![]() | Opawa is currently a Places good article nominee. Nominated by Alexeyevitch( talk) at 05:45, 25 June 2024 (UTC) Anyone who has not contributed significantly to (or nominated) this article may review it according to the good article criteria to decide whether or not to list it as a good article. To start the review process, click start review and save the page. (See here for the good article instructions.) Short description: Suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand |
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![]() | This article is written in New Zealand English, which has its own spelling conventions (colour, realise, analyse, centre, fiord) and some terms that are used in it may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus. |
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@ user:Alexeyevitch This follows discussion on the Christchurch talk page yesterday... This should give you an idea of a notable feature of Hanson Park, the Opawa Loop and flooding problems of the Heathcote. It is not a proper secondary source but it is good enough for now. I suggest look at similar sources to get a better overview of the history of Opawa and the issues that make it what it is today. There is more to Opawa than a few listed buildings. There are also notable buildings that are not listed. Being listed is not an exclusive mark of notability. This source will also be useful for other parts of the Heathcote such as in the Beckenham Loop that still has major flooding issues. It will also be useful for a special section in the article about the river, if one doesn't exist, and for an article on Christchurch land fill sites. Roger 8 Roger ( talk) 10:10, 22 June 2024 (UTC)
@ user:Alexeyevitch This is not about your fallback position of "the official name is not its common name" Maybe this rule needs to be ammended. This sentence "The Māori name for the area is "Ōpāwaho", it is also the name of the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River" does not make sense unless the river is named as the linked article
How is this supported? "The railways had local significance, they stimulated settlement beyond the confines of the "original suburbs".
How do you get from the first sentence to the second? "In Opawa, residents had frequent trains to Christchurch passing daily through the district. When compared with the other modes of transportation, train travel was not convenient or simple." There are multiple trains daily but not convenient or simple? Where's the explainer?
This sentence seems a bit backwards: "The Main South Line used to provide one of Christchurch's largest industries the Addington Railway Workshops, in Addington" The Line is not the employer. New Zealand Railways was.
Long, could do with a break: "The primary road supporting the transportion in the area is State Highway 76 (Brougham Street) which traverses from the north through the suburb, also through Sydenham and Brougham Street, going thoroughfare the suburbs of Hillsborough and Opawa, then Port Hills Road connecting with Tunnel Road to pass through the Lyttelton road tunnel at Heathcote Valley."
Industrialism is the economic system: not the correct use in this sentence "who wished to leave Woolston's industrialism". Probably better to write "people who wished to leave the industrial areas of Woolston" or something else.
Probably better to write "According to [authors name] Opawa was Christchurch's first high society suburb". Would be better to reference the book, rather than use a very light feature written for the property pages in a local newspaper. Also why is the book not used/referenced (Opawa - the Outpost on the Banks of the Heathcote/Noel Gillespie); it's a more recent publication than the others referenced.
Goldenbaybutcher ( talk) 05:58, 4 July 2024 (UTC)
Some comments... Some editorial knowledge of a suburb helps. For a photo, there is no obvious spot in Opawa, it is a bit disjointed. Opawa doesn't really have a shopping area - those photos are the closest to one there is, but that isn't much and it will not be used by much of the residents in Opawa. I would focus on the Opawa Loop south of Opawa Rd, including Risingdale and Cholmondeley Ave and St Mary's Church, all near the shops but they'd provide a better photo. Alexeyevitch, you do not have to answer this and there is no hidden intent other than to better understand what is happening, but how old are you, approximately will do? Are you sure there is nobody in the real world who can act as a guide? I assume you have met other edtors? Roger 8 Roger ( talk) 12:00, 9 July 2024 (UTC)
The GA criteria says that the article should cover the "main aspects" of the scope. The question of what is within “main aspects” for this article can be debated, but here are some suggestions for additional content.
The existing content about amalgamation could be expanded. Plus there are numerous online citations that could be added.
In 1915, it appears that Opawa was a “riding” of the Heathcote County, governed by the Heathcote County Council.(for a definition of riding, see: Riding_(division)) See: [1] But in December that year, there was a vote for the Opawa riding to be amalgamated with Christchurch City. See: [2], [3], and [4]. The amalgamation came into force in October 1916. See: [5], [6], [7], and [8]. Some issues mentioned in the coverage of amalgamation include the responsibility for the costs of maintaining Opawa Road, and the development and integration of public utility services including electricity.
There have been repeated instances of flooding from the Heathcote River affecting Opawa and making the news. Here are some news reports, but it seems likely there will be many more:
(in addition to those already mentioned in the article). Several have interesting history described in the sources, and could be added:
The Anglican Church of St Mark, built in 1865 (and one of Canterbury’s oldest landmarks) was destroyed by fire on 3 December 1949 [20] The article currently describes only the original church, not the fire or the rebuild.
The replacement St Mark’s church (and its chapel addition) appear to be notable. See: [21], [22] [23] and [24]
A summary is needed of the damage sustained in the suburb in the Canterbury earthquakes. Searching on DigitalNZ.org, using just the search term Opawa, shows photos of damage to shops and in particular major damage to the Opawa Community Church. Unclear what happened to the church. It appears some shops in Opawa Road were demolished and also the former Opawa library. St Mark’s Church was damaged but apparently has been repaired.
The Main South Line crosses the Heathcote River on the section through Opawa. [26]
On a related point, it would be best to move content about transport from the Geography section into a separate section.
The article could give some coverage of significant community and sports facilities in the suburb. These would include:
_ Marshelec ( talk) 08:41, 10 July 2024 (UTC)
@ Alexeyevitch: I am aware that Christchurch currently has no formal definition of the boundary of suburbs, and as a result sources can vary in the name of the suburb they use for describing the location of a particular building or site. This is the case for the Alpine Ice Centre. Some sources such as Google Maps, show 495 Brougham Street, Christchurch as being in Opawa, but other sources say Waltham. I think it might be worthwhile to include a brief statement in the Geography section, perhaps along these lines: "Christchurch City currently has no formal definition of the boundaries of suburbs, and as a result there can be inconsistencies between sources in the suburb that is identified for a particular street location". Here is a citation to back this up: [30]. For signficant topics where there is inconsistency, you could perhaps say something like Opawa/Waltham (sources vary), or use a footnote to include the explanation above, if there are multiple instances. Marshelec ( talk) 09:09, 11 July 2024 (UTC)
There used to be a Children's library by the river that has long since gone. It was near the bridge near Butler St. It was small and a fairly basic structure but something of a community feature.
Excellent, thank you user:Marshelec, an interesting wee story - that is indeed the library. I'm surprised it lasted so long till 2020. I think that was because of its simple wooden structure with simple foundations - meaning there wasn't much that the earthquakes could damage. On this topic, childeren's libraries were a feature of Christchurch, and still are in some areas I think. There was one in St Martins too and also one in Upper Riccarton and I assume elsewhere as well. I'm not sure of their current status but I think they are being fased out due to being uneconomic, That is similar to small local swimming pools, including those in schools. There was one in Thorrington School for example that has now gone, and one at Rangi Ruru. Doubtless there were many others elsewhere. People may forget that after the earthquakes normal social facitities were gone - everything was destroyed or damaged or red stickered. There was an effort made to maintain as much of normal social life as possible - destroyed cafes were replaced by caravan cafes (still one in Sydenham) and the CCC tried to maintain a library service, with tepmorary libraries opening in places such as Linwood/Smith St and in the city - Manchester/Allen, and then in ?Petrborough. People now forget that for a long time normal social activity was severly compromised. Roger 8 Roger. ( talk) 13:47, 16 July 2024 (UTC) ].
Hansen Park is open space that occupies a significant portion of land in the southern part of Opawa, and warrants a mention in the article. For basic details see: [35]. The park was originally designated in the late 1950s on the site of a former rubbish dump [36], [37]. It was named after Dr D E Hansen, Patron of the Risingholme Centre. [38], [39], There was public controversy and opposition in 1963 when it was proposed that a new secondary school would be established on the site. There was another controversy in 1986 when it was proposed that the site be developed as a base for softball in Canterbury [40], [41]. Eventually a decision was reached in Nov 1987 to establish a softball centre at Cuthbert Green in Bromley instead [42]. Hansen Park has been used a temporary headquarters for mountain running events (Crater Rim Ultra in 2023) [43]. Also scheduled as the site for 2024 New Zealand Mountain Running Championships [44]. Hansen Park contains the clubrooms of the Port Hills Athletic Club [45]. There are two rugby fields and two football fields in the park. [46], [47]. In 2024, the park is being used for cricket, rugby and athletics, but also some other outdoor events. [48] I will see if I can find out anything more. Marshelec ( talk) 05:09, 17 July 2024 (UTC)
I didn't expect to find much in popular culture that mentions Opawa, but this shows how wrong you can be. There is a work: "The Opawa Affair". [49]. Perhaps there is more ?_ Marshelec ( talk) 06:09, 16 July 2024 (UTC)
I note that the source from Te Ara says under an Opawa heading that a supermarket was irreparably damaged. [50] However, I believe they got this wrong. It seems that it was actually the St Martins New World supermarket that was damaged (and subsequently demolished and rebuilt). See: [51]. Marshelec ( talk) 05:33, 17 July 2024 (UTC)
![]() | Opawa is currently a Places good article nominee. Nominated by Alexeyevitch( talk) at 05:45, 25 June 2024 (UTC) Anyone who has not contributed significantly to (or nominated) this article may review it according to the good article criteria to decide whether or not to list it as a good article. To start the review process, click start review and save the page. (See here for the good article instructions.) Short description: Suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand |
![]() | This article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | ||||||||||
|
![]() | This article is written in New Zealand English, which has its own spelling conventions (colour, realise, analyse, centre, fiord) and some terms that are used in it may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus. |
|
@ user:Alexeyevitch This follows discussion on the Christchurch talk page yesterday... This should give you an idea of a notable feature of Hanson Park, the Opawa Loop and flooding problems of the Heathcote. It is not a proper secondary source but it is good enough for now. I suggest look at similar sources to get a better overview of the history of Opawa and the issues that make it what it is today. There is more to Opawa than a few listed buildings. There are also notable buildings that are not listed. Being listed is not an exclusive mark of notability. This source will also be useful for other parts of the Heathcote such as in the Beckenham Loop that still has major flooding issues. It will also be useful for a special section in the article about the river, if one doesn't exist, and for an article on Christchurch land fill sites. Roger 8 Roger ( talk) 10:10, 22 June 2024 (UTC)
@ user:Alexeyevitch This is not about your fallback position of "the official name is not its common name" Maybe this rule needs to be ammended. This sentence "The Māori name for the area is "Ōpāwaho", it is also the name of the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River" does not make sense unless the river is named as the linked article
How is this supported? "The railways had local significance, they stimulated settlement beyond the confines of the "original suburbs".
How do you get from the first sentence to the second? "In Opawa, residents had frequent trains to Christchurch passing daily through the district. When compared with the other modes of transportation, train travel was not convenient or simple." There are multiple trains daily but not convenient or simple? Where's the explainer?
This sentence seems a bit backwards: "The Main South Line used to provide one of Christchurch's largest industries the Addington Railway Workshops, in Addington" The Line is not the employer. New Zealand Railways was.
Long, could do with a break: "The primary road supporting the transportion in the area is State Highway 76 (Brougham Street) which traverses from the north through the suburb, also through Sydenham and Brougham Street, going thoroughfare the suburbs of Hillsborough and Opawa, then Port Hills Road connecting with Tunnel Road to pass through the Lyttelton road tunnel at Heathcote Valley."
Industrialism is the economic system: not the correct use in this sentence "who wished to leave Woolston's industrialism". Probably better to write "people who wished to leave the industrial areas of Woolston" or something else.
Probably better to write "According to [authors name] Opawa was Christchurch's first high society suburb". Would be better to reference the book, rather than use a very light feature written for the property pages in a local newspaper. Also why is the book not used/referenced (Opawa - the Outpost on the Banks of the Heathcote/Noel Gillespie); it's a more recent publication than the others referenced.
Goldenbaybutcher ( talk) 05:58, 4 July 2024 (UTC)
Some comments... Some editorial knowledge of a suburb helps. For a photo, there is no obvious spot in Opawa, it is a bit disjointed. Opawa doesn't really have a shopping area - those photos are the closest to one there is, but that isn't much and it will not be used by much of the residents in Opawa. I would focus on the Opawa Loop south of Opawa Rd, including Risingdale and Cholmondeley Ave and St Mary's Church, all near the shops but they'd provide a better photo. Alexeyevitch, you do not have to answer this and there is no hidden intent other than to better understand what is happening, but how old are you, approximately will do? Are you sure there is nobody in the real world who can act as a guide? I assume you have met other edtors? Roger 8 Roger ( talk) 12:00, 9 July 2024 (UTC)
The GA criteria says that the article should cover the "main aspects" of the scope. The question of what is within “main aspects” for this article can be debated, but here are some suggestions for additional content.
The existing content about amalgamation could be expanded. Plus there are numerous online citations that could be added.
In 1915, it appears that Opawa was a “riding” of the Heathcote County, governed by the Heathcote County Council.(for a definition of riding, see: Riding_(division)) See: [1] But in December that year, there was a vote for the Opawa riding to be amalgamated with Christchurch City. See: [2], [3], and [4]. The amalgamation came into force in October 1916. See: [5], [6], [7], and [8]. Some issues mentioned in the coverage of amalgamation include the responsibility for the costs of maintaining Opawa Road, and the development and integration of public utility services including electricity.
There have been repeated instances of flooding from the Heathcote River affecting Opawa and making the news. Here are some news reports, but it seems likely there will be many more:
(in addition to those already mentioned in the article). Several have interesting history described in the sources, and could be added:
The Anglican Church of St Mark, built in 1865 (and one of Canterbury’s oldest landmarks) was destroyed by fire on 3 December 1949 [20] The article currently describes only the original church, not the fire or the rebuild.
The replacement St Mark’s church (and its chapel addition) appear to be notable. See: [21], [22] [23] and [24]
A summary is needed of the damage sustained in the suburb in the Canterbury earthquakes. Searching on DigitalNZ.org, using just the search term Opawa, shows photos of damage to shops and in particular major damage to the Opawa Community Church. Unclear what happened to the church. It appears some shops in Opawa Road were demolished and also the former Opawa library. St Mark’s Church was damaged but apparently has been repaired.
The Main South Line crosses the Heathcote River on the section through Opawa. [26]
On a related point, it would be best to move content about transport from the Geography section into a separate section.
The article could give some coverage of significant community and sports facilities in the suburb. These would include:
_ Marshelec ( talk) 08:41, 10 July 2024 (UTC)
@ Alexeyevitch: I am aware that Christchurch currently has no formal definition of the boundary of suburbs, and as a result sources can vary in the name of the suburb they use for describing the location of a particular building or site. This is the case for the Alpine Ice Centre. Some sources such as Google Maps, show 495 Brougham Street, Christchurch as being in Opawa, but other sources say Waltham. I think it might be worthwhile to include a brief statement in the Geography section, perhaps along these lines: "Christchurch City currently has no formal definition of the boundaries of suburbs, and as a result there can be inconsistencies between sources in the suburb that is identified for a particular street location". Here is a citation to back this up: [30]. For signficant topics where there is inconsistency, you could perhaps say something like Opawa/Waltham (sources vary), or use a footnote to include the explanation above, if there are multiple instances. Marshelec ( talk) 09:09, 11 July 2024 (UTC)
There used to be a Children's library by the river that has long since gone. It was near the bridge near Butler St. It was small and a fairly basic structure but something of a community feature.
Excellent, thank you user:Marshelec, an interesting wee story - that is indeed the library. I'm surprised it lasted so long till 2020. I think that was because of its simple wooden structure with simple foundations - meaning there wasn't much that the earthquakes could damage. On this topic, childeren's libraries were a feature of Christchurch, and still are in some areas I think. There was one in St Martins too and also one in Upper Riccarton and I assume elsewhere as well. I'm not sure of their current status but I think they are being fased out due to being uneconomic, That is similar to small local swimming pools, including those in schools. There was one in Thorrington School for example that has now gone, and one at Rangi Ruru. Doubtless there were many others elsewhere. People may forget that after the earthquakes normal social facitities were gone - everything was destroyed or damaged or red stickered. There was an effort made to maintain as much of normal social life as possible - destroyed cafes were replaced by caravan cafes (still one in Sydenham) and the CCC tried to maintain a library service, with tepmorary libraries opening in places such as Linwood/Smith St and in the city - Manchester/Allen, and then in ?Petrborough. People now forget that for a long time normal social activity was severly compromised. Roger 8 Roger. ( talk) 13:47, 16 July 2024 (UTC) ].
Hansen Park is open space that occupies a significant portion of land in the southern part of Opawa, and warrants a mention in the article. For basic details see: [35]. The park was originally designated in the late 1950s on the site of a former rubbish dump [36], [37]. It was named after Dr D E Hansen, Patron of the Risingholme Centre. [38], [39], There was public controversy and opposition in 1963 when it was proposed that a new secondary school would be established on the site. There was another controversy in 1986 when it was proposed that the site be developed as a base for softball in Canterbury [40], [41]. Eventually a decision was reached in Nov 1987 to establish a softball centre at Cuthbert Green in Bromley instead [42]. Hansen Park has been used a temporary headquarters for mountain running events (Crater Rim Ultra in 2023) [43]. Also scheduled as the site for 2024 New Zealand Mountain Running Championships [44]. Hansen Park contains the clubrooms of the Port Hills Athletic Club [45]. There are two rugby fields and two football fields in the park. [46], [47]. In 2024, the park is being used for cricket, rugby and athletics, but also some other outdoor events. [48] I will see if I can find out anything more. Marshelec ( talk) 05:09, 17 July 2024 (UTC)
I didn't expect to find much in popular culture that mentions Opawa, but this shows how wrong you can be. There is a work: "The Opawa Affair". [49]. Perhaps there is more ?_ Marshelec ( talk) 06:09, 16 July 2024 (UTC)
I note that the source from Te Ara says under an Opawa heading that a supermarket was irreparably damaged. [50] However, I believe they got this wrong. It seems that it was actually the St Martins New World supermarket that was damaged (and subsequently demolished and rebuilt). See: [51]. Marshelec ( talk) 05:33, 17 July 2024 (UTC)