From the first maps of Christchurch, drawn up from our earliest survey work, there had always been Hagley Park – also known as the Government Domain. The name of Hagley had been decided upon to honour the Canterbury Association’s Chairman, Lord George Lyttelton, whose home in England was known as Hagley Lodge. The park remained …
In 1897, a meeting between concerned Christchurch citizens became the beginning of the Christchurch Beautifying Association. The main topics discussed were about scruffy wastelands, unofficial dumping areas and general eyesores of the city. Forming a quick union with the C.C.C, the association began to change the views within Christchurch, adding artistic, cultivated and scenic improvements …
With Queen Victoria celebrating her diamond jubilee, Christchurch wanted to acknowledge the occasion. A clock, that had been imported for the Canterbury Provincial Chambers in 1860 – which proved to be too heavy – was brought out of storage, along with its iron work, and a competition to design the rest of what would be …
On 13th April 1896, at a Christchurch hosted women’s convention where eleven groups were represented, the ‘National Council of Women’ was founded (pictured). Well known suffragette Kate Sheppard was elected as its first President. Their main aim was to lobby for women’s rights and “…unite organised societies of women for mutual counsel and cooperation, and …
Miss Sybil Maude was everything a well-bred upper class young woman was expected to be. As the eldest daughter, she helped her mother with running of the household and tended to her young siblings. She was a devoted Anglican and volunteered her time through St Michael and All Angels with their outreach to the less …
On 17 November 1895, world famous, American born author and humorist arrived in Christchurch. Over the next four days, he roamed the city and preformed his ‘At Home’ show at the Theatre Royal to sell out crowds. He described Christchurch as a town where half the people ride bicycles and the other half are kept …
Dame Ngaio Marsh was just seven years old when her family moved from Merivale to Valley Road, Cashmere – to a house her father built; the house that served as her muse, the house where she wrote and the house where she had her last breath. It now serves as a museum in her honour. …
The 18th of January 1894 was an unseasonably wet day for those who gathered for the opening of the New Brighton Pier. The ceremony was led by General Governor Lord Glasglow as he took shelter under an umbrella. Talks about the need of a pier started amongst New Brighton residents as early as 1888. The …
“He was the right man in the right place.” – Charles Orbin Torlesse, Canterbury Association Surveyor. Bishop Henry James Chitty Harper would have been very delighted to have seen the face of his old friend, Bishop George Augustus Selwyn, upon his arrival in Lyttelton in 1856. Selwyn didn’t wait for the Harper family to come …
On 19th September 1893, Christchurch-based suffragette Kate Sheppard won New Zealand women the right to vote. Catherine Wilson Malcolm was born in Liverpool, England in 1848 to Scottish parents – Andrew Wilson Malcolm and Jemima Souter. One of four children, young Catherine had no problem in knowing her own mind – changing the ‘C’ in …
