On 4 January 1876, the first meeting of the Christchurch Drainage Board took place. Two years earlier, Christchurch had achieved the unflattering title of being the unhealthiest city in New Zealand. We also had the highest death rate as diseases such as Typhoid were rife. The population of Christchurch at that time was 12,000 people. …
Charlotte Godley (John Robert Godley’s wife – Founder of Canterbury) wrote proudly to her mother back in England about how her garden was coming along. She wasn’t as pleased about a gate that existed between her home and the Lyttelton Immigration Barracks. The gate was in constant use as the newly arrived settlers would seek …
There is always something very special about those abodes and buildings in Christchurch that just don’t quite fit in…not only in a historic way but also in style and materials. Such a place exists on the corner Durham and Wordsworth Streets – Blackheath – as it states so proudly on its Durham Street frontage for …
