Rediscovering Christchurch, Week Three

Ferrymead

This week I gathered up my parents and kids and we all went to Ferrymead. This is one of the places in Christchurch I've been intending to go ever since I got here ten years ago but never got around to it. I'm told I have actually been before but since I don't remember it at all I'm counting this as a 'new' place.

The first thing I have to say is that it's a lot bigger than I had expected. I hadn't realised that it was more than the heritage village, but there is also a fascinating array of museums and displays by a whole bunch of diverse groups. We were also there on a steam train day which had my boys fascinated. We rode every train and tram there (some more than once) and they found the experience really exciting. The best part about the train and the tram is that once you pay for the ticket you can ride them as many times as you'd like, so the boys were able to climb on and go as often as they wanted. We were there for several hours and I know we missed a lot of what was on offer.

In the heritage village itself we talked to a few of the people who run the buildings and one of the guys showed us pictures of the house he was in charge of. Its chimney fell through the roof of the back room so people can't go in there, though it's the first time I've been that up close to a collapsed roof. Up close like that it's quite confronting to see and then you move through into the kitchen where the pantry has been basically wiped out of all its crockery. For those of us who weren't very badly affected it's a good way to see what happened without feeling like you're intruding on the residents of the badly hit areas. They have also made the decision not to use the fire in the kitchen anymore since the earthquake because of safety worries, so I'm not sure what they do for cooking anymore. One thing I hadn't known is that they actually live out there so they were in that tiny little old house, up a very narrow set of stairs while the pantry crashed to the floor and the chimney fell through the roof. This is just one of the many buildings that will have to be repaired and the whole back half of the house is coming down and will be out of action for a while. So, there you have it – Ferrymead is yet another place in the city that has been affected, directly, by the quake. They are covered by insurance and he was putting a good spin on it but you can see that it's hard for them to deal with and this is another place that could use our support.

The rest of the village is interesting as well, and the kids were particularly fascinated by the old school house, but what I found most interesting were the buildings at the far end of the park with a variety of different groups inhabiting them. My favourites of the day were the old hangars with some old planes (complete with a suitcase just like the one I used when I was a kid), the trolley buses (where they proudly showed us one of the three oldest operating trolley buses in the world along with a picture of what it looked like when they got it – they have done a lot of dedicated work fixing it up) and the model trains. My younger son is now absolutely besotted with trains of all sizes and shapes. The day we went, there were several people in the largest room working on the trains and scenery and we were able to go inside and see the trains right up close as well as bits of the scenery that are still being constructed. The guys in there were really knowledgeable and passionate about what they do and I was really happy with how nice they were to all my kids. If this place is open when you go it's definitely worth talking to these guys (and the trolley bus ones too) about what they do.

Other places to check into on Foursquare:

The paper a few days ago contained the welcome news that Cross Brothers butchery is re-opening in Sydenham. It's not close to Ferrymead, but as it was one of the businesses shutting its doors in the wake of the earthquake that inspired me to do this, I really feel the need to rejoice that it's on its way back. I remember shopping there years ago when my grandparents lived on that side of town and I remember it as a great place. When it comes back do go and support them as this is one piece of happy news among all the stories of businesses shutting down. While we're on the subject of Sydenham there's an art week from February 28 until March 5 which ends with a market day on March 5th. Since Sydenham has suffered pretty badly and is still one of the most damaged areas we should all get out and support those businesses during that week. I know I'll be there and I'd love to see some more of your smiling faces there with me.