Hagley Park is the largest urban open space (164.637 hectares)Hagley Park Management Plan
,

Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Mauger, wh ...

; New Zealand. in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, and was created in 1855 by the Provincial Government. According to the government's decree at that time, Hagley Park is "''reserved forever as a public park, and shall be open for the recreation and enjoyment of the public.''" Hagley Park is characterised by its trees and broad open spaces. Hagley Park was named after Hagley Park, the country estate of Lord Lyttelton, who became chairman of the

Canterbury Association The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by members of parliament, peers, and Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The settlement was to be called Canterbury, with its capital to be known as Christchurch ...

in March 1850.

Location

The boundaries of the park, which is located to the east of the central city of Christchurch, are defined by both the

Avon River / Ōtākaro The Avon River / Ōtākaro ( and ) flows through the centre of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, and out to an estuary, which it shares with the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River, the Avon Heathcote Estuary / Ihutai. Course The Avon follows a me ...

and the surrounding roadways. The longest road boundary is that along Deans Avenue, often regarded as one of The Four Avenues which delimit central Christchurch. On the western side adjacent is the suburb of

Riccarton Riccarton may refer to: New Zealand * Riccarton, New Zealand, a suburb of Christchurch ** Riccarton (New Zealand electorate), the electorate named after it ** The location of Riccarton Race Course * a locality on the Taieri Plains in Otago Scotlan ...

. To the north and northeast, the natural path of the Avon River bounds the park. Moorhouse Avenue and Hagley Avenue form the south and south-eastern boundaries, respectively. Along the eastern boundary, the Park is defined by the two kilometre loop of the Avon River, which extends into the side of Hagley Park. The Christchurch Botanic Gardens (21.14 hectares) are located within this loop and frequent bridges provide connections. The Botanic Gardens contain a collection of beautiful flowers and trees from around the world. The gardens attract many birds to the park, and sightseers frequently visit the park to view the plants and the wildlife. The Canterbury Museum and Christ's College are the two other land uses that take up the balance of the land within the river's loop. Two major avenues subdivide the park into three units. The northern unit is Little Hagley Park (6.96 hectares), with North Hagley Park (87.17 hectares) lying to the south of Harper Avenue. South Hagley Park (70.507 hectares) lies to the south of North Hagley Park, separated by Riccarton Avenue.

Road proposals

At various times, it was proposed to build additional roads through the park. In the 1860s, it was considered to connect Armagh Street with the Great South Road (now called Riccarton Road).

Usage

In its early days, Hagley Park was used for horse races. Hagley Park has frequently been a site for gathering large crowds together: it served as the location for the Great Industrial Exposition of 1882 and the New Zealand International Exhibition in 1906–1907. In 1906, the Australasian tennis championships (now known as the Australian Open) were held in Hagley Park as part of the

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

. The singles event was won by Tony Wilding, who defeated

Francis Fisher Francis Marion Bates Fisher (22 December 1877 – 24 July 1960) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament from Wellington. He was known as Rainbow Fisher for his frequent changes of political allegiance. He was a veteran of the Boer War and an in ...

in three sets. In recent years, the park has hosted many visiting

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

es and open-air

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

s. The Ellerslie Flower Show has been held in North Hagley Park since 2008. The park has hosted the Electric Avenue Music Festival. A

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

(Hagley Golf Club) is located in North Hagley Park. South Hagley Park contains several

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

courts, the Hagley Oval cricket ground and a

heliport A heliport is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and some other vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. I ...

for

Christchurch Hospital Christchurch Hospital is the largest tertiary hospital in the South Island of New Zealand. The public hospital is in the centre of Christchurch city, on the edge of Hagley Park, and serves the wider Canterbury region. The Canterbury District He ...

, although as of 2019 there are calls to build a helipad on the roof of the hospital itself. Hagley Park was also the site of a national memorial service attended by 20,000 people to remember the 51 dead victims of the

Christchurch mosque shootings On 15 March 2019, two consecutive mass shootings occurred in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The attacks, carried out by a lone gunman who entered both mosques during Friday prayer, began at the Al Noor Mosque ...

at Al Noor Mosque and

Linwood Islamic Centre The Linwood Islamic Centre is a Sunni Islam mosque in Linwood, Christchurch, New Zealand. The mosque opened in early 2018 on the grounds of the former Christchurch Bahai Centre and the building had most recently been the Linwood Community Centr ...

which included the likes of New Zealand Prime Minister

Jacinda Ardern Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the member of ...

and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Muslim convert singer

Yusuf Islam Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later i ...

(aka Cat Stevens). Image:HagleyPark02 gobeirne.jpg, North Hagley Park, late afternoon in winter Image:HagleyPark03 gobeirne.jpg, Little Hagley Park (north of Harper Ave) in summer Image:HagleyPark05 gobeirne.jpg, Foggy morning, North Hagley Park Image:HagleyPark06 gobeirne.jpg, A black swan and model yachts on Victoria Lake Image:HagleyPark01 gobeirne.jpg, North Hagley Park in autumn The weekly Saturday

parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...

takes place at the North Hagley Park. Organized by volunteers, the 5km run welcomes all runners with all fitness levels.

References

External links

Hagley Park Map, Christchurch City CouncilHagley Park, Christchurch City CouncilThe Christchurch Botanic Gardens
{{authority control 1856 establishments in New Zealand Parks in Christchurch Urban public parks World's fair sites in New Zealand Tourist attractions in Christchurch Golf clubs and courses in New Zealand Heliports in New Zealand Cricket grounds in New Zealand