Revamped Victoria Square nearly ready
Christchurch’s Victoria Square will reopen on Friday after over a year of earthquake repairs.
The work to the public park, on the corner of Colombo and Armagh streets, has cost $7.6 million. The project included repairing adjacent footpaths and underground pipes.
Another $5.1m of work is still being completed on the roads next to the square and is due to be finished in April.
About 17,500 new plants have been added to the square and about
170,000 new pavers laid, while
3 kilometres of pipes and cabling have been placed below ground. About 58,000 hours of labour have gone into the park and roadworks.
A lot of the work is not visible, such as new drainage, electrics and irrigation, which will help improve the life of the square.
The restoration was managed by Crown rebuild company O¯ ta¯karo. Chief executive Albert Brantley said it was rare to be part of a construction job where the aim was ‘‘to keep almost everything the same’’, including keeping heritage items like the Queen Victoria and Captain Cook statues just as people remembered them.
Improvements had been made, including widening paths and upgrading the lighting to make the square more accessible.
‘‘By replacing the cracked paths, stopping the pavers slipping towards the river and fixing the Bowker Fountain we can ensure the best of Christchurch is on show for anyone in the central city,’’ Brantley said.
The 38-tonne Bowker Fountain, which was temporarily removed so the pool could be rebuilt and fountain mechanics replaced, was a major part of the restoration – but the average Cantabrian has mispronounced the fountain’s name for years.
The first syllable should be pronounced like the bow in ‘‘bow and arrow’’, as opposed to bow as in what performers do during applause.
The fountain is named after Christchurch businessman Henry Bowker, who left the city £1000 for a statue or fountain in front of the town hall when he died in 1921. It was the only electric fountain in New Zealand when unveiled in February 26, 1931.
Bowker’s great great niece, Wendy Nichols, said the mispronunciation had upset her for years.
‘‘All my life it’s annoyed me it’s been pronounced incorrectly.’’
Even tram drivers giving guided tours of the city got the pronunciation wrong, she said.
‘‘Seeing that the family coat of arms has a bow and arrow on the top of it, it has to be Bowker.’’
Bowker was born in England in 1840 and sailed to New Zealand with his brother Charles on the Zealandia, arriving in Lyttelton in 1863.
He started out as a labourer, but soon went into business as a grocer, then moved into real estate, property speculation and pub ownership. His grocery store – and later office – was on Colombo St near the site of Victoria Square.
Bowker hoped the fountain would be placed in front of the town hall, but it ended up being put behind the building.