About the library at Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre

Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre is located at 341 Halswell Road.

Opening hours

  • Library hours
  • Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre Customer Service Hub summer hours run from 18 November to Monday 1 April 2024:
    Monday to Friday 9am-5pm; Saturday and Sunday 11.30am-5pm

Transport

  • The numbers 7, 100, and 125 bus routes stop nearby. See the Metroinfo timetables for more information. 
  • Metrocard top-up service is available at the CCC service desk, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.
  • Bikestands outside library
  • Parking: outside library, with mobility access parks

Services and Facilities

Computers and technology

Collections

Total library collection size: 45,000 items

Meeting rooms

Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre includes two large venues catering for up to 450 people (300 in one space and 150 in the other), a medium-sized space for up to 40 people and four smaller meeting rooms. Kitchen and function centre facilities are included.

All spaces are bookable and available to the public and community groups.

Bookings and enquiries about the spaces for hire can be made by calling the Christchurch City Council on (03) 941 8999 or 0800 800 169.

The community meeting spaces are multi-use facilities available for community activities and private social functions. They include two large spaces catering for up to a total of 300 people and a smaller room for up to 30 people.  

Find out more about the meeting rooms and pricing.

Red Café

Monday to Friday - 9am to 4.30pm
Saturday and Sunday - 10am to 4pm

Phone 322-5664

Te Hāpua Halswell Summer Pool

Te Hāpua Halswell Summer Pool is open from Sunday 19 November 2023 until Monday 1 April 2024. The pool hours are 11.30am to 7pm, every day except Christmas Eve (close at 6pm), Christmas Day (closed), and New Year’s Eve (close at 6pm).

Photographs

Takumi Japanese Drumming Group performing for the Japanese Cultural Celebration, Te Hāpua: Halswell CentreSummertime Reading Challenge postcard boxTe Hāpua: Halswell Centre 1st birthday celebrations

View more photos of the library on Flickr

Te Kete Wānanga o Ōtūmatua

About our Māori name.

How Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre got its name

Information from the May 2015 newsletter.

In a competition run from December 2014 to January 2015, Christchurch City Council received 162 valid suggestions. A panel of Council staff and rūnanga sorted through the entries and selected six finalists, which were voted on by the public with 766 votes between them. The winning suggestion was “The Halswell Centre”.

Throughout the naming process, the Council consulted with Mahaanui Kurataiao Ltd (MKT) and the two local rūnanga on a te reo Māori name for the facility to complement the competition name winner and reflect the local area. The consensus was for Te Hāpua, which roughly translates to “the lagoons”. This refers to the outdoor pool, as well as the location of the complex alongside Te Tauawa-a-Maka/Nottingham Stream, an upper tributary of the Huritini/Halswell River. This is in turn an important source of Lake Ellesmere (Te Waihora), which is very important to rūnanga.

Listen to the Māori name [106KB MP3]

About the development of Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre

The Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre, located at 341 Halswell Road opened Saturday 28 November 2015.

Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre opened on Saturday 28 November 2015 at 341 Halswell Road.

North view of new Halswell Library and Community Facility

Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre is a new library and community facility built in south-west Christchurch. It includes a library with varied spaces for a range of activities, several large meeting rooms, inclusive community spaces and a Customer Service Desk. There is also a 5,000 square metre outdoor area that includes a swimming pool. The Centre is an accessible, welcoming and inclusive community resource for all.

Find out more

Halwell brochure
Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre brochure [166KB PDF]

Halswell poster
Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre information [157KB PDF]