Stuff

The last man in Christchurch's Avonside red zone is gone, but a memorial marks his presence.

John Taylor's neighbours slowly left when the Government wrote off the suburb following the 2011 earthquakes, but he stayed to tend the garden around his time-worn house until the end of his days. 

Taylor, who had paraplegia, was found dead in his home in July 2017, seeming to have fallen out of his wheelchair while asleep. His house by the river on Avonside Drive, which he dubbed Otaparakororo, was the last in the area and had since been destroyed.

A seat shaped like a wheelchair has been placed at the corner of Morris St and Avonside Drive, with a panel showing a copy of an article Stuff reporter Charlie Mitchell wrote about Taylor.

A memorial ceremony will be held for Taylor at 10am on Saturday.

Avon-Ōtākaro Network spokesman Evan Smith said it would be "a fairly simple ceremony".

"It did take a long time to get approval [for the memorial] ... but it's certainly worth it. 

"It's very important that we acknowledge what's happened within the lands after the earthquake and prior to the earthquake."

The memorial was installed this week and there had been a positive response from everyone who had walked by, Smith said. 

He earlier said the idea for the memorial was sparked by Mitchell's article, which "reflected a lot of people's feelings about the red zone and having to move". 

Many in the area had struggled to leave their land and could relate to Taylor's desire to persevere in a place he loved. 

Smith said they wanted to make the memorial accessible for those who used wheelchairs.

Taylor's sister, Ann, who preferred her last name was not used, earlier said she thought it was exactly what her brother would have wanted.