Governors Bay


Governors Bay is a small town in Canterbury, New Zealand.

Geography

The settlement of Governors Bay is located on Banks Peninsula near the head of Lyttelton Harbour. It is connected via Governors Bay Road to Lyttelton, via Dyers Pass Road over the Port Hills to the Christchurch suburb of Cashmere, and via Main Road to the south side of the harbour basin and Banks Peninsula.

Amenities

Governors Bay School in Jetty Road caters for students from year 0 to year 8. From year 9 onwards, students attend one of the high schools in Christchurch. Cholmondeley Children´s Home in Cholmondeley Lane is a children's home providing quality short-term or emergency residential care for children, usually between the ages of 3–12 years, and support for their families. Governors Bay Hotel, founded in 1870, is one of the oldest hotels in continuous operation in New Zealand. It remained open after the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.

Heritage buildings

The Ohinetahi historic homestead, in Ohinetahi, is a Category I heritage building, and the associated formal garden is considered to be one of New Zealand's finest. A partnership of three purchased the property in 1977 and one of them, prominent Christchurch architect Sir Miles Warren, has lived in the property since soon afterwards. Damage from the September 2010 quake forced changes to lighten the upper story of the building. Sir Miles gifted the property "to the nation" in early 2013.
St Cuthbert's Church in Governors Bay Road, built in 1860, is also a Category I building. It was extensively damaged in the September 2010 quake, and its future is uncertain.
The original 1868 Governors Bay School and the associated school house are both Category II heritage structures, significant because there are very few remaining school buildings from provincial government times. The school is located on land donated by Thomas Potts.

Notable residents