Addington is a major suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is sited 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) south-west of the city centre.

As an inner city suburb, Addington has a mix of residential, retail and light industrial properties.

History

19th century

For the first decade after the founding of Christchurch in 1850, Addington was farmland, consisting of large rural sections. In the early 1860s, the railway was surveyed through the area and subdivision of the larger sections began. Factories moved in; wool and grain sheds opened; and with the industry came working class residential settlement.

Development continued throughout the 19th century: the city’s sale yards opened in 1874 and the railway workshops were moved to Addington in 1880. By the time the show grounds were opened in 1887, Addington had become an important suburb in the industrial and social life of Christchurch.^[3] In 1874 the Addington Prison was built in Lincoln Road; it closed in 1999 and the Mountfort cell block and remaining perimeter walls are a Heritage New Zealand Historic Place Category 2.^[4]

The suburb was named for the country residence of Archbishop John Sumner, one of the leading members of the Canterbury Association, and who was buried in St Mary’s Church, Addington in England.^[5]

20th century

The New Zealand Railways Department‘s Addington Workshops were situated in Addington until their closure in the 1980s; the historic concrete water-tower survives, next to the new Christchurch railway station. The tower has served as the centrepoint for the adjacent Tower Junction shopping complex. The previous railway station is located on Moorhouse Avenue in neighbouring Sydenham. The new station at Addington opened in 1994 and now serves the TranzAlpine, which takes tourists on the 223-kilometre (139 mi) coast-to-coast journey from Christchurch to Greymouth. Addington was the home of the oldest blending plant in the Southern Hemisphere until it was demolished after sustaining some damage in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The demolition of the plant sparked some controversy as the plant had been lined up to be carefully taken apart in an attempt to save Oregon timber valued at over $600,000.^[6]