This historic area was registered under the Historic Places Act 1993. The following text is from the original Historic Area Assessment Under Section 23 Criteria report considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration.

Ward's Brewery, the first established in Christchurch, opened in 1854. It moved to its current site in 1860 and has been a significant landmark on the eastern side of the city for well over a hundred years. Constructed of brick and stone, the interesting range and form of the buildings attract attention to the site adjacent to the Avon River. The buildings are notable amongst other industrial structures of the era for their attractive detailing featuring Oamaru stone. The kilns in particular are superb examples of industrial architecture, their design and ornamentation transcending their functionality. Together with the malt-house, brewing tower and other related structures they comprise the largest and most important group of industrial buildings in Christchurch dating from this era.

Brewing is one of New Zealand's oldest industries, established in response to strong local demand from the time of earliest European settlement. The first brewery in the country, at Kororareka (later Russell) was built in 1835. The earliest brewery in the South Island was founded in Nelson in 1843. During the mid to late nineteenth century brewing expanded along with settlement throughout New Zealand. Breweries, with their distinctive towers, often featured prominently in the landscape. Brewery structures were typically constructed in wood and corrugated iron. These were sometimes replaced later by brick or stone buildings.

The making of beer consists of malting, brewing and fermenting. The main functional areas of a brewery are the malt house, where barley is germinated; the malt kiln, used to dry the barley and develop malt, and the brew-house, in the form of a tower, where fermentation takes place in vats. The Ward's complex is of considerable importance nationally as a largely intact example of an early brewery, complete with malt-house, malt kilns and brewing tower. It also retains some technological features of the brewing industry.

The site is also linked to the history of the pioneering Ward brothers, three of whom immigrated to New Zealand aboard one of Canterbury's 'first four ships', the Charlotte Jane. The Ward's brewery complex is an integral part of the social history of the community, both for its long operation as a local industry, and for its association with rowing, bowling and the Crichton Cobbers Youth Club.

The Ward's Brewery buildings are currently in private ownership and are used as commercial premises by several businesses.