MAP / HERITAGE TRAIL / REMEMBERING BEXLEY
Remembering Bexley
Howdy, humans!
It’s not just ‘birds of a feather’ who flock together. Humans like to congregate together, too.
But what makes a suburb? Is it the whenua (land), the buildings, the people, or a mixture of all three?
Bexley developed around the former tramlines to New Brighton and was described as a ‘small village’. (The tramline closed in 1952). Many state houses were built here after World War II. In the 1990s, a splurge of building happened again with the creation of the Pacific Park subdivision. The suburb was promoted as an affordable place to live.
Jump forwards to the earthquakes. A staggering 90% of homes in the area needed to be demolished. Aerial photos of the suburb at that time show extensive liquefaction (silt). Standing here, we are – after all – only about 1km from the Avon Heathcote Ihutai Estuary.
It is perhaps ironic (in hindsight), that a main street in Pacific Park was named Wetlands Grove. We are surrounded by wetlands, as they encroach on the former suburb!
Once all the homes were removed, the very active Bexley Residents Association no longer had a suburb to advocate for. The nearby memorial is to former association treasurer Ormond Douglas (Hap) Hill, who died two years after the 2011 earthquakes (aged 87).
Residents associations are groups of people with a keen interest in their local area. They address local matters and advocate to the local community board and city council. They also organise community events and activities.
Another key figure to effect community-led change was Evan Smith, co-founder of the Avon-Ōtākaro Network (AvON is instrumental in developing and supporting the Green Spine concept). Evan died in 2020. He was instrumental in promoting red zone native plant regeneration and the creation of a city-to-sea trail; without him, you probably wouldn’t be on your adventures today. He was recognised in 2019 by becoming a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (NZOM).
How might you advocate for ‘local matters’ and the people in your suburb?
Links:
Pacific Park SubDivision (Photo)
https://www.canterburystories.nz/collections/community/murray-kennedy/ccl-cs-13067
Bexley and the river/Green Spine trail (video)
https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/05/14/quake-damaged-land-in-christchurch-to-be-given-room-to-flood/
Evan Smith
#REDTOGREEN Bexley on pages Road photo frame {URL}