The stones and gravel that now lay in the foundations of many of the roads around Burnside came from this quarry. The main development of Burnside as a suburb took place after World War I.
The Fendalton Quarry was made up of three pits. A natural spring near Roydvale Ave eventually filled the main pit with water once it had became unused. This became known as Bryndwr Lake. At places, the lake was 6 metres deep.
Bryndwr Lake became a place where locals came to swim, even though the water was very cold and the weeds would easily tangle around your feet.
With water skiing, fishing (Brown and Rainbow Trout) and midget car racing, the lake I’m sure was a great favourite just to hang out. Tragically though, it was the site of a few drownings.
In 1965, the land was brought by the Roman Catholic Diocese who planned to build a church there. This never happened and by 1968, once the pits had been filled in, it was nothing more than a dump.
This area of Burnside remained a waste land for many years but slowly, during the 1990’s some businesses opened and have made a life on the old lake.
*image courtesy of the http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/ *
