Redcliffs in Maori is ‘Raekura’ and for some historians, the name of Redcliffs came about in the attempt of the European trying to spell and pronounce ‘Raekura’ correctly. ‘Raekura’ means ‘red glowing headlands’ so on the flip side of the ‘naming’ coin is the obvious red cliffs of Redcliffs. The first European name for the …
For the young William Birdling, experiencing the first robbery in Canterbury I’m sure was a life changing experience. He couldn’t quite believe that the man who now pointed a gun at him had just a few days earlier worked along beside him as they shared their stories of their past adventures as young men of …
Samuel Butler was born in Nottinghamshire, England to Rev. Thomas Butler and Fanny Worsley. From the beginning it was to be an unhappy family. A bright little spark, Samuel was at first home schooled. He would later state that daily beatings accompanied the teachings from his father. He later went to school at Cambridge and …
Dr. Charles Dudley and his brother, a farmer, John arrived in Lyttelton in 1851. With them were their wives and children, aged between 2 to 5 years old. Charles went on to practice medicine in Lyttelton for the next 5 years while John settled in Christchurch, buying 99 acres in a area known as Richmond. …
The graving dock at Lyttelton on the 24th September 1883. If you look at the hills to the left of the ships, you can make out the Lyttelton Cemetery – tucked into its square fencing. *image courtesy of http://www.ancestry.com.au/newzealand*
When I read about Captain James Cook and his men camped out at Mercury Bay, I romantically envisioned the mighty ‘Endeavor’ at anchor amidst a rumbling blue ocean, the beach littered with its rowboats and the setting sun glistening off the surrounding greenery of Pre-European Nova Zeelandia! What tipped me into my ‘know no limits’ …
“Port Cooper [Canterbury] is described by very person to be splendid place for a settlement and I have no doubt there will be one formed there in a few years by which time we will have a pretty extensive stock and be able to supply the settlers with butcher meat, working bullocks, vegetables and a …
Before discussing James Townsend, one must know the story of a young settler, who had just made his way down the Bridle Path in 1851 and made note of who had been the first real European settler (quite a noble title for a dead man!) in what would become Ferrymead. Jutting out of from the …
Also known as the 1st Baron Northcote, it appears from all my research that Henry had no direct contact with New Zealand at all, let alone Christchurch. He never set foot on our shores and was only a child when the Canterbury Association – which a few members are now acknowledged in the naming of …
Known by the locals as Aylesbury’s Bend, the intersection of Railway, Bealey, Aylesbury, West Coast (once known as Bealey’s Track) and Station Roads in Aylesbury, Canterbury used to be known as Bealey’s Crossing. Bealey Road begins here and ends in Hororata. As the West Coast Road was once known as Bealey’s Track, this would have …
