Banks Peninsula whaler Edward Weller must have smiled to himself that October day in 1839. Maybe he even waved goodbye to those members of the Ngai Tahu who had foolishly sold him Banks Peninsula and the greater part of the Port Cooper (Canterbury) Plains for an old whaler’s boat and a few items of clothing. …
I’m sure as the schooner ‘Ballet’ sailed down the east coast of the Middle (South) Island, William Deans leaned against the deck railing and watched the passing coastline with great interest. He was aboard Captain Edward Daniell’s schooner as an approved stow-away and he held great hopes for what he might find down on the …
This name-less reserve sits above the Cashmere Hills Presbyterian Church on Dyers Pass Road. It was once used as a resting place – first for the Ngati Mamoe and then the Ngai Tahu. Above this reserve is Sherwood Lane which is the location of Matuku-takotako – a cave that was used for shelter. From leaving …
William Deans, Samuel Manson and Jimmy Robinson Clough had quite a journey to complete from the Sumner bar, down the Otakaro (the Avon River) and then on on to Putaringamotu (Riccarton) in 1841. When the party reached what is now the Barbadoes Street Bridge, by Oxford Terrace, they continued in a canoe as the Port …
It wasn’t love at first sight for either John or Jane Deans…unbelievable concerning the history they made together. Jane was born at Auchenflower Farm, Ayrshire, Scotland on the 21st April 1823. She was eldest child of farmer/gentleman James McIlraith and his first wife Agnes. When her mother died, Jane became the mother hen of her …
“William Deans stood all alone by the only dwelling on the vast plain, watching and waiting to welcome them. As the canoe with its contents could not be brought further up the river on account of the shallows, and the distance being too great for the children to walk, each father and boatman on landing …
On 10th April 1840, a small party of farmers and their families began to make their way across Waitaha (Canterbury Plains) from Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere). With two teams of bullocks, drays full of supplies and farm equipment, this event is believed to be the first time bullocks walked the land, and that drays and …
