MAP / RESTORATION PROJECT / PORRITT PARK
Porritt Park
Peep, peep! In the words of Dr Seuss: BIG ‘P, ’ little ‘p’, what begins with P?
Porritt Park! Did you ‘push-bike’ or ‘perambulate’ (walk) here? I ‘piloted’ (flew) here. Peep, peep!
Before the Christchurch earthquakes, Porritt Park was synonymous with hockey. An international hockey centre was built here in 1974 for the Christchurch Commonwealth Games. The park was the hub of the Canterbury Hockey Association, before relocating to Harewood’s Nunweek Park.
Cricket and other sports had also been played here.
The original loop of the Avon Ōtākaro River forms most of the boundary of the park. Kerrs Reach, which flows on the western side of the park, wasn’t built until the 1940s and 50s.
The park is named after New Zealand’s 11th (and first New Zealand-born) Governor-General, Arthur Porritt. He was Governor-General from 1967 to 1972.
After huge cracks split the park during the earthquakes, it suffered a period of neglect. In 2014, it was partially submerged by a 1-in-100-year flood.
The site is again host to a sporting event: since 2024, it’s the starting place for the 6km leg of the City to Surf walk/run.
A new pedestrian bridge reconnects the park with the Wainoni suburb.
With bike paths and rowing facilities, it’s once again a place for exercise and fresh air.
Where to next, humans?
Links:
Park history
https://canterburystories.nz/collections/community/ginahubert/ccl-cs-23200
Hockey at Porritt Park
https://canterburystories.nz/collections/archives/star/prints/1975/ccl-cs-3846
https://discoverywall.nz/album/1978/8885
Next steps:
City Council volunteer days