Kennedy's Bush Scenic Reserve

In 1906 a survey found 96 species of flora in the reserve. Today the reserve still contains a wide variety of native species of plant. These include ferns, grasses, trees and climbing flowers, as well as and some threatened species including native speargrass, kānuka, rōhutu, and tōtara. Native birds are present in the reserve, including korimako, Tūī were also present during the early 20th century. Pest control has been ongoing in the area as far back as 1920, when more than 4000 rabbits were trapped in the area. Multiple agencies and community groups have been working to eliminate pest animals in the reserve since the 1990s. ==History==

The area was originally owned by Thomas Kennedy from 1856, who harvested timber from the forest. Beginning in 1900 politician Harry Ell began a campaign to preserve access to walking tracks and the remaining remnants of native bush on the Port Hills. In 1903 he was instrumental in getting the Scenery Preservation Act through parliament. In 1906 with a subsidy from Prime Minister Richard Seddon and some additional fundraising, he was able to purchase of the bush and release it as Crown land. There was a fire that destroyed of the native forest in 1931, though it mostly only damaged the fringes of the forest. The reserve contains a number of walking tracks, and is accessible from the Crater Rim walking track. In 2023 a carpark and lookout was opened in the reserve on the south side of Summit Road, opposite the Sign of the Bellbird, with a cost of . The reserve avoided sustaining major damage during the 2017 Port Hills fires. ==Management==

Since 1947 the reserve is owned and administered by the Christchurch City Council, despite technically being outside of Christchurch City. ==Sign of the Bellbird==

. Harry Ell had a vision of a road along the Port Hills, with tea rooms at regular points for visitors to rest at. The first of these was a stone cottage at the top of Kennedy's Bush, which was finished in 1914 and opened in 1915. Designed by Samuel Hurst Seager, In 1922 the location was renamed to be the Sign of the Bellbird. Ell died in June 1934. The buildings were abandoned in 1942. By the mid-1940s it was in a state of disrepair and had been the target of vandalism. Some buildings were demolished and an open-air shelter for walkers was constructed using the original stone. and was rebuilt in 1971. A fire destroyed the roof again in 2015 and this was replaced in 2017. ==See also==