Christchurch from the Port Hills; Woolston is the northern part of the industrial area in between

Woolston is a light industrial and residential suburb of Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated three kilometres southeast of the city centre, close to major arterial routes including State Highways 73 and 74 to Banks Peninsula. The Heathcote River flows through the suburb. Christchurch (Māori: ) is the regional capital of Canterbury, New Zealand. ... The South Island The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. ... Introduction Ferrymead is a suburb in southeast of Christchurch, New Zealand. ... Opawa is an inner suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located 2. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 400 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 1536 pixel, file size: 476 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 400 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 1536 pixel, file size: 476 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Christchurch (Māori: ) is the regional capital of Canterbury, New Zealand. ... The South Island The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. ... The New Zealand State Highway Shield. ... Banks Peninsula has a roughly circular shape, with many bays and two deep harbours. ... The Heathcote River lies within the city boundaries of Christchurch, New Zealand. ...

In pre European times the local Maori people gathered food from the mudflats nearby. This area was known to Maori as: “Ohika-paruparu [meaning] women gathering shellfish often sank to their thighs in the mud”. Some early European records name the area between Woolston, Opawa and Linwood as Roimata, meaning teardrop in Maori. To this day some land titles in this area of Woolston West reference Roimata as their location.

Present day Church of St John the Evangelist Woolston

One of the first signs of a growing European community in the Woolston area was the birth of a Christian Church, the Anglican Parish of St John the Evangelist Woolston. The origins of the Parish date back to 1857 when the first Cob Church was built on the current site. In 1882 a new timber church was built. In 1960 the existing concrete Church building was built and dedicated (consecrated 1963). This church buildings are used daily for worship and many other religious and comunity activities. It is often open to the public (Sundays). It is situated on Ferry Rd at the eastern end of Woolston Village. The Parish was officially recognised one year after Christchurch was officially recognised as a City in 1856. It is one of the oldest Churches in New Zealand. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (480 × 640 pixel, file size: 40 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (480 × 640 pixel, file size: 40 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Up until early 1870 the area was commonly referred to as Lower Heathcote. At a meeting about the Heathcote Road drain a local store owner, Joseph Harry Hopkins, named the area Woolston after his birthplace in England. On 16 June 1870, in response to a petition to the postmaster objecting to the post office being named Ferry Road, the name Woolston was gazetted. Woolston was a self-governing borough until 1921.

Joseph Harry Hopkins (1837-1910) was a shopkeeper in Woolston. His name is commemorated in Hopkins Street.. In 1863 he established, the Woolston Emporium which had six departments: drapery, clothing, boots, grocery, crockery, ironmongery, and a corn store.

The Heathcote River provided Woolston much needed water for industries like wool scouring, which needed plentiful water. In the 1850’s wharves along the Heathcote River were used by small ships to service the area. At this time Ferry road was the main thoroughfare for goods entering Christchurch. The road went from the wharf in Lower Heathcote to what is now the corner of High and Madras Streets. Ferry Road later carried the tramlines to Sumner.

In later years Woolstons close proximity to the Lyttleton rail line continued to sustain Woolston as a prime location for industry. Over the 20th century the area grew to become the centre of the New Zealand rubber industry. Other industries grew here and included a nugget factory and a gelatine and glue works. Many of these businesses are still present in one form or another.

In 1966 the Woolston industrial sewer was built, up until that time the river had become increasingly polluted. Flooding had also become a problem and in the 1980’s the Woolston Cut began to allow floodwaters to bypass a long loop of the river.

Residential growth from the city gradually moved out through the Woolston area and it is now well merged with Christchurch City.

Te Ara, On-Line Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, says that “Factory workers living nearby gave Woolston a strong working-class identity”. The area struggles to live up to this positive idea in the present day as there is a significant short term, transient, population.

Christchurch's main sports venue, AMI Stadium (formerly Jade Stadium, and Lancaster Park) is located close to the northwestern edge of the suburb. Woolston is also home to The Woolston Drivebys, an indoor football team owned by billionare media tycoon Tarone Puna Thompson. AMI Stadium, formerly Jade Stadium and Lancaster Park, is a sports stadium situated in Christchurch, New Zealand. ...

One notable feature of Woolston is the ever-present smell of fish fingers, due to its resident gelatin factory and other industrial and food manufacturing plants.

Woolston also hosts Christchurch's largest container terminal. Christchurch (Māori: ) is the regional capital of Canterbury, New Zealand. ...