English: A beacon of hope in the midst of the Great Depression, Christchurch’s iconic New Regent Street shopping complex opened on 1 April, 1932.

A few days earlier, on 19 March, 300,000 Sydneysiders had borne witness to the opening of one of their own great icons, the magnificent Harbour Bridge. That ceremony did not pass without incident however, with the Premier of New South Wales, Jack Lang, being infamously gazumped at the ribbon-cutting by a sword-brandishing ex-Hussar colonel on horseback, Francis De Groot.

Attendees at Christchurch’s slightly more modest affair couldn’t resist the urge to allude to the recent events in Sydney. According to the newspapers, during the speeches a man in the crowd provoked hearty laughter when he excitedly yelled to Mayor Daniel Sullivan “Look out for the joker with the sword, Dan!” The Mayor later retorted, to the amusement of the crowd, that he had been scrutinising their faces carefully for any sign of De Groot, but as all present were exonerated, the ribbon-cutting ceremony would proceed as planned.

New Regent Street, with its numerous specialty shops designed in the distinctive ‘Spanish Mission’ style by local architect Harry Francis Willis, was built over a three year period on a site that had already witnessed its fair share of excitement. From the early 1860s the then paddock served as a temporary home for circuses travelling through the city, and from the late 1880s onwards, after an enormous hall known as the ‘Colosseum’ was built on the site, it was variously transformed into a skating rink, boot factory, and picture theatre.

Once again, just as they did when they first opened their doors during the Depression, New Regent Street’s boutique stores, with their brightly coloured and intricately ornate facades, have cheered Christchurch residents during an immensely difficult period. After undergoing extensive renovation in the wake of the 2011 Earthquake, the street was reopened to the public in April 2013. Now the only complete heritage streetscape in the city, it stands amongst the rubble, as a monument to the endeavours of the past, and a symbol of the city’s hopes for a vibrant future.

Archives New Zealand’s Christchurch Regional Office holds a wealth of historical material relating to the Canterbury and Westland areas. These images come from the prospectus of Regent Street Limited (the company behind the development of the complex). The prospectus and the papers of the company can be viewed in person in our Christchurch Reading Room, and come from the following file:

Regent Street Ltd. – 1930-1946

Archives New Zealand/Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga Christchurch Regional Office [Archives Reference: CH233/47, 1930/11].