The section of brick fence damaged by a car at the Ashburton Domain last weekend was originally built in 1930, to mark the 50th jubilee of the Ashburton Borough.

The brick fence was built in three stages – West Street, from Wills Street to the Curator’s Lodge; Wills Street; and the remainder of West Street to Walnut Avenue.

Police are investigating last weekend’s crash and Council will lodge an insurance claim to cover the cost of having the fence repaired.

Infrastructure and Open Spaces Group Manager Neil McCann said the fence had been constructed of bricks made locally at the Crum Brothers brick kiln, which stood as an Ashburton landmark until it was demolished in 1989.

“Staff have rescued as many of the original bricks as they can and they will be used in the rebuild. The next step is to engage a contractor to do the repair and get the process under way.”

The Ashburton Domain celebrates 160 years in 2024 and the green space is a key asset for the community and the venue for many gatherings, big and small. Events to mark its 160th birthday are being planned.

Archivist at the Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum, Connor Lysaght, has been able to dig up some of the history of the brick fence, following interest generated by the weekend’s crash.

Back in 1928, Advance Ashburton was the driving force behind the brick wall project, with the first section built to mark the 50th jubilee of the Ashburton Borough, which was established in 1878.

The wall (referred to as the “brick fence” back then) consists of three separate sections:

• West Street frontage, from Wills Street to Curator’s Lodge, was to mark the jubilee of the Ashburton Borough. Plans were proposed in April 1929, work commenced in October 1929 and the job was completed before July 1930.
• Wills Street frontage plans were proposed in March 1930, commenced about July 1930 and were completed January-February 1931.
• Plans for the remainder of the West Street frontage up to the Walnut Avenue corner were proposed in April 1932. Work commenced about June 1932 and was completed by July 1933.

After the first section was complete, the remainder of the West Street span was a mixture of macrocarpa and wire fence, and the Wills Street span was an old unsightly metal fence.

Council made sure to only approve plans from Advance Ashburton for the remaining sections of the wall that fit the same style as the first.