Linwood, New Zealand


Linwood is an inner suburb of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It lies to the east of the city centre, mostly between Ferry Road and Linwood Avenue, two of the major arterial roads to the eastern suburbs of Christchurch.

History

Linwood was given its name by Joseph Brittan, who purchased rural section 300 in Avonside. The adjoining rural section 301 was to be part of the farm, but the right was sold but probably farmed with rural section 300 and was eventually bought back by his son in 1874. To this was added a small part of section 30 to give access in 1855 and 21-year lease for the adjoining sections in 1862 giving a total area of about 380 acres. He called the farm Linwood, as he was from Linwood, Hampshire. Brittan built Linwood House at 30 Linwood Avenue in 1857, which stood there until demolition following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
Christchurch lacked an accessible port before the construction of the Lyttelton Rail Tunnel in 1867. This posed a significant problem for the fledgling city. A barge service along what is now Linwood Avenue was mooted prior to this tunnel but was never completed.

Parks

The largest parks in Linwood are Bromley Park and the adjacent Linwood Cemetery, followed by Beverley Park and the North Linwood Community Park. As there are no defined suburb boundaries in Christchurch, post code boundaries are sometimes used for suburb boundaries. According to Google Maps, most of Woodham Park is located in Linwood whilst only part of Linwood Park belongs to the eponymous suburb. Most commonly, Aldwins Road and Linwood Avenue are considered the boundary roads of Woolston and if so, Linwood Park is located in Woolston.

Goods and services

Linwood's commercial area is concentrated around the intersection of Linwood Avenue and Aldwins Road / Buckleys Road. Eastgate Mall lies on the eastern corner of this intersection.

Education

Local schools include: