One can easily imagine the hard decision it was for Jane Deans to approve the demolition of the old Deans/Manson/Gebbie’s barn at Riccarton in 1897. It was after all the city’s oldest building – erected by Samuel Manson in 1843 – seven years before the Canterbury Association’s First Four Ships! The historic barn was now …
Legend has it that the front doors of the England Brothers Architectural Office blew open dramatically and there entered the eccentric rich land owner Allan McLean, demanding the startled staff inside to see some house designs. Upon showing him a plan for a four bedroom house that was proving popular in Christchurch at that time, …
On 12th July 1900, the ‘Otago Witness’ newspaper printed an interesting photo to acknowledge the arrival in Oamaru of New Zealand’s first built motor car (pictured). Always heard before being seen, the three wheeled, gasoline powered motor tricycle had been causing quite a stir during its historic journey from Christchurch to Oamaru. Built by Christchurch …
