Hagley Park, Christchurch

Location

The boundaries of the park, which is located to the east of the central city of Christchurch, are defined by both the Avon River / Ōtākaro and the surrounding roadways. The longest road boundary is that along Deans Avenue, often regarded as one of The Four Avenues which delimit central Christchurch. On the western side adjacent is the suburb of Riccarton.

To the north and northeast, the natural path of the Avon River bounds the park. Moorhouse Avenue and Hagley Avenue form the south and south-eastern boundaries, respectively. Along the eastern boundary, the Park is defined by the two kilometre loop of the Avon River, which extends into the side of Hagley Park.

The Christchurch Botanic Gardens (21.14 hectares) are located within this loop and frequent bridges provide connections. The Botanic Gardens contain a collection of beautiful flowers and trees from around the world. The gardens attract many birds to the park, and sightseers frequently visit the park to view the plants and the wildlife.

The Canterbury Museum and Christ's College are the two other land uses that take up the balance of the land within the river's loop.

Two major avenues subdivide the park into three units. The northern unit is Little Hagley Park (6.96 hectares), with North Hagley Park (87.17 hectares) lying to the south of Harper Avenue. South Hagley Park (70.507 hectares) lies to the south of North Hagley Park, separated by Riccarton Avenue.

Road proposals

At various times, it was proposed to build additional roads through the park. In the 1860s, it was considered to connect Armagh Street with the Great South Road (now called Riccarton Road).

Usage

In its early days, Hagley Park was used for horse races. Hagley Park has frequently been a site for gathering large crowds together: it served as the location for the Great Industrial Exposition of 1882 and the New Zealand International Exhibition in 1906–1907. In 1906, the Australasian tennis championships (now known as the Australian Open) were held in Hagley Park as part of the Grand Slam. The singles event was won by Tony Wilding, who defeated Francis Fisher in three sets.

In recent years, the park has hosted many visiting circuses and open-air concerts. The Ellerslie Flower Show has been held in North Hagley Park since 2008. The park has hosted the Electric Avenue Music Festival.

There is also a golf course (named Hagley Golf Club) located in North Hagley Park.

South Hagley Park contains several netball courts, the Hagley Oval cricket ground and a heliport for Christchurch Hospital, although as of 2019 there are calls to build a helipad on the roof of the hospital itself.

Hagley Park was also the site of a national memorial service attended by 20,000 people to remember the 51 dead victims of the Christchurch mosque shootings at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre which included the likes of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and British Muslim convert singer Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens).

Image:HagleyPark02 gobeirne.jpg|North Hagley Park, late afternoon in winter Image:HagleyPark03 gobeirne.jpg|Little Hagley Park (north of Harper Ave) in summer Image:HagleyPark05 gobeirne.jpg|Foggy morning, North Hagley Park Image:HagleyPark06 gobeirne.jpg|A black swan and model yachts on Victoria Lake Image:HagleyPark01 gobeirne.jpg|North Hagley Park in autumn The weekly Saturday parkrun takes place at the North Hagley Park.

References

References

1. [http://resources.ccc.govt.nz/files/HagleyParkMgtPlan2007_ALL_LR-popularparks.pdf Hagley Park Management Plan] {{webarchive. link. (22 May 2010 , [[Christchurch City Council]]; New Zealand.)
2. "Archives New Zealand Christchurch Online: Hagley Park".
3. "'Canterbury' arrived Lyttelton October 1851".
4. (21 October 1868). "Road through Hagley Park". [[The Star (Christchurch).
5. (25 December 1852). "Hagley Park Races". [[Lyttelton Times]].
6. (27 December 1906). "Tennis Championships. Plat at Christchurch.". [[The Evening Post (New Zealand).
7. (31 December 1906). "Lawn Tennis.". [[Gisborne Herald.
8. "Electric Avenue Festival Information".
9. "Hagley Park, Christchurch". [[Christchurch City Council]].
10. "Future-proof rooftop helipad".
11. (30 March 2019). "Christchurch attacks: Victims honoured with national memorial service". [[BBC News]].
12. "home {{!}} Hagley parkrun {{!}} Hagley parkrun".
13. Napier, Abbie. (29 October 2014). "Parkrun ticks all the right boxes".