Halswell Quarry Christchurch

Close to us, on the edge of Christchurch, Halswell Quarry is full of surprises. What was once a busy quarry is now a park where you can wander leafy tracks, go for a picnic, or soak up views of the Port Hills. One of its special features is the six Sister City gardens, each designed to reflect Christchurch’s friendships with cities around the world, from Adelaide to Seattle, and even as far as Songpa-gu in Seoul.

We had our first Spring Walk and as you see, the cherry trees are blooming

The quarry is a special place for us so I wrote a poem about it

Halswell Quarry

The stone bones
of Halswell Quarry
became the skeleton
of Christchurch’s early buildings.
Basalt braids woven
into the fabric of these cliffs.

Shifting air looks down
on green hills,
fields, and the path
where my footsteps wandered,
where my breath met silence
in times when memory weighed heavy,
in times when my steps were light.

On the ridge: the cradle
of my husband’s beginning.
The path still crosses
the garden he made as a child,
the remnants of his cactuses
softened into the ground.

Now, some cabbage trees
hang out on the hills,
a little gathering, chatting in the wind.
Now, Korean totem poles stand tall,
watching families spread picnics
in the Songpa-gu Garden.

Voices and laughter
cling to the air,
in the living green close
to my home,
close to my heart.

And still
the quarry listens.