Avonside

Story

Avonside is an eastern suburb in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is one of the oldest suburbs of the city, with only Heathcote being older.HistoryThe suburb was named after Holy Trinity Avonside, which was built beside the Avon River in 1855. The 1874 part of the church was designed by the eminent architect Benjamin Mountfort who is buried in the churchyard. The church was damaged in the 2010 Canterbury earthquake and whilst under repair, was damaged beyond repair in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake and demolished later that year. Avonside is home to Avonside Girls' High School. It also has the Avon River flowing through it.The boundaries of the original Anglican parish of Avonside were fixed in 1859 and covered much of what is now suburbs such as Aranui, Burwood, Linwood, Marshland, New Brighton, North New Brighton, Parklands and part of Phillipstown. The area once covered the whole of north east Christchurch as far as the River Styx.