This site is for the Heathcote, Horotane or Avoca Valleys and is written up by the people who live here. Feel free to look around and see what is happening at the moment, find out what we have for sale and catch up on the local news.
You write in and we update it. That means the news you read here is always changing. So come on Heathcote, be sure to send your story now and come back soon to see it in print!
Our new gallery is open.
The Heathcote Photo Gallery is worth a visit. It's full of interesting photos of our valley from past to present. Our gallery never shuts!
A Ferrymead Heritage Park resident, Shane Price, is passionate about bicycles and has always wanted to make a reproduction of the fireman's bicycle built by Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) in 1905. The bike was designed for firemen on duty in petrochemical plants. When the park's "Fire Services Special" event was announced, Price had the inspiration he needed to meet the challenge.
Working from a photograph in "Bicycles - Le Biciclette", a book written by Fermo Galbiati and Nino Ciravegna, Price's creation has come together with the enthusiastic help of Welding Maintenance in central Christchurch (Gordon installed the front carrier and the ring for the hose reel), the Fire Services Historical Society (who provided the hose and branch - the nozzle that delivers the water, and much encouragement), vendors in India and America who listed the helmet and siren, respectively, on E-Bay, and his family who have shared their lounge floor with bicycle parts for several weeks!
At some time between 11:00 am and 11:30 am today a truck apparently
attempted to pass under the rail bridge over Martindales Road despite
being over height.
In it's efforts to get through and then out,
significant damage was done to this well known Heathcote Valley
landmark. Authorities would appreciate any information from anybody who saw the incident and those involved.
It appears that the truck managed to get under the
bridge and as far through as the yellow steel bracing structure on the
east side. It then became jammed there, taking the structure away from
the abutment until the chains, attaching the structure to the rest of
the bridge, stopped any further progress.
While the rest of Christchurch was experiencing some very average autumn weather, the sun was shining in Heathcote Valley one Sunday in April when nearly 50 people put on their walking shoes and took to the streets on a sponsored walk benefiting the St Mary’s Village Hall redevelopment project.
The walk took the participants on a ‘round the Valley walk’ of approximately 5 kilometres. The participants were community members and parishioners alike and there were a number of children who took part, some on trikes and the very young in pushchairs. Local Port Hills MP, Ruth Dyson, came along and joined us.
[Local lad Timothy Mostert, and his school friends, recently made a memorable visit to Europe. Highlights were visits to areas with famous ANZAC connections. In the first of a three part series, they write about their impressions of the First World War battlefield of Ypres, an area that claimed the lives of 1000s of New Zealanders.]
Upon getting to Ypres we wandered down to the Menin Gate. This is a memorial to all the dead soldiers who lie somewhere on the battlefields of Ypres, but without a designated grave. Every night since 1928 (but not during 1940-1945) they hold a last post ceremony to honour the brave lads who perished on the battlefields there. It was a really moving ceremony with over 1000 people in attendance (yes, over 1000!) and they hold this ceremony every night, 365 days a year.
Heathcote residents, fed up with 10 years of Christchurch City Council ‘‘shilly-shallying’’, say a tragedy is almost inevitable at the Lyttelton interchange. The Heathcote Valley Community Association said the cycleway, which pedestrians share on a hazardous stretch on Port Hills Rd under the Lyttelton flyover, must be re-routed urgently.
Chairman Ian McLeod has again asked the Christchurch City Council to
press the Transport Agency to come up with a joint proposal for safe
passage through the ‘‘dangerous intersection’’. Last year, the state
roading authority designated the sidewalks along the Heathcote stretch
of the heavy transport route as shared pedestrian cycleways.
It's enough to make one bang one's head against a railway embankment brick wall. The Heathcote Valley Community Association's attempts to tidy up, nay, even beautify the area surrounding the Martindales Road railway underpass have been fraught with setbacks.
It started when thieves and vandals stole what they wanted and trashed the rest. We knew that was always a possibility. What we hadn't anticipated was that the biggest threat to our project should come from an entity that would benefit from the work we did, at no cost to themselves (and believe me, we asked), Ontrack.
The first instance was on 9 January this year around 11.30 pm. We had only been home a very short while when there was a loud sound of smashing glass like jars falling out of a pantry cupboard. I found a glass panel in our front door smashed and a 2 kg boulder on our bedroom floor.
This could have only happened by someone being on the property as the door is not seen from the roadway. The police were called immediately and I became aware the next day of properties around the valley having the same thing done. At least seven to eight that I am aware of. Others have also called the police.
[Matthew Hayman, Secretary of the neighbouring Lyttelton Harbour Landscape Protection Association, has some concerns about what's happening to the Resource Management Act. So much so, he's fronting up to a Select Committee to argue his case. We find out why.]
New Zealand's Resource Management Act is certainly in the news these days. With some people loving it, and others hating it, the only thing that seems certain is that changes are in store for this piece of legislation. Given that our local community groups will have to work with the consequences, it seems important to understand what it all means.
