A SLICE OF OLD CHRISTCHURCH
WORDS Kim Newth PHOTOS Sarah Rowlands
New townhouse developments have replaced many old family homes and cottages in the central city area. Intensification is knocking on the weatherboards, but there are still pockets left where neighbours share fruit over the fences and let their kids play in each other’s backyards.
On the corner of Armagh St and Fitzgerald Ave is Christchurch’s longest-running family leadlighting business, Trinity Glass, owned by Kay Nelson and Brent Yates. Their family home – a turn of the century cottage – is right next door to the shop, along with a little studio apartment that they have developed. Next over are Cathleen Murphy and Tony Gray, proud owners of an 1869 two-storey home shared with daughter Zoe and four-year-old grandson Oliver.
We rendezvous for a cuppa in the sunny downstairs living area at Cathleen and Tony’s home to chat about their lifestyle in this relatively untouched little urban oasis, which includes several other older homes on either side.
“We’ll trade things like peaches, apples, and walnuts,” says Cathleen. “Kay and Brent’s daughter Amber comes over and plays with Ollie. One of our neighbours has a telescope, and it was thanks to him that I first saw craters on the moon!”
Cathleen and Tony were friends with their home’s previous owners, so even before they moved in 15 years ago, they knew the house well. Zoe even had her first sleepover in the house.
Kay and Brent, who bought their cottage in 2008, say people are always popping up with stories about their house and its past. “Just recently, we met a guy whose parents lived here in the 1940s,” Kay says.
The inner-city location is a big tick. Kay and Brent literally could not be closer to work, and their children’s school – Christchurch East – is also very handy. Cathleen runs the Custard Square Bookshop out of a vintage caravan at the Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora, so she’s not far from work either.
“I don’t think any suburb could compete with the inner city: we’ve got the river, parks, and the botanic gardens. It’s so close to everything,” Cathleen says.
These neighbours are not anti-density but share concerns about the lack of off-street parking and how this impacts new residents’ quality of life, particularly with no supermarket within easy walking distance. Cathleen says one particular developer has moved in “with a vengeance” down their part of Armagh St, and she’s angry at the uninspiring result.
“Why did the council allow such blandness on such a scale after all the post-quake aspirations for the city? It’s so disappointing.”
Demolition is something Cathleen and Tony could have chosen after their home was damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes, but they loved their house too much to let it go. They have since added a laundry, and a bathroom off their downstairs bedroom. The kitchen and dining area has been opened up, a lovely front porch added, and the whole place double-glazed.
Kay and Brent had just renovated six months before the February 2011 earthquake, so their cottage came through fine – though they lost their garage and an awful lot of glass – and have since redecorated twice more.
“None of us want to leave here –I’m sure we’re going to keep our little enclave!” Kay says.