Hawksbury, New Zealand
Encyclopedia
Hawksbury also known as "Cherry Farm" (and sometimes erroneously as "Evansdale") is a small residential and industrial area beside State Highway 1
between Dunedin
and Waikouaiti
.
Cherry Farm Hospital, a psychiatric
hospital serving the Dunedin area opened here in 1952 and patients from Seacliff Mental Hospital
at Seacliff
were relocated here. Cherry Farm Hospital epitomised the village-asylum atmosphere in name and design, contrasting with the harsh conditions in the fortress-like Seacliff hospital.
When the hospital closed in 1992, some patients were transferred to Wakari Hospital
in Dunedin while others were re-housed in the community as part of a mainstream
ing policy.
One of the re-housing projects was the Hawksbury Community Living Trust which according to its website was "initially set up in 1992 to provide quality residential support for people with intellectual disabilities. The service opened its first home in Dunedin April 1992 and has since opened 10 further homes in Dunedin and Christchurch."
There are also shops, a post office, library and school, all of which are unused. The former hospital chapel is used regularly by a local Christian
group. Shown above in the picture captioned "Former hospital building in 2008", there is a Creation Museum explaining the seven days of God's Creation and the Worldwide Flood of Noah http://www.creation-museum.org.nz.
Larger multi-storey office and accommodation buildings have been developed as low-cost rental housing.
A swimming pool, Moana Gow Pool, remaining from the hospital days, serves the surrounding areas of Waikouaiti, Karitane
and Blueskin Bay
. (This should not be confused with the olympic-sized pool in Dunedin with a similar name.)
Hawksbury's main business and attraction to passing traffic is the Evansdale Cheese
factory and shop, which relocated here from Evansdale
when it outgrew its old premises.
There is also a local Kyokushin
Karate
club that runs in Hawskbury Hall with members from the surrounding areas of Waikouaiti, Palmerston
, Karitane and Macraes.
name for the settlement at Waikouaiti, and is still applied to the Hawksbury Lagoon and several businesses there. The developers of Hawksbury probably changed the name from Cherry Farm because of the social stigma
attached to the psychiatric hospital. The area's association with mental health
care is maintained in the name of the Hawksbury Community Living Trust. The cheese factory's prominent signage here sometimes leads to Hawksbury being erroneously referred to as Evansdale
.
State Highway 1 (New Zealand)
State Highway 1 is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand roading network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the official designations SH 1N in the North Island, SH 1S in the...
between Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
and Waikouaiti
Waikouaiti
Waikouaiti is a small town in East Otago, New Zealand, within the city limits of Dunedin. The town is close to the coast and the mouth of the Waikouaiti River....
.
Cherry Farm Hospital
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
hospital serving the Dunedin area opened here in 1952 and patients from Seacliff Mental Hospital
Seacliff Lunatic Asylum
Seacliff Lunatic Asylum was a psychiatric hospital in Seacliff, New Zealand. When built in the late 19th century, it was the largest building in the country, noted for its scale and extravagant architecture...
at Seacliff
Seacliff, New Zealand
Seacliff is a small village located north of Dunedin in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. The village lies roughly half way between the estuary of Blueskin Bay and the mouth of the Waikouaiti River at Karitane, on the eastern slopes of Kilmog hill...
were relocated here. Cherry Farm Hospital epitomised the village-asylum atmosphere in name and design, contrasting with the harsh conditions in the fortress-like Seacliff hospital.
When the hospital closed in 1992, some patients were transferred to Wakari Hospital
Wakari Hospital
Wakari Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located in Dunedin, New Zealand.It is situated in the suburb of Wakari, about three kilometres north-west of the city centre...
in Dunedin while others were re-housed in the community as part of a mainstream
Mainstream
Mainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....
ing policy.
One of the re-housing projects was the Hawksbury Community Living Trust which according to its website was "initially set up in 1992 to provide quality residential support for people with intellectual disabilities. The service opened its first home in Dunedin April 1992 and has since opened 10 further homes in Dunedin and Christchurch."
Hawksbury today
Hawksbury has a looped network of curving streets in a typical post-war "public works" plan. There were a number of small hospital residential buildings known as "villas", some have been converted and modernised as houses and many others have been demolished.There are also shops, a post office, library and school, all of which are unused. The former hospital chapel is used regularly by a local Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
group. Shown above in the picture captioned "Former hospital building in 2008", there is a Creation Museum explaining the seven days of God's Creation and the Worldwide Flood of Noah http://www.creation-museum.org.nz.
Larger multi-storey office and accommodation buildings have been developed as low-cost rental housing.
A swimming pool, Moana Gow Pool, remaining from the hospital days, serves the surrounding areas of Waikouaiti, Karitane
Karitane
The seaside settlement of Karitane is located within the limits of the city of Dunedin in New Zealand, 35 kilometres to the north of the city centre....
and Blueskin Bay
Blueskin Bay
Blueskin Bay is an estuary in coastal Otago, about 25 km north of Dunedin.The name also unofficially describes the rural district which includes the northern slopes of Mount Cargill, the southern slopes of the Kilmog, and the townships of Doctors Point, Waitati, Evansdale, Warrington, and...
. (This should not be confused with the olympic-sized pool in Dunedin with a similar name.)
Hawksbury's main business and attraction to passing traffic is the Evansdale Cheese
Evansdale Cheese
Evansdale Cheese Factory is a small New Zealand producer of hand-made cheeses, located at Hawksbury in Otago, about 35km north of Dunedin on State Highway 1...
factory and shop, which relocated here from Evansdale
Evansdale, New Zealand
Evansdale is a locality on State Highway 1, 25km north of Dunedin, at the north west of Blueskin Bay. It also has lent its name to a cheese producer, and a census-gathering district, which recorded 1,284 people in 2006.-History:...
when it outgrew its old premises.
There is also a local Kyokushin
Kyokushin
is a style of stand-up, full contact karate, founded in 1964 by Korean-Japanese karate master, who was born under the name Choi Young-Eui . Kyokushinkai is Japanese for "the society of the ultimate truth". Kyokushin is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline and hard training...
Karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
club that runs in Hawskbury Hall with members from the surrounding areas of Waikouaiti, Palmerston
Palmerston, New Zealand
The town of Palmerston, in New Zealand's South Island lies 50 kilometres to the north of the city of Dunedin. It is the largest town in the Waihemo Ward of the Waitaki District with a population of 890 residents...
, Karitane and Macraes.
Place names
The name Hawksbury, very often mis-spelled Hawkesbury, was an early EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
name for the settlement at Waikouaiti, and is still applied to the Hawksbury Lagoon and several businesses there. The developers of Hawksbury probably changed the name from Cherry Farm because of the social stigma
Social stigma
Social stigma is the severe disapproval of or discontent with a person on the grounds of characteristics that distinguish them from other members of a society.Almost all stigma is based on a person differing from social or cultural norms...
attached to the psychiatric hospital. The area's association with mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
care is maintained in the name of the Hawksbury Community Living Trust. The cheese factory's prominent signage here sometimes leads to Hawksbury being erroneously referred to as Evansdale
Evansdale, New Zealand
Evansdale is a locality on State Highway 1, 25km north of Dunedin, at the north west of Blueskin Bay. It also has lent its name to a cheese producer, and a census-gathering district, which recorded 1,284 people in 2006.-History:...
.