Thomas Edmonds Band Rotunda

Another gift to the fortunate folk of Christchurch by pioneering manufacturing tycoon TJ Edmonds. And another structure seriously compromised by the 2011 earthquakes.

Edmonds was a member of the Woolston Brass Band, Brass Bands being a popular hobby and entertainment source in Christchurch in the 1920s. So in 1929, he gifted the city this copper domed rotunda for outdoor concerts on the banks of the Avon River. It served the city well, in 1989 becoming a restaurant when its walls were glazed over.

Christchurch City Council has resolved to restore the rotunda complete with the glass walls, ending a seven year stretch where it sat in two parts upon the riverbank, the structure unable to support the dome until repairs are complete.

The rotunda forms a glamorous example of the philanthropy that followed the fortune made by the Edmonds family at their flour mill in Waltham, but their legacy was primarily social. As a large employer, the Edmonds factory was one where new labour laws were tried and enforced after the country's first labour legislation was introduced in the 1890s. They also introduced free kindergartens and other family friendly initiatives well before their time. Edmonds himself was said to have been very down-to-earth, in fact participating in a Brass Band was normally a pastime for workers rather than managers.

Christchurch City Libraries hold a list of the Edmonds gifts to the city, and the former Factory Gardens in Edmonds Park in Waltham is another remaining popular reminder of the philanthropic manufacturing family.

Image Credit: Edmonds Band Rotunda 1950s, Christchurch City Libraries