Extension to Christchurch tram allows patrons to circle the city

The Team Reporter from The Press

The extension to Christchurch's tram has finally been completed and was opened to the public on Thursday.

Trams now continue travelling from the corner of Manchester St along High St, up Tuam St and turning into Poplar St before heading back down Lichfield St.

Christchurch City Council head of transport and waste management Lynette Ellis said the project had "really added to the special character of High St".

A new tram stop and shelter had also been installed at the intersection of Tuam and High
streets intersection

The life-sized bronze corgis that were installed in High St
in 2003 to mark the Queen’s golden jubilee have been moved to sit
beside the new shelter.

Jewel Lewis, 78, made the most of her time hunkering down at home during Covid to create a special tribute to Christchurch's tram.

"Forty years ago, while driving down the long drive into the Canterbury Sun Club at Rolleston, I was always taken with an old tram sitting in a paddock and used as a shed. Our Pop was particularly fond of it as he used to drive the same tram on the Sumner route many years before," she said.

"It has since been on my bucket list to replicate this in miniature and I have finally done so. I researched it, drew up all the plans ... and sent it through to my 85-year-old friend who has a laser cutter in his back shed."

She then made kits for her miniaturist-loving friends. The photos below show one tram in pristine form "as a lady shed snug" and one in "bashed form where it turns into an old decrepit shed".