 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2008) |
Ferrymead Heritage Park is a museum in Christchurch, New Zealand, housing groups with historical themes, mainly transport related. Formerly known as Ferrymead Historic Park, it was founded in 1964 by groups, local government bodies and other interested parties. It is in the Heathcote Valley, at the site of New Zealand's first public railway.
This was the original name of the park. Groups came together in the early 1960s with a common interest in forming a museum of scientific and industrial history, including the Canterbury Branch of the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society, which had formed in the late 1950s to cater for local rail enthusiast interests. A pilot project was in Garvins Road, Hornby: their original proposed site was at Prebbleton, south-west of Christchurch. When that site became unavailable, interest was kindled at Ferrymead.
The Ferrymead Trust was incorporated in the late 1960s to represent the common interests of the societies. For many years its day-to-day activities were controlled by committees made up of members of some or all of its constituent groups. The Trust relied heavily on local and national government funding and much of its early building and construction work was carried out by unemployed relief workers in central government employment subsidy schemes. By the mid-1980s the structure of the Trust was seen as unwieldy, and reforms were implemented to bring a more businesslike approach to its operations, devolving day-to-day operations to appointed managers and representing society interests through a membership council.
The Trust continued to operate, but in the mid-1990s it had sustained heavy losses in the operation of the park, largely due to having a seven-day-per-week year-round operation with paid staff. As it appeared likely that the mortgagee would sell the park's assets, Christchurch City Council (CCC) assumed liability for the park's debt in return for hands-on management and the sale of various assets, including surplus land.
The CCC identified as a major stumbling block the operation of the park by numerous independent societies. In response, Ferrymead Park Ltd was established in 1998, a not-for-profit company owned by the Ferrymead Trust. The park is now managed and operated by Ferrymead Park Ltd, and receives CCC core-funding. Ownership and control of the resources of the individual societies continues to be vested in these groups. During the company's tenure visitor numbers and turnover have increased, and Ferrymead has the 'Qualmark' tourism endorsement. The number of volunteer groups involved in the Park has also increased. Maintenance of the grounds and buildings is predominantly carried out by paid staff, enthusiastically assisted by the efforts of a small team of staff and service users of IDEA Services Ltd, a division of IHC, the largest national organisation providing support and advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities.
The following societies are currently active:
Other societies have come and gone, notably the Ferrymead Military Museum Society. Heathcote Studios Theatrical Society is the most recent member.
The park is in the Heathcote Valley. Being close to the sea and low-lying, it was historically subjected to frequent flooding. A major event was the "Wahine Storm" of 1968, in which a large part of the site, then in embryonic development, was under water. This is no longer a major issue due to the filling of large parts of the site. Since the active involvement of the CCC began in the mid-1990s, flood and stormwater management have been implemented in the park and surrounding lands. The major project of the Heathcote Valley Park aims to integrate these along with the development of wildlife habitat areas and native plantings.
In the days of being managed by the Heathcote County Council, prior to local government amalgamation of 1989, part of the site was used as a rubbish dump. The raised location known as "Woods Hill" was formed artificially by the large-scale compacting of refuse dumped there over a number of years. This area is rather unstable land and buildings constructed there without appropriate foundations have been damaged by subsidence. The Tamaki Brothers of Rotorua received substantial CCC assistance to construct a tourist Māori village on the site, which opened in 2007.
Radio Ferrymead is a radio station operated by the Radio Preservation Society (RPS) in Christchurch, New Zealand. The RPS is a non-profit incorporated society based at the Ferrymead Heritage Park, whose aim is to collect, preserve and display radio and radio related historical items. The station normally broadcasts from Friday 8.00am through until Monday midnight and from 8.00am to 6.00pm during Statutory and Christmas/New Year Holidays. The studio is open to the public on weekends between 10.00 am to 4.30 pm. Live broadcasts are done by volunteers during daytime and automated music plays at night.
The station broadcasts a mix of historical musical recordings from dancebands, stage, screen, radio and television covering music from the 1930s to the 1980s. The station transmits on 1413 kHz AM at 900W from a nearby aerial, and its historic call sign was 3XP. The station plays music from 78rpm recordings as well as vinyl LPs and 45s, compact discs, cassette tapes, reel-to-reel tapes and automated mp3 music on computer. [1]
Ferrymead is a suburb south-east of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is the main thoroughfare for reaching the eastern sea suburbs such as Sumner, as well as home to a number of cliff-top residences and businesses along the estuary front. After the 2011 Canterbury earthquake, a number of prominent Christchurch businesses relocated to the Ferrymead area, making it into a secondary business hub.
The Ferrymead Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway built upon the track formation of New Zealand's first public railway, from Ferrymead to Christchurch, which opened on 1 December 1863. On the opening of the line to Lyttelton on 9 December 1867, the Ferrymead Railway became the Ferrymead Branch and was closed shortly thereafter. In 1964, rail enthusiasts began relaying track on the historic formation and the new 3 ft 6 in narrow gauge. Ferrymead Railway officially reopened in 1977. It now operates steam, diesel and electric trains regularly and is recognised as one of the most significant rail preservation sites in New Zealand.
Railway preservation in New Zealand is the preservation of historically significant facets of New Zealand's rail transport history. The earliest recorded preservation attempt took place in 1925, although the movement itself did not start properly until 1960.
The Canterbury Railway Society is an organisation of railway enthusiasts based in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island, best known for their operation of The Ferrymead Railway at the Ferrymead Heritage Park.
The Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River lies within the city boundaries of Christchurch, New Zealand, and is fed from springs near Templeton Road, with a catchment area in wet weather extending as far west as Yaldhurst and Pound Road. It meanders around the base of the Port Hills from west to south-east.
Cashmere is a suburb which rises above the southern end of the city of Christchurch in New Zealand's South Island.
The Bridle Path is a steep shared-use track that traverses the northern rim of the Lyttelton volcano connecting the port of Lyttelton with the city of Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand. It is a popular walking and mountain biking route. The track ascends from the port itself to a height of 333 metres (1,093 ft) before descending again via Heathcote Valley to Christchurch. At the summit, next to the Summit Road, is a stone shelter with covered seats that is a 1940 New Zealand centennial memorial to the Pioneer Women of Canterbury. There are also seven commemorative stone seats placed along the Bridle Path; most of these were built for the 1950 Canterbury centenary celebrations.
The NZR EO class of 1923 were electric locomotives used on the steep Otira to Arthurs Pass section of the Midland Line in New Zealand. They were primarily needed for pulling trains through the 1 in 33 grade 8.5 km (5.3 mi) Otira Tunnel which was too long and steep to allow steam locomotives to be used.
The NZR W class consisted of two steam locomotives built at the Addington Railway Workshops in Christchurch, New Zealand by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR). They were the first locomotives to be built by NZR.
The Christchurch tramway system was an extensive network in Christchurch, New Zealand, with steam and horse trams from 1882. Electric trams ran from 1905 to 1954, when the last line from Cashmere to Papanui was replaced by buses.
Trams in New Zealand were a major form of transport from the 19th century into the mid-20th century. New Zealand's first (horse) tramway was established in 1862 (Nelson), followed by a steam tramway in 1871 (Thames), and the first electric tramway in 1900. In New Zealand railway terminology a bush tramway is an industrial tramway, which usually did not carry passengers.
Lyttelton Line is a name sometimes used to refer to the section of the Main South Line in New Zealand's South Island between Lyttelton and Christchurch, and can also be used to refer to the operations on this section. As it has always been part of the Main South Line, this name has never been officially used to refer to the track itself.
The Diesel Traction Group (DTG) is the Christchurch-based operator of a fleet of ex-New Zealand Railways Department diesel-electric locomotives. The fleet represents a full collection of New Zealand locomotive classes built by the English Electric Company and is a historically significant collection of early New Zealand diesel traction. All of the DTG's locomotives are owned by individual members through the sale of shareholdings.
Christchurch tramway routes have developed from lines that were first established by a troika of private tramway companies in the latter part of the 19th century, through to a significantly expanded system under the municipal Christchurch Tramway Board, to the City Council-built heritage circuit. These routes have been worked by all three main forms of tramway motive power and have significantly contributed to the development of Christchurch City in New Zealand's South Island.
The Tramway Historical Society Inc. is located at the Ferrymead Heritage Park in the Christchurch, New Zealand suburb of Ferrymead and operates the standard gauge Ferrymead Tramway. Trams have operated at Ferrymead since 1968, with progressive extensions built between 1970 and 1984 allowing trams to operate within the boundaries of the Heritage Park. The Society also operates and own a collection of historic trolley buses and diesel buses.
The National Railway Museum of New Zealand (NRM) is a museum under construction in Christchurch, New Zealand that covers the history of the New Zealand railway network. Work is underway to open at Ferrymead Heritage Park in Ferrymead, Christchurch, at the site of New Zealand's first railway opened in 1863.
The Ferrymead 125 celebration was an event to celebrate 125 years of Rail transport in New Zealand. The event was held over a week from 17 to 24 October 1988, with trains running in, and to and from Christchurch.
NZ Rail 150 was a celebration of 150 years of Rail transport in New Zealand, held in 2013, 150 years since the first public railway opened at Ferrymead in Christchurch.
