“A Place Of The Basket Of Heads”

Today, locals and Christchurch visitors can take the pleasant ride up to the top of Mount Cavendish on the Christchurch Gondola.  The reward is to be able to look out over the patchwork of the greens and browns of the Canterbury Plains and view its capital: Christchurch…New Zealand’s unbreakable garden city.  If you are still …

The Rhodes Spring

Harry Ell – a Cantab lad, visionary and lover of the Port Hills – had visions of walkers and travellers enjoying a network of scenic reserves along the Port Hills connected by a road with rest-houses along the way – right through to Akaroa.He planned just under 20 rest-houses along what would start off as …

Cooper’s Knob

No one today could begin to imagine what went through the mind of the Ngati Mamoe’s Chief Mawete as he scrambled up the side of Whakaraupō (Lyttleton Harbour) with the rest of his fishing party beside him. Behind them were warriors of the North Island Ngai Tahu and their ambush at Maori Valley (Gebbies Pass) …

Harry Ell (1862 – 1934)

Harry Ell will always be remembered as a great lover of the Port Hills. Harry was born in Christchurch in 1862. He grew up on his parents’ farm in Halswell. From an early age, he became passionate about Christchurch’s natural heritage and its endangered species. It’s not hard to understand why his first job was …