt formation at Kennedys Bush was first noted by the Deans brothers, who named the outcrop ‘Rock Hill.’ The stone was known for its hardness and beauty as a building stone, but was also suitable for crushing as road chip.

James Feather and James Forgan opened Halswell Quarry in 1856 as the first continuous operators. In 1864 they were bought out by W.G.Brittan who went into partnership with G.Miles and W. White.[8]

Rock was released by explosives with the shot holes being drilled by hand in the quarry’s early days.[9]

The rock was then crushed by men wielding sledgehammers and transported to Christchurch by bullock teams. Later White had a tramway built to transport the stone more cheaply, still using bullocks to pull the wagons, but this was abandoned in 1873. Traction engines were eventually used to haul the stone.[9]

Quarry stone was used to construct many notable city buildings such as the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings, Sunnyside Hospital, Durham Street Methodist Church, Canterbury Museum, Normal School, Teachers College Building, Sign of the Takahe, Robert McDougal Art Gallery and the Christchurch Cathedral.[10]

The quarry continued delivering rock until December1990 when the readily available stone was exhausted and it closed. The quarry is thought to be the oldest and longest continually operating in Australasia.

After it shut down the quarry became Halswell Quarry Park operated by the Christchurch City Council. It is 60.4 hectares (149 acres) and offers a combination of walking and cycling tracks, historic sites, picnic areas and six sister city gardens. Notable buildings are the crusher plant workshops (1912), the singlemens’ quarters (1922) and the Quarry Manager’s House (1927).

Demographics

Kennedys Bush statistical area covers 12.01 km2 (4.64 sq mi).[1] It had an estimated population of 1,230 as of June 2022,[2] with a population density of 102 people per km2.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
2006684    
2013849+3.14%
2018906+1.31%
Source: [11]

Kennedys Bush had a population of 906 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 57 people (6.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 222 people (32.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 321 households, comprising 453 males and 453 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female. The median age was 50.2 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 129 people (14.2%) aged under 15 years, 153 (16.9%) aged 15 to 29, 459 (50.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 162 (17.9%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 94.7% European/Pākehā, 3.0% Māori, 1.3% Pasifika, 3.0% Asian, and 2.6% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 20.2, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 52.3% had no religion, 40.4% were Christian, 0.7% were Hindu, 0.3% were Buddhist and 1.0% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 279 (35.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 72 (9.3%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $48,200, compared with $31,800 nationally. 270 people (34.7%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 393 (50.6%) people were employed full-time, 144 (18.5%) were part-time, and 15 (1.9%) were unemployed.[11]

Notes

  1. "ArcGIS Web Application". statsnz.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  2. "Population estimate tables - NZ.Stat". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  3. "Test productive not just receptive knowledge", Penny Ur's 77 Tips for Teaching Vocabulary, Cambridge University Press, pp. 78–78, 31 March 2022, ISBN 978-1-009-07289-2, retrieved 30 August 2023
  4. "Test productive not just receptive knowledge", Penny Ur's 77 Tips for Teaching Vocabulary, Cambridge University Press, pp. 78–78, 31 March 2022, ISBN 978-1-009-07289-2, retrieved 3 September 2023
  5. Ogilvie, K. R. (24 August 1946). "Facial Palsy accompanying Acute Mastoiditis". BMJ. 2 (4468): 263–263. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.4468.263. ISSN 0959-8138.
  6. Dick, Penny; Nadin, Sara (September 2006). "Reproducing gender inequalities? A critique of realist assumptions underpinning personnel selection research and practice". Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology. 79 (3): 481–498. doi:10.1348/096317905x68709. ISSN 0963-1798.
  7. Priest, Penny (June 2006). "That was then, this is now". Clinical Psychology Forum. 1 (162): 25–28. doi:10.53841/bpscpf.2006.1.162.25. ISSN 1747-5732.
  8. Marra, Carlo; Ogilvie, Gina; Gastonguay, Louise; Colley, Lindsey; Taylor, Darlene; Marra, Fawziah (April 2009). "Patients With Genital Warts Have a Decreased Quality of Life". Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 36 (4): 258–260. doi:10.1097/olq.0b013e318191a55e. ISSN 0148-5717.
  9. Fielding, Penny (1 October 2006). "Under Construction: Walter Scott on Being Scottish". The Cambridge Quarterly. 35 (4): 388–391. doi:10.1093/camqtly/bfl023. ISSN 1471-6836.
  10. OGILVIE, G (2001), "Chemotherapy-Induced Anaphylaxis", Veterinary Emergency Medicine Secrets, Elsevier, pp. 257–259, retrieved 3 September 2023
  11. "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. Kennedys Bush (329000). 2018 Census place summary: Kennedys Bush

References

  • Ogilvie, Gordon (2009). The Port Hills of Christchurch (2nd ed.). Christchurch: Phillips & King Publishers. ISBN 978-0-9583315-6-2.
  • Penny, Graeme C. (2006). A Short History of Halswell. Christchurch: Graeme C. Penny.
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