A window to the past in Aidanfield

Canterbury’s heritage has been captured in a unique remembrance structure that recalls and tells the story of Mount Magdala, a pioneering women’s refuge in Halswell, and its historical farm buildings.

Titled “A Place to Shelter”, the new structure in McMahon Reserve outlines the history of the area and incorporates repurposed heritage material from the original Mount Magdala farm. 

The remembrance shelter in McMahon Reserve.

The Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton Community Board has been involved in the design options.

“We are delighted a new remembrance structure, titled ‘A Place to Shelter’, now features in McMahon Reserve, incorporating heritage material from the original Mount Magdala farm. It brings history to life in the Aidanfield area,” Community Board chairman Mike Mora says.

The shelter – featuring informative panels – stands on the site of the farm that once provided all the food for Mount Magdala, and, later, St Joseph’s Orphanage.

It presents a new chapter in the story of the many shelters sited on the land. By using material from the original farm, it acknowledges the rural and social history of the area now known as Aidanfield. Indeed, Aidanfield was named after one of Mount Magdala’s founding sisters, Mother Aidan Phelan.

Established in the 1880s, Mount Magdala was a largely self-sufficient home run by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. The farm buildings were arranged in a u-shape with a central courtyard, replicating the traditional English farmstead seldom seen in New Zealand.

Mount Magdala provided food and shelter for hundreds of women, and later children, until 1966.

Come and celebrate the official opening of “A Place to Shelter” on Sunday, 23 July at 11.45am at McMahon Reserve at the corner of McMahon Drive and Aidanfield Drive.