Kennedys Bush is a south-western suburb of
Christchurch
Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
, New Zealand.
History
Kennedys Bush was first settled by Thomas Kennedy, an Irishman born in Cork around 1819, who arrived in New Zealand from the United States in 1838. He met Sophia Streeter in
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
and they later married.
In 1841, the couple moved to
Akaroa
Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name. The name Akaroa is Ngāi Tahu, Kāi Tahu Māori language, Māori for "Long Harbour", which woul ...
where Kennedy worked as a constable for the French settlers. Five of the Kennedy's twelve children were born in Akaroa.
In 1856, Kennedy bought 28 acres on the hills above Halswell with a licence to cut the bush.
Kennedy opened a sawmill and felled trees from the bush using a team of bullocks to haul the processed timber on a sledge down a track.
This was known as "Kennedys Track". Later it became "Quarry Road" then "Pattersons Road" (after one of the quarry managers), and eventually "Kennedys Bush Road".
The full length of the road was surveyed in the late 1850s and constructed in 1863.
Kennedy established the first timber business in Christchurch selling sawn timber, posts and rails and firewood-all sourced from the hills above Halswell.
He built two houses, the first in the bush, the second on flat land opposite the present quarry park. He named this "Waterford". Neither house remains, though the site of the Kennedy home is now a featured location on one of the bush walks below the
Sign of the Bellbird.
The flat land at Kennedys Bush was originally owned by
W. G. Brittan and Michael J. Burke who bought it as part of the Lansdowne Run from the
Canterbury Association
The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), members of parliament, Peerage of the United Kingdom, peers, and Anglicanism, Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The se ...
in 1851.
Brittan bought Burke out in 1860
and in 1873 sold a block of land on the south side of Kennedys Track to
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
Sir Edward Stafford who lived in Old Tai Tapu Road in his house called "Lansdowne".
In 1859, relatives of Kennedy's wife Sophia arrived from Australia to work for Kennedy.
These included Alfred Streeter who married Margaret Watkins. The young couple bought an acre of land from Sir Edward Stafford in 1874 and built a house on the corner of Kennedys Bush Road and Glovers Road. They raised twelve children there.
This house still stands, probably the oldest surviving dwelling in Kennedys Bush.
The first residential subdivision in the area was in 1913.
In 1954, the
Christchurch City Council
The Christchurch City Council (CCC) 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 Ma ...
sold 32 subdivided sections on the quarry-side of Kennedys Bush Road, possibly to help fund the royal visit that year.
Halswell Quarry Park is located within Kennedys Bush.
Demographics
Kennedys Bush statistical area covers .
It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km
2.
Before the 2023 census, the statistical area had a larger boundary, covering .
Using that boundary, Kennedys Bush had a population of 906 at the
2018 New Zealand census
The 2018 New Zealand census, which took place on Tuesday 6 March 2018, was the thirty-fourth national census in New Zealand. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,699,755 – an increase of 457,707 (10.79%) over the 2013 census.
Resu ...
, an increase of 57 people (6.7%) since the
2013 census, and an increase of 222 people (32.5%) since the
2006 census. There were 321 households. There were 453 males and 453 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female. The median age was 50.2 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 129 people (14.2%) aged under 15 years, 153 (16.9%) aged 15 to 29, 459 (50.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 162 (17.9%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 94.7% European/Pākehā, 3.0% Māori, 1.3% Pacific peoples, 3.0% Asian, and 2.6% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).
The proportion of people born overseas was 20.2%, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people objected to giving their religion, 52.3% had no religion, 40.4% were Christian, 0.7% were Hindu, 0.3% were Buddhist and 1.0% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 279 (35.9%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 72 (9.3%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $48,200, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 393 (50.6%) people were employed full-time, 144 (18.5%) were part-time, and 15 (1.9%) were unemployed.
References
{{Banks Peninsula
Suburbs of Christchurch
1850s establishments in New Zealand