Halswell Quarry

Halswell Quarry is a large park built on the site of a former stone quarry near Christchurch, offering multiple walking tracks and natural rock formations. The grounds span former industrial land and now display a mix of restored landscape areas and native plantings throughout the site.

Stone quarrying operations began in 1861 and continued until 1990, extracting blue-grey stone used in major Christchurch buildings. This stone was essential to constructing landmarks such as Canterbury Museum and Sunnyside Hospital.

The park features gardens that represent partner cities from around the world, showing how the region connects with distant communities. Walking through these planted areas gives visitors a sense of the place's international relationships.

Visitors enter through the Kennedys Bush Road entrance, where parking and toilet facilities are available throughout the day. The park opens early in the morning and remains accessible for walking the various tracks at any time during daylight hours.

Three original buildings from the quarry's working period remain on the site: a 1912 stone crushing workshop, 1922 workers' barracks, and a 1927 manager's house. These structures offer direct insight into how daily work unfolded during the industrial era.