Baxter’s Drain in the suburb of Addington, Christchurch

As a change from writing about streets I thought that I would research a drain. An email from the council mentioned Baxter’s Drain so I had to find out about it. A small amount of information from Papers Past. Most entries were from the Drainage Board as early as 1885. An engineer report mentioned a sump to be placed at the exit of the drain at Hazeldean Rd. A couple of months later they said that the drain at Hazeldean Rd needed reconstructing. Must have been a dispute about who was to pay for this as the Sydenham Borough Council said it was under the Drainage Board control. At least one entry from Board of Heath. Note there was a big problem with health issues because of the swampy land that Christchurch was built on. In 1889 there were several objections to the Sydenham Borough Council doing the work on the drain as it should be the Drainage Board’s responsibility. There seemed to be an issue with reconstruction of the culvert at Hazeldean Rd because of the railway line. The same year there were articles about the nuisance arising from slops entering the drain from side channels. Typhoid was a huge problem in the city causing many deaths. In 1896 the cost of doing repair work was mentioned. The drain isn’t mentioned again until 1904 where a concrete invert to be placed in drain between Burke St and Fairfield Ave as diverting it in Ruskin St would be too expensive. Pipes had been laid in Fairfield Ave going through Mr Reeves property. There was a suggestion from someone that the drain should be filled in but obviously that didn’t happen. In 1906 there was a complaint about the drains near the cemetery and an engineer reported that it should be replaced or piped. In 1907 Julia Bennett in Disraeli St stated that if the Drainage Board would cover the concrete invert being laid through her premises she would grant a deed pf easement. The cost of the concrete invert drain from the cemetery to Disraeli St was £58. There were no more entries after 1908 about the drain.

I believe that Christchurch started installing a sewage system in about 1882. I used to own a property that backed onto the cemetery and there were two caveats on the title. One was because of the cemetery and the other was because of this drain. Baxter’s drain was upgraded and reserves established. Several older houses were demolished to create the reserves but I can’t remember the date. I know that it was after 2005 and before 2009. There was a plaque at the Fairfield Ave entrance to the cemetery about the first drain in Christchurch but sadly it was recently stolen. Plaques have been stolen in the cemetery as well. The drain one is especially annoying for me as I have a geocaching lab adventure that used that plaque for one of the questions. I did manage to find a map of Baxter’s Drain but I couldn’t find the map which showed all the drains and waterways under Christchurch. This was annoying as I know that I have previously looked at this map and it was fascinating.