Throwback Thursday
The South Island's first shopping mall opened on Riccarton Rd in 1965.
Christchurch property manager Reuel Livingstone developed the concept for Riccarton Mall from shopping centres in Australia. His new, self-contained shopping centre included 66 stores and parking for 600 cars. Many property purchases and building additions, and with the new name of Westfield, it is still one of New Zealand's leading malls.
At first, almost surrounded by houses and vacant sections, it now covers the block bounded by Riccarton Rd and Matipo, Maxwell and Rotherham streets.
We don't have a current aerial photo of the mall, but the second photo attached below shows the mall in 2012 and how much the landscape had changed since the 1960s.
Neighbourhood Challenge: Who Can Crack This One? ⛓️💥❔
What has a head but no brain?
Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm on the day!
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Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Some Choice News!
Many New Zealand gardens aren’t seeing as many monarch butterflies fluttering around their swan plants and flower beds these days — the hungry Asian paper wasp has been taking its toll.
Thanks to people like Alan Baldick, who’s made it his mission to protect the monarch, his neighbours still get to enjoy these beautiful butterflies in their own backyards.
Thinking about planting something to invite more butterflies, bees, and birds into your garden?
Thanks for your mahi, Alan! We hope this brings a smile!
Book Cellar Christmas Opening hours
Merry Christmas from The Book Cellar!
The summer break is the perfect time to relax with a book or two (or three or four…). And, of course, books make excellent gifts. There is still time to come in and find the perfect read for you or someone else.
We are open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week as usual, then our Christmas hours are:
Monday 22nd December, 10am – 3pm
Wednesday 24th December, 10am – 12noon
Friday 26th December (Boxing Day), 10am – 1pm (last day for the year).
We will reopen with our usual hours on Thursday 8th January 2026
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