Page | 1
A Brief History of Papanui – by David O’Malley – 17/06/2013
In 1851 when the first settlers viewed Christchurch and the Canterbury plains, Papanui
stood out as being one of the two areas of native forest that could be seen from the
Bridle Path.
Sketch of the Canterbury Plains from the Bridle Path circa 1851.
The Canterbury Association had purchased most of Canterbury from the Maori in 1848.
Land packages in the city and suburbs were sold to settlers through a ballot process.
Papanui Bush was included in this process with the area being balloted between two
colonists from the first four ships which arrived in Lyttelton in December 1850.
Anne Bowen was balloted the eastern
side of the small forest. Anne was aged
44 when she arrived in Christchurch and
was a spinster who went on to be a
noted Sunday school teacher and friend
to Bishop Harper’s family, caring for the
children when their mother Emma died
in 1858. Anne passed away on 1st
September 1875 and is buried in St
Peter’s Church Cemetery, Upper
Riccarton.
Page | 2
William Guise Brittan was balloted the western side of the forest. Brittan was aged 41
and became the head of the Canterbury Association’s Land Office. He donated materials
for the building of St Paul’s Church on Harewood Road, Papanui, which was opened in
1853. He died on 18th July 1876 and was buried in St Paul’s Cemetery where his son
Frederick was then the Parish Vicar.
Due to the urgent need for building materials and firewood, a thriving community quickly
developed in Papanui based on the timber industry. Small settlements sprang up around
what we now know as the Main North Road and Sawyers Arms Road and also
around the Papanui Junction of the Harewood and Main North Roads. Originally the
Main North Road was the track used by the Maori between their settlement in Kaiapoi
and Deans Bush, Riccarton.
Papanui Domain with Papanui High School in the background now stands where the Bush once grew.
Both owners of the Papanui Bush started businesses felling trees and sawing logs into
lengths of timber. To transport these much needed building materials, a road was built
from Papanui to the City. The Papanui Bridge was built in 1852 across the Avon River
into Market Square, now called Victoria Square. The lumber was taken by bullock drawn
wagons for sale in the city. There was plenty of work available to the sawyers and
labourers, and the settlements grew quite quickly. Houses and shops were built and
farms were started in the surrounding areas cementing the Papanui area as a village
farming community.
Page | 3
By 1853, the area had its own blacksmiths, chemist, stores, and butchery and in the
same year a school room was opened. The first hotel was opened around this time, by
an American named Robert Carr. The hotel was named the Sawyers Arms Hotel. It was
built near the corner of Sawyers Arms Road and the Main North Road. Sawyers Arms
Road as we know it now, derived its name from the hotel.
The Sawyers Arms Hotel stood for about 20 years, before being burnt down in 1874
and was rebuilt by its long standing landlord John Wild. It was burnt down for a second
time in 1898 and was rebuilt by the proprietor, Alex Fairburn. On this occasion it was re-
named The Phoenix Hotel (pictured below) after the fabled beautiful bird rising from
the ashes. The Phoenix Hotel stood until 1989 when it was demolished during a shopping
mall extension.
Sawyers Arms Road Intersection on the right showing with the Phoenix Hotel behind and
the Waimari County Council Offices further along in the early 1910s. This photo was
taken on the Main North Road looking toward the Papanui Junction.
Page | 4
In about 1859, William Meddings who was a local storekeeper and blacksmith, bought
the parsonage at the junction from the Reverend Bradley and opened it as the Papanui
Hotel (pictured below). The hotel was improved with new bars and recreational areas
being built over several decades and was finally demolished in 1969.
Papanui Hotel circa 1860.
By 1857 most of the trees in the Papanui Bush had been felled and the Papanui Area
continued developing into a grain cropping, market gardening and orchard farming
community. Due to the swampy nature of the ground, drains and ditches needed to be
dug before some areas could be farmed.
Two of the major drains in the area were named after local land owners, one being
Horner’s drain, which went North from Papanui to the Styx River, and Kruse’s drain
which interconnected with the Horner’s drain. The Kruse family owned land around the
area of Winters and Grimseys Roads, near St Bede’s College. The Horner family (pictured
below) arrived at Lyttelton in 1859 and by 1871 lived in a house locally known at the
‘Tea Caddy’ due to its shape. The house was erected on 50 acres of land and was
brought as prefabricated components from England by the Rev George Dunnage in 1851
and assembled on the property that was named ‘Springlands’. He came to Papanui to be
the first Vicar of St Paul’s but died before the church was completed; his was the first
burial in the cemetery in 1853. The Horner family owned farm land and businesses near
the Papanui Junction and are responsible for the naming of Horner Street, Lofthouse
Street (renamed Loftus Street), Mary Street, Proctor Street and James Street (renamed
Wyndham Street). In later years William Horner captained the local cricket team and on
an 1892 map was shown as the owner of the Clearwell farm in the area that became
Bishopdale. William and Mary were both buried at St Paul’s cemetery in 1905 and 1919
respectively.
Page | 5
William Horner and family outside their premises on Papanui Road.
Papanui Junction, the Seven Oaks Butchery on the right, and the renovated Papanui Hotel c. 1880.
Other notable buildings and land-holdings in the area were the Matson Farm, which
was called ‘Delce’ and was in the area were Matsons Ave runs off Harewood Road. The
Matson family also ran an auctioneering business in the City. Opposite to Delce the first
Methodist Church was built in 1859. Subsequently a larger version was opened on
27/02/1870 and the current church on the corner of Chapel Street on 1/5/1913. The
Sisson family owned several market gardens in the area of Sawyers Arms Road, Main
North Road and Langdons Road and built one of the first cold stores in the area on
Sawyers arms Road.
Page | 6
Papanui Railway Station.
In 1872 the Main Northern Railway line was opened through Papanui. In the early
years there was no station building. In 1900 the current railway station was opened.
Prior to this a large shed had served as the station building.
‘Sawyers’ Cottage in 1949. In earlier days it was the third house from the Main North Road.
Of significant historical interest is a cottage named Sawyers, built in 1869, which stood
at 44 Sawyers Arms Road until 2009. This cottage was built by James Rossiter on land
which was originally owned by Anne Bowen. It was moved to Lady Isaac’s Historic
Village at McLeans Island for restoration and preservation. This is most likely the oldest
surviving house from the Papanui area.
Page | 7
In 1880 a tram line was laid down Papanui Road from the city to the terminus at
Papanui Junction (shown above). The early trams were steam powered or horse-drawn.
Electric trams were introduced in 1905. The tram line was extended to Northcote in
1913, with the extension being closed in 1930. The tram line stayed in use until 1954,
when it was superseded by the Christchurch Transport Board red bus service.
The first Papanui Pharmacy.
Page | 8
One of the most notable buildings at the Junction was built by Robert Rickerby and
was most likely opened in 1911. It was commonly known as the Papanui Building.
Rickerby ran the Cycle Shop and an upstairs Billiards Room at the Main North Road end
of the building, where two more shops were subsequently added.
Papanui Junction with Rickerby’s Building, the Papanui Hotel and the Seven Oaks Butchery c. 1914.
Papanui Primary School was opened in 1871 near the corner of Main North Road and
Winters Road. The school was rebuilt further along and on the opposite side of Winters
Road on 6 acres of land in 1926.
Papanui High School was opened as Papanui Technical College in 1936 and attracted
students by railway from as far as Little River, Kaiapoi and Rangiora.
Papanui Technical College as seen at the completion of construction 1936.
Page | 9
The Papanui area came under the jurisdiction of the Selwyn County Council in 1878
which was bounded by the Waimakariri River to the north, and the Rakaia River to the
south. In 1909 the Waimari County Council (WCC) was constituted from a part of the
Selwyn County and this area included Papanui.
The Memorial Hall corner of Horner Street & Papanui Road was opened in 1923.
In 1923 the WCC completed and opened the Memorial Hall on the corner of Papanui
Road and Horner Street. This building served for over 50 years in many capacities
including Town Hall, Dance Hall, Picture Theatre and Library. The Memorial Hall was
finally demolished in the late 1970s and the land eventually became a Memorial Garden
(pictured below 2008) for the fallen soldiers of both World Wars.
Page | 10
In the early 1920s two new church
buildings were erected in the area. St
Joseph's Catholic Church, designed by
Mr Jacobson, was built on the corner of
the Main North Road and Vagues Road in
March 1922. This replaced the adjacent
‘Chapel School Room’ (shown to the
right) where services had been held
since 1878. The Parish was formally
established in 1924.
St Giles Presbyterian Church opened in 1924 and was built on the corner of Papanui
Road and Frank Street. This replaced the original church which was built on the Main
North Road in 1877 in proximity to where the Scout Den stands today.
In 1923 the WCC handed a large portion of the Papanui area over to the Christchurch
City Council (CCC). The Papanui areas that were still controlled by the WCC were finally
absorbed into the CCC in the 1989 amalgamation of the two organizations.
Once the CCC had taken over council duties in Papanui, the rate payers petitioned for a
park and children’s playground. After looking at several sites, 8 acres of land was
acquired behind the cold store on Harewood Road. The park has gateways onto two
separate areas of St James Avenue, and was named St James Park. There are
Memorial Gates and a Rose Garden on the entranceway nearest to Harewood Road,
which were erected to honour the Rev Griffin who was one of the main petitioners for
the park but died before it was opened in 1925.
St James Park Christmas Pageant in the early 1960s.
Page | 11
Firestone Tyre Factory pictured in 1967.
One of the major industrial complexes in Papanui was the Firestone (Bridgestone) tyre
factory which commenced production on Langdons Road in 1949. Some of the land
bordering the railway line was previously farmed as an orchard by the Cone family
dating back to 1910. The plant remained in production for 50 years and was closed in
December 2009. Its future remains unsure but a portion of the land nearest the railway
line, including some the former orchard, has been gifted back to the city as a wetlands.
Another large industrial building on the Main North Road was the Ovaltine factory which
was opened in the late 1950s. It went on to be the home of Helene Curtis Cosmetics and
is still in use today as a storage facility for the Foodstuffs Supermarket Group. They have
announced plans that the Papanui warehousing will be closed in favour of extensions at
Hornby.
The Sanitarium Factory pictured from the Harewood Road entrance in 2008.
A continuing success story in the area is the Sanitarium Health Foods factory on
Harewood Road. It was the first New Zealand plant and has been on this site for 90
years developing from Edward Halsey’s original old red shed. Halsey was a baker trained
at Sanitarium’s Michigan factory in the U.S.A. The smell of Weetbix cooking and the prize
winning gardens will be familiar to most residents in the area.
Page | 12
Papanui showing Northlands Mall and the Round-about at the Junction in 1968.
Papanui showing Northlands, Papanui High School, Firestone, and the Domain in 2008.
Page | 13
Through the years Papanui developed as a major shopping area and in the late 60s
Northlands Shopping Mall was opened on the Main North Road. This complex has
grown immensely over the last 40 years and now covers the area between Sawyers
Arms Road and Langdons Road adjacent to Papanui High School.
As Christchurch City grew, Papanui developed from a farming community into a
suburban landscape. Gradually the farmlands were sold and housing developments
erected. Today some of the older housing has been demolished to make way for
Retirement Villages. Currently there are nine in the area with the tenth development
called Silverstream near the corner of Sawyers Arms and Greers Roads, yet to be
completed.
Papanui Junction and Rickerby’s building as seen in 2008.
After the earthquakes of 2010-2011 Rickerby’s Papanui Building was demolished on 23rd
Feb 2011.
Papanui today is a thriving suburb of Christchurch with several Government Agencies
and professional businesses established in the area. Over the last 160 years, the area
has seen 5 primary schools and 2 high schools, 5 churches, numerous parks and
reserves established. Papanui has always been regarded as a good place to live and with
its continuing development it will remain so in the future.
2010–2011 Earthquakes
Papanui's location in the North Western area of the city saved it from the worst of the
liquefaction that was suffered by the Eastern and Southern areas.
Page | 14
All of the churches in the area were damaged to some extent. The St Paul’s Vicarage was
particularly badly damaged and has been demolished. As of mid-2013 encouraging
progress had been made in the repair of St Paul’s although the situation at St Joseph’s,
the Papanui North Methodist Church and St Giles had not been resolved. St Giles Church
has been demolished but the parish centre still remains there.
The Sanitarium factory was also significantly damaged and although production was
halted for some time, it is again operational with repairs having being made. Many of the
older shops in the Papanui Village were substantially damaged and demolished. It is
pleasing to see the new buildings replacing the old broken ones.