On 24 October 1870, around 10am, a fire was discovered in an empty house in Lyttelton. In no time at all, the fire jumped over the street and soon the block that sat between London, Oxford, Canterbury Streets and Norwich Quay was ablaze. The fire did burn as far as Dublin Street though, threatening the …
In the early hours of 8 February 1870, the last preparations were still underway for the opening of Christchurch’s first art exhibition. Set up in the brand new museum buildings, three to four hundred people gathered outside for the opening ceremony at 3pm. Amongst the notables attending were the Canterbury Superintendent William Rolleston, Christchurch Mayor …
On 28th June 1869, in what is believed to have been a New Zealand first, a velocipede – also famously known as a ‘Boneshaker’ – was taken out onto the streets in Christchurch. It had been constructed by coach maker, Henry Wagstaff, who owned his own business. I’m sure he caused quite a stir! First …
On 22 April 1869, Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, the second son of Queen Victoria arrived in Christchurch via rail and was met with huge crowds of excited Cantabs. A grand carriage awaited him (with six jet black stallions) and the Prince was taken immediately on a procession, from the railway station (which was …
For some of our earliest settlers, it didn’t take stepping off the emigration ships for their new life to begin; for some, opportunities presented themselves right there on the poop deck. This was the case of John Dyer and his older sister Mary Ann. She fell in love with fellow passenger Charles Parsons, and John’s …
Cathedral Square, it seems, has always been a place where the time of day was displayed or sounded in one way or another – well, until the past few years at least. As a child in the 1980’s, my ‘time piece’ was the digital clock on top of the Government Life Building whereas, for many …
It was around 3.30am on the morning of 15th August 1868 when a few Lyttelton residents were awoken by a strange noise. One local, Mr. Mitchell, even sensed a small tremor – coming to the quick conclusion there had been a small earthquake. Those working around the port that morning were also alarmed by the …
When the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 was established, New Zealand was split into six provinces. Each province was its own sub-government and these were built around the six original settlements. The Canterbury Province sat between the Hurunui and Waitaki Rivers and stretched right over to the West Coast. At the head was a Superintendent …
On 16th April 1868, a date kept secret from the public, convicted murderer and arsonist, John Densley Swales became the first man to be hung in Canterbury. This took place at 8.15am at the Lyttelton Gaol (the remaining prison cells pictured here). On the evening on 7th February 1868, a fire at the general store …
On 5th February 1868, Lord George Lyttelton – the Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire – stepped off an English steamship and glanced around the port town that had been named after him. Lord Lyttelton had been introduced to John Robert Godley in 1848 – the co-founder of the Canterbury Association – and accepted the role as …
