Public Bathing Pool at Cashel Street

The Ōtākaro Avon River was known as "a place of play" by Māori children who played on its banks during food gathering. John Deans, a settler, described it in 1844 as "a river of water clearer than crystal." Ngāi Tahu, and Ngāti Māmoe and Waitaha before them, considered the river culturally important due to its significance for settlement and mahinga kai. They had many settlements in the Ōtautahi area, from which they gathered resources from the surrounding landscape.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, this river was a hub for recreation, especially pleasure boating. There were several private pleasure gardens along its banks, with Professor Bickerton's at Wainoni being the most famous. In 1877, a deep channel was dredged right here at Cashel Street to create a public bathing pool. However, the water quality was an issue because of pollution from the public hospital, so it never really caught on.

Walking and cycling along the riverbanks were also popular, with easy access from nearby roads. Fishing became a pastime after trout were released into the river in the 1860s, though the trout population eventually declined. The river was also used for rowing competitions and practice. In 1950, the river at Wainoni was even diverted to straighten it and form Kerrs Reach, specifically for competitive rowing, which remains popular today.

Christchurch was founded on the river's banks in 1851, initially named the Shakespeare River by the Canterbury Association before the Deans family's name, Avon, was adopted. The river's role changed as its narrow, meandering shape and increased silt and weeds made navigation difficult, leading to land transport becoming preferred. Between 1850 and 1900, 144 people drowned in the river, leading to a bylaw for bollards and chains along the edge to reduce drownings. In the 1920s, a Christchurch tailor, R.B. Owen, founded a "River Improvement Fund" and planted 53 lime trees between Evelyn Cousins Avenue and Medway Street in Richmond, many of which are still here.

By the 1860s, water quality was already declining. A proposal to discharge the city's wastewater into the river was a concern. In 1875, the Christchurch Drainage Board planned to separate sewage and stormwater systems. While this plan diverted sewage for treatment, stormwater continued to drain into the rivers. By the 1880s, deaths from waterborne diseases dropped dramatically, but contaminants from stormwater and industrial waste still entered the river. Weeds were a major challenge, and in 1927, a hydraulic sweeper cleared them, but this sent a lot of silt down to the estuary. Today, contamination from stormwater, wastewater overflow, and other discharges still contribute to poor water quality.