Why is this place significant?

Why is this place Category 1 / Category 2?

Early History Christchurch and the wider area have a long history of Māori occupation. The vast network of wetlands and plains of Kā Pakihi Whakatekateka o Waitaha (Canterbury Plains) is inherently important to the history of its early occupation. The area was rich in food from the forest and waterways. Major awa (river) such as the Rakahuri (Ashley), Waimakariri, Pūharakekenui (Styx) and Rakaia were supplied from the mountain fed aquifers of Kā Tiritiri o te Moana (Southern Alps). Other spring-fed waterways such as the Ōtākaro (Avon) meandered throughout the landscape. The rivers teamed with tuna, kōkopu, kanakana and inaka; the wetlands were a good supply of wading birds and fibres for weaving, food and medicine; with the forest supplying kererū, kokopa, tui and other fauna as well as building materials. Ara tawhito (travelling routes) crossed over the landscape providing annual and seasonal pathways up and down and across the plains and in some cases skirting or traversing the swamps. Permanent pā sites and temporary kāinga were located within and around the Plains as Ngāi Tahu established and used the mahinga kai sites where they gathered and utilised natural resources from the network of springs, waterways, wetlands, grasslands and lowland podocarp forests that abounded along the rivers and estuaries. The area now known as Richmond in Christchurch was part of the wetlands as a rich and valuable source of mahinga kai for tangata whenua. Most of the Canterbury region was purchased from Ngāi Tahu by the Crown in 1848. The Canterbury Association oversaw the systematic European settlement of Canterbury and surveyed the town of Christchurch and rural sections outside of the town boundary. Richmond was earlier known as Bingsland, after Maurice Bing, an early settler in the area, who had arrived in Christchurch in around 1860. Gundry Family Part of the area included Rural Section (RS) 197, first purchased in September 1851 from the Canterbury Association by Dr John Seager Gundry, who held it as part of a portfolio of property in Christchurch and Lyttelton. Dr Gundry and his wife Isabella had arrived in Lyttelton on the Steadfast in June 1851, where Dr Gundry had been the ship’s surgeon. Before purchasing RS 197, Dr Gundry bought a section in Harewood Road, Papanui, in June 1851, which he named Avebury Farm in memory of ‘dear old Avebury’ in Wiltshire, England. At some point in the 1850s, Dr Gundry had a cottage built at RS 197, which also was named Avebury, but there is no evidence that the Gundrys actually lived there. As well as establishing himself as a surgeon and accoucheur (male midwife), Dr Gundry was an active freemason and took a degree of interest in public affairs in Christchurch and Lyttelton. However, in late 1858 the Gundrys sold up their assets and returned to England. Flesher Family Through an estate agent, Dr Gundry sold 25 acres of Avebury to William Flesher in 1871. William, a shoemaker from Yorkshire, arrived in Lyttelton in 1864. After working as a shoemaker in Canterbury for some years, he worked in a succession of jobs and eventually, in 1884, he opened a general commission agency in Cashel Street. In circa 1885 William commissioned Christchurch architect, James Glanville, to design the family home on a part of RS 197. This was the large two-storeyed dwelling known as Avebury, with a north-facing verandah on the ground floor and a single-storeyed service wing at the rear that incorporated Dr Gundry’s earlier cottage on the site. It had a wide entrance hall leading to a drawing room and dining room. The kitchen, cloakrooms and pantry were located on the east side of the house and a nearby room on the west side was used as a nursery, den and breakfast room. On the first floor were three bedrooms, a bathroom and maids’ quarters. William, his wife Dorothy and their family lived in the house. William played an active part in public and church matters, particularly in the Richmond, Avonside and New Brighton communities. After William’s death in 1889, his eldest son, James Arthur Flesher inherited the house. James, a barrister and solicitor, was very involved in local affairs and was Mayor of Christchurch between 1923 and 1925. James’ wife, Margaret, also played an active part in public life and was, for a time, president of the Christchurch Women’s Club. In 1907 James Flesher commissioned the original architect, James Glanville, to design alterations to the house. The appearance of the north façade was radically changed to become grander and more decorative. A tower was added to the north-west corner, the drawing room and master bedroom above were extended to the north and bay windows were added. An open balcony was created on the first floor and a decorative gable was added to the main entrance. The grand house and its extensive garden proved to be an ideal venue for garden parties. James Flesher died at the age of 65 in August 1930 and was survived by his wife, Margaret, son Hubert de R Flesher and daughter Beryl. Hubert inherited Avebury and in 1945 sold the house and eight acres of land to the Crown. Christchurch City Council The property was transferred to the Mayor, Councillors and Citizens of Christchurch for recreational purposes in 1951. Also during this time, part of the land was allocated for state housing and road developments. The new street created at this time was named Eveleyn Couzins Avenue in memory of the Mayoress of Christchurch from 1941 to 1945 and nearby Flesher Avenue was named after the Flesher family in acknowledgment of their contribution to the Richmond Community. After 1951, under the ownership of the Christchurch City Council, the house was used for some years by the Plunket Society and by gardeners of the surrounding park. Adaptation to Youth Hostel From the mid 1960s the building survived talk of demolition and was leased to the Youth Hostel Association. A number of internal alterations were undertaken at this time, including glazing in the verandahs, the addition of ablution facilities, converting the service rooms into a large communal kitchen and creating a matron’s flat in the ground floor of the tower room. On 3 December 1966, the house was officially opened as the Cora Wilding Youth Hostel, named after the 1932 founder of the Youth Hostel Association (YHA) New Zealand. It was New Zealand’s first permanent city youth hostel and had the country’s first resident hostel warden, Mrs Vi Burt. Further extensive maintenance work was carried out by the Youth Hostel Association in 1987. The house ceased to operate as a hostel in June 1997. Avebury House Community Trust In 1999 demolition was again considered an option for the house but eventually the Council decided to restore and adapt it for reuse as a community facility. The refurbishment and conservation of Avebury House took several years, under architectural draftsman Malcolm Kitt. In December 2001 the Avebury House Community Trust was formed and Avebury House was officially re-opened as a community facility by Prime Minister Helen Clark on 18 September 2002. The building and grounds suffered some damage in the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010-11, mostly as a result of liquefaction and slumping over the site. The timber house generally performed well in the earthquakes but the adjacent outbuilding with concrete pad foundations slumped at the corners of the buildings and the shallow pool incurred damage to its base. The wider area of Richmond and Avonside suffered particularly badly, however, and ultimately much of wider area was deemed to be ‘red zoned’ and whole suburbs of houses were demolished. The Christchurch City Council-owned Avebury House and its associated recreation reserve were not included as part of the residential red zone, and it sits at the point of where houses were retained (to its west) and where they were demolished (to its east and south). The survival and retention of Avebury House is particularly notable as it is in an area where thousands of homes in these riverside suburbs were demolished following the quakes. In 2017, Avebury House was repaired and restored. During this time, lath and plaster was stripped off many of the walls, revealing past alterations, and an original ceiling rose was re-exposed when a false ceiling in the former manager’s flat was removed. Following the quakes, many of the dislocated residents who had to move away from the Richmond and Avonside area – now called the ‘Red Zone’- have come to see Avebury House as a key connection to the area. More than ever, it is seen as a centre of community resurgence. Through the energy of individuals and groups, there are many community activities happening that are associated with Avebury House or near to its grounds. Various gatherings, meetings, fitness or wellbeing groups, book swaps and the Richmond History Group use the house on a regular basis and the building is open to the public on weekdays. It is also used occasionally for special events such as weddings. The community facility continues to be run by the charitable trust, Avebury House Community Trust.

Current Description Avebury House and its carefully maintained small park setting is located approximately 100 metres to the north and west of the looping Ōtākaro/Avon River. It is on the edge of the large open green space that has appeared as a result of cleared red zoned land following the 2010-2011 earthquakes. As a large two-storeyed timber building with a distinctive corner tower, Avebury House appears largely that of the 1885 (and 1907) design by architect James Glanville. There may be elements of the original 1850s cottage incorporated in the rear single-storeyed service wing, but this is not clear. On the north façade, the prominent first floor window blends with the lower bay window and provides a balance to the corner tower. The broad flight of steps to a wide, deep porch, and the front door surrounded by coloured lead lights create a grand entrance. The east and west elevations of the house are simple in character and largely original from the 1880s, with double-hung windows encased in moulded frames with hoods and supporting brackets, and a slender string-course and slight eaves with paired brackets. The west elevation has two later single-storeyed lean-to additions, providing secondary entrances to the house. Some of the original interior features and layout remain. These include a wide, lofty entrance hall with a moulded archway with carved corbels and staircase with slender moulded balusters and timber handrail. Other features include bay windows and seats, cornice detailing and ceiling roses, dado rails and fireplace openings. A kitchen is located on the east side of the ground floor, and to the south, in the lower wing, are toilets. On the first floor, which has a lower stud height, are six rooms and the enclosed space of the verandah – five are former bedrooms (with built-in wardrobes), and there is a former bathroom and toilet. Recent additions to the walls of the large room to the west of the hallway are the Honours Boards (World War One, World War Two and Dux) that were formerly at Richmond School. After the school closed in 2013, the boards were saved and affixed to the walls at Avebury House. The setting is part of the extent and includes a metal gate at the north-west corner of the site and an early garage, separate from the house to the west. The former motor garage is a single-storeyed brick building with a hipped roof constructed in the mid 1920s. This brick building has a near-rectangular concrete pad and double doors on the north side. Currently it is used as a shed and the western side of the building has been adapted for use as disabled toilet.

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Other Information

A fully referenced New Zealand Heritage List report is available on request from the Canterbury/West Coast Office of Heritage New Zealand. Other Heritage Recognition The Avebury House Community Trust was awarded the ‘Beca Heritage Week Heritage Christchurch Ambassador 2018 award’ in October 2018 for services to Beca Heritage Week. Disclaimer Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero identifies only the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety, including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary conditions. Archaeological sites are protected by the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014, regardless of whether they are entered on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero or not. Archaeological sites include ‘places associated with pre-1900 human activity, where there may be evidence relating to the history of New Zealand’. This List entry report should not be read as a statement on whether or not the archaeological provisions of the Act apply to the property(s) concerned. Please contact your local Heritage New Zealand office for archaeological advice.