Redwood, Christchurch — Area Guide & Where to Stay

What are the main landmarks in Redwood?

No plaque or gallery marks Redwood. The heritage register attaches no building, monument or museum to Redwood, so the features that stand out are natural and administrative rather than built, the Styx River along the north and the Redwood Springs sub-division inside. Tōtara and kahikatea once covered it.

That forest went to the settlers' axes, and what a visitor sees in Redwood is Christchurch housing on ground the bush used to hold.

What is the history of Redwood?

Swamp and bush came first. Tōtara and kahikatea made up the original forest cover on this ground, and the early settlers drained the wet and cut the trees to turn the four square kilometres into farmland, as they did across much of Christchurch. The bush did not come back.

Redwood reaches the register as a northern suburb with the Styx River on its edge and Redwood Springs inside it, with no charter year of its own.

Where is Redwood?

The Styx River runs along the northern boundary of Redwood, four square kilometres of Christchurch that once carried tōtara and kahikatea.