Riccarton Racecourse is home to a 100-year-old building steeped in city history and an effort is about to begin to restore it for continued use by the community.

The Old Tea House sits surrounded by mature trees in a beautiful quiet spot to the west of the main stand at the racecourse. It is on land made available to the Canterbury Jockey Club by the organisation which oversees this block of Crown Land, the Christchurch Racecourse Reserve Trustees.

The trustees, supported by the Riccarton/Wigram Community Board, are about to embark on a drive to find the funds to restore and revitalise the Old Tea House. It is estimated that about $550,000 will be needed to do the job well. Tim Mills, the Trustees’ secretary, says the old building would once have been a focal point for Christchurch and Canterbury society. “It must’ve seen some remarkable times, but really it’s not been used for eight or nine years now.”

The Trustees are now working on a business plan which will be considered by the Community Board later in the year.