Elsie Violet Locke (née Farrelly; 17 August 1912 – 8 April 2001) was a New Zealand writer, historian, and leading activist in the feminism and peace movements. Probably best known for her children's literature, The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature said that she "made a remarkable contribution to New Zealand society", for which the University of Canterbury awarded her an honorary D.Litt. in 1987.
In 1944 the Locke family moved into the Avon Loop- 392 Oxford Terrace, a "tiny gingerbread cottage" with an outside toilet, on the banks of the Avon River. Elsie loved the country, and hated cities — she later said that she did not want move to Christchurch but did so for Jack, her second husband. However, the couple lived in the cottage until their deaths.
Locke won the inaugural Katherine Mansfield Memorial Award. More can be read of these former neighbours of this park on Wikipedia.