Avonside

Avonside
Area
• Total	1.3420 km2 (0.5181 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Total	3,240
• Density	2,400/km2 (6,300/sq mi)

Avonside is an eastern suburb in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is one of the oldest suburbs of the city, with only Heathcote being older.

The 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.

The area borders the Avon River and is built on the rich soils of the Avon River flood plain. In the early years of Christchurch the area was known to be extremely swampy and difficult to travel across.

During the 4 September 2010 Canterbury earthquake, Avonside suffered a large amount of liquefaction. In particular Keller Street, Bracken Street, Retreat Road and Cowlishaw Street were left with large areas covered in water and grey silt. Avonside Drive also experienced a great deal of damage with cracked roads and buildings. Power and water were lost, in some cases for several days, and there was extensive damage to the sewer system.

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