Mother Aidan Phelan was Mother Superior at Mount Magdala Asylum from 1907 to 1920 and again in 1929 to 1936. The Good Shepherd Sisters had owned the land since 1886.
Mount Magdala was a home for troubled girls and for women who had just been released from prison. The main income for the home was laundry works. This area that was to become a housing development became ‘Aidanfield’ officially on the 31.01.2001.
In 2007, Aidanfield was in the papers as the developers had asked for permission to knock 4 historical Madgala farm buildings down. Under protest, with the backing of the New Zealand Historical Society, the fight was taken to court. It was said:
“…farm buildings in their current form have a high regional and moderate heritage significance and therefore should be considered with the Deans’ farm buildings to be the most significant heritage farm buildings in Christchurch…”
They were demolished anyway…
*Photos taken by Annette Bulovic*
