Opawa Road in the suburbs of Hillsborough, Opawa and Hillsborough, Christchurch

Opawa Rd – Named because it runs through the suburb of Opawa which, in turn, is named after Opawaho, the Māori name for the Heathcote River. First mentioned in the Star in 1877 in a report of a meeting of the Heathcote Road Board. Appears on an 1879 map. A small amount of information from the library website and nothing that I can add about the name of this very long road. The road is in three suburbs and they are Hillsborough, Opawa and Waltham. I walked it in two halves and was shocked when looking at my photos that I did the first walk a year ago. In January 2020 I had caught a bus to Heathcote and walked home to Addington and in the weekend just gone I parked up near the Opawa shops and walked to where Shakespeare Rd starts and Opawa Rd ends. In 1876 there were complaints about the state of the road and in 1919 and 1929 there were many letters to the editor about potholes in the road. I don’t think that they were the same potholes as the ones in 1876 and this was a busy main road with a lot of traffic so a lot of wear and tear. In 1901 there were objections to widening the road. In 1904 there were arguments about who should should pay for the maintenance of the road as the road was in the three districts of Heathcote, Woolston and Christchurch. Might explain why problems with the state of the road. In 1922 council housing was appoved for Opawa Rd. I was interested to see that there was a business called Wigram’s Brickyard on Opawa Rd. An interesting wee snippet from October 1919 was a birth notice for Mr and Mrs Lyttelton. Wonder if they had any connection to Lord Lyttelton. This street has houses dating from every decade but the older houses are between the river and Brougham St and at least 4 or 5 are dated from 1905. The road starts at Port Hills Rd and there houses one side and businesses the other side plus empty land. You then reach Hillsborough Park and a little bit further one there are shops on Grange St corner. I continued along until I reached Munro Playground and there are still houses on just one side of the road in varying degrees of condition and repair. A few empty sections. That day a year ago I continued my walk along Brougham St and didn’t expect it to take me a whole year before returning. From Munro Playground there is a short walk on the wide Opawa Rd which is a main link to Lyttelton before turning into the rest of Opawa Rd. There is a short section just before the river where there is a community garden and the Opawa Community Church. Cross the bridge over the Heathcote River and there are several shops plus a library. From the shops to Brougham St there are houses and some are gorgeous older houses. St Mark’s Church is still cordoned off but a notice said ‘We will be back’. There is also a bowling club near Ensors Rd end and there was a plaque on the gates. I love plaques. Multi dwelling apartments are being built at the Brougham St end, The short section from Brougham St to Shakespeare Rd is full of businesses.