Waltham, New Zealand

Okay, so I'm here in Waltham, which is a pretty interesting spot, just a couple of kilometers southeast of Christchurch city center. You'll definitely notice Brougham Street, which is part of State Highway 76, cutting right through, and the Lyttelton Line rail corridor is here too.

It's a real mix of residential areas and both light and heavy industry, which gives it a unique feel. You might want to check out Lancaster Park, which used to be a big sports venue and is now a community park. There's also the Waltham pool, which is pretty cool.

Historically, this area was actually part of the Sydenham borough until it was incorporated into Christchurch in 1903. The name "Waltham" itself goes way back to 1866. Apparently, an early settler named Charles Prince had a large home called Waltham House on Colombo Street South, and a meeting there decided to name the district after it.

Back in the day, the Christchurch gasworks was right on the inner boundary of Waltham until it closed around 1980. And you know, after the 2011 earthquakes, a malt works and some warehouses on Waltham Road were actually demolished and redeveloped into all these two and three-bedroom townhouses, which is quite a change.

Something else I learned is that in the early 80s, locals and the council tried to name the western part of Waltham, specifically between Ferry Road and Ensors Road, "Charleston." They really wanted to keep it residential and prevent industrial expansion, and it sort of worked – that area is still referred to as both Waltham and Charleston.

If you're here during the summer, the Waltham swimming pools are open. They were badly damaged in the 2011 earthquakes but reopened in January 2015 after a pretty extensive repair job that cost about $3.2 million. They’ve got a nine-lane, 33-meter pool, a toddler pool, and even a waterslide! There are also a couple of schools, Waltham School and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Waitaha. So, yeah, quite a bit of history and modern life all blended together here.