Joanne Byrne, one of Christchurch’s most tenacious community advocates, has died aged 58 after a battle with Myeloma.

Byrne died late Tuesday night in Christchurch Hospital, having been diagnosed with the blood cancer last year.

Jo leaves behind a daughter, a son, four siblings and her parents.

Byrne first came to prominence as the public face of Flockton Basin residents whose homes were repeatedly inundated after the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes caused parts of the suburb to sink by up to half a metre.

Her own Carrick St home flooded four times, beginning hours after the February 22, 2011, earthquake.

As spokeswoman for the Flockton Cluster Residents Group, she spent years pressing the Earthquake Commission and Christchurch City Council to accept responsibility for the damage, arguing the increased flood risk was a direct consequence of the earthquakes.

She and another residents’ representative were granted leave to intervene in a High Court case brought by EQC, representing around 200 homeowners in the cluster who argued their flooding vulnerability had worsened as a direct result of the earthquakes.

After years of pressure from the group, Christchurch City Council eventually moved to assist the worst-affected properties, with options including purchasing homes, raising foundations or completing localised drainage works. The installation of the Tay Street Drain Pump Station in 2015 was also a key result of the resident’s group advocacy and has been instrumental in addressing the nightmare residents faced everytime it rained.

“For five years people have been living in constant fear of flooding,” Byrne said at the time.

Having relocated to Shirley during the flooding years, Byrne turned her attention to another gap left by the earthquakes, leading the campaign to have the demolished Shirley Community Centre at 10 Shirley Rd rebuilt.

She helped organise a petition of more than 1200 signatures presented to the council in 2021, which helped secure $3 million in the Long Term Plan for a new facility, along with $35,000 for a feasibility study.

“It’s been a lot of work, we’re really relieved,” Byrne said after the funding was confirmed.

She hoped to see the project completed ahead of its 2031 target date.

“It’s still a long way out but I’m hoping that we’ll have a new community centre before 2030.”

Her advocacy extended beyond Christchurch. In 2017 she reached out to Bay of Plenty residents reeling from their own floods, drawing on hard experience to warn that long-term mental health support would be as important as the physical recovery.

Ms Byrne was also a well-respected and talented Speech Therapist at Ferndale School for students aged five to 21 with high and complex needs.

Work colleague, Kerry Heslop says Jo was an incredible human being and therapist.

“She was so loved and will be so missed,” says Kerry. “When she found out a couple of weeks ago how little time she had, one of the first things she said was, “I’m really sad I won’t be able to go back to my wonderful students.” “

A memorial service is planned for Saturday 30th in Christchurch, with venue and time to be confirmed.