Edward Jerningham Wakefield (1820-1879) had a lot going for him – he really had the world laid out before him. Born to Edward Gibbon Wakefield and Eliza Pattle in London, he became a member of a family that made colonising New Zealand a family business! Jerningham (as I will call him to save confusion with …
It never seemed to occur to Charlotte Godley that staying behind in England was an understandable option. After all, her husband, John Robert Godley was not to be away in New Zealand for more than 3 years. Charlotte Griffith Wynne was born in North Wales in 1821. One of eight children in a well-to-do family, …
John Robert Godley was a man who everyone seemed to have an opinion about. One man would say “he was a King amongst men’ where another called him ‘a whale in a duck pond’. Both descriptions paint an image of the man who founded Christchurch. Born in Dublin in 1814, he grew up in the …
James Fitzgerald is known for starting “The Press” and William Moorhouse is known for bringing the railway to Christchurch (Ferrymead to Christchurch city) and New Zealand. What is also well known is that the two did not like each other and Fitzgerald used ‘The Press’ to express his own views on worldly things and hopefully …
Here are the foundations of the house built for John Robert Godley, his wife Charlotte, their 3 year old son Arthur and two servants at Lyttelton – not very big huh? In 1940, this was covered up with a new building for Plunket. The house was built for Godley in 1850 and in the months …
Around the end of the last century, as one strolled south down Manchester Street – not far from the corner of Lichfield Street – a dark narrow lane would soon appear on your right. As much as you would fight it, your eyes couldn’t resist a quick glance into the dimness.There is nothing there, an …
William Sefton Moorhouse (1825 – 1881) Died of Diabetic Sepsis Place of Death: Wellington Served as Canterbury Superintendent 1857 – 1863 & 1866 – 1868, behind the naming of suburb Spreydon. Buried in St Peter’s Anglican Church Cemetery, Christchurch The story of William Sefton Moorhouse: http://www.peelingbackhistory.co.nz/spreydon-william-sefton-moorhouse-1825-1881/ Photo taken by Annette Bulovic
The area that we now know as the suburb of Spreydon was first owned by Augustus Moore who named it after his family’s land back in Ireland in 1853. Some reports stated that he farmed his land but he is remembered today as a brewer, running a drinking establishment named the ‘Spreydon Arms’ which was …
John and Mary Gebbies arrived in Port Nicholson (Wellington) in February 1840 in the company and employment of William Deans. John was a very good farmer and stock-man so he was a vital employee to William. Mary who was actually pregnant at the time, was to be a housekeeper. Mary gave birth on the beach …
So, what happened once you got over The Bridle Path? In 1851, Thomas Hugh started the first ferry service across the Heathcote River. A small punt would be pulled by a few ropes across the water, carrying people, their worldy belongings and even at times, a coach and the horses too. Once across, a customs …
