Draft:Amalgamations with Christchurch City

Black Map prepared in 1850, showing Christchurch's original boundaries

Christchurch became the first city in New Zealand by royal charter on 31 July 1856. In 1862, the Christchurch City Council was established as a town board, which became the Christchurch City Council in 1868. The original boundaries of Christchurch were based on the survey plan by Edward Jollie known as the Black Map: North Belt (now Bealey Avenue), East Belt (now Fitzgerald Avenue), South Belt (now Moorhouse Avenue), Deans Avenue, and the northern boundary of Little Hagley Park. This area is identical with what is now regarded as the Christchurch Central City.

Background for amalgamations

For the local authorities involved, Christchurch City Council was the driving force for amalgamations, whilst surrounding authorities were mostly resisting the city council's approaches. In the 1890s, the city council was aiming for amalgamation to achieve more control and extend the city's tram network. There was a desire to introduce a high-pressure water supply. It was felt that the locations of the abattoirs needed rationalising and a better system of inspection introduced. Sewage disposal also needed to become more effective and land drainage reviewed. The surrounding authorities feared loss of independence, freedom, and power. There was also fear that amalgamation would be financially disadvantageous as the city was regarded as frequently overspending its budgets.

Caption text

Area	Date	Notes	Ref
Richmond	1890	Split off from the Avon Road District	Morrison, page 121
Borough of St Albans, Borough of Linwood, Borough of Sydenham	1 April 1903	Based on a poll in these boroughs and Christchurch City; residents in all four areas supported amalgamation	Morrison, pages 122–123
Beckenham, Fisherton Estate	1 April 1907	these were suburbs; no idea to which local authority they had belonged	Morrison, page 124
North Richmond	1914	suburb	Morrison, page 124
Opawa, North Linwood	1916	suburbs	Morrison, page 124
Avonside, St Martins	1917	suburbs	Morrison, page 124
Borough of Woolston, Borough of Spreydon	1921		Morrison, page 124
Bromley, Papanui	1923	suburbs	Morrison, page 124
Borough of New Brighton, Huntsbury	1 April 1941	the latter as a suburb	Morrison, page 124
Borough of Sumner, McCormacks Bay, Hillsborough	1 April 1945	the latter two were suburbs
Halswell	1 April 1955	parts of Halswell joins the city; the remainder (i.e. Halswell County) joins with Paparua County in 1968
Mt Pleasant Valley, Cannon estate	1 April 1962
Borough of Riccarton, Heathcote County, Paparua County, Waimairi District, Eyre County	1989	As part of the 1989 New Zealand local government reforms; Paparua was split between Christchurch City and Selwyn District, Eyre was split between Christchurch City and Waimakariri District
Banks Peninsula District	6 March 2006	The residents of Banks Peninsula District confirmed their support for amalgamation in a vote in November 2005.

References

• Morrison, Patricia (1948). The evolution of a city. Christchurch: Christchurch City Council.
• Rice, Geoffrey (2008). Christchurch Changing: An Illustrated History (2nd ed.). Christchurch: Canterbury University Press. ISBN 0-908812-53-1.