Infamous Sheep Rustler Jailed In Lyttelton – 15th March 1855

No one knows for sure when James MacKenzie arrived in New Zealand but he first appeared in Nelson. He bought himself two bullocks, a border collie he named Friday (pictured) and a dray. Taking on jobs as he traveled, he made it down to Mataura in Southland. In 1855, J.H.C Sidebottom was informed by his …

Joseph Palmer – Our First Permanent Banker – 1855

‘Cautious and sensible’ Joseph Palmer had been in the banking business since he was twenty-four years old. Born on 6th April 1826, there is very little about his childhood; he first appears in historic documents when he began as a clerk for the Union Bank in London. In March 1851 he arrived in Australia on …

Canterbury’s First Ploughing Competition Held – 25th October 1854

The Reverend J.G Butler from the Bay of Islands excitedly wrote in his journal that the date of 3rd May 1820 would be remembered for all ages to come.  That day, he had taken the first plough to New Zealand’s soil – following a team of six bullocks as they carved the beginnings of our …

Canterbury’s Oldest Surviving Original Church Is Built – 1854

In 1854, Canterbury’s oldest surviving original church, St Bartholomew’s of Kaiapoi is built on Cass Street – named after early surveyor, Thomas Cass. Although the church has had upgrades and additions over the years, some of its structure still dates back to 1854. It was designed by Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort, the architect behind the Canterbury …

New Zealand’s First Department Store Opened – 1854

In 1920, New Zealand’s first department store – that had been in the ownership of the Ballantyne family since 1872 – was formed into a company named J.Ballantyne and Co. It was 1854 when Esther Clarkson, her husband David and sister-in-law Elizabeth arrived in Christchurch. They settled in a small cottage on Cashel Street and …

Canterbury’s First Superintendent Elected – 20th July 1853

When the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 was established, New Zealand was split up 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 …

Market Place Held Its First Organised Market – 21st May 1853

On 21st May 1853, Market Place, now known as Victoria Square held its first market. As Canterbury Association’s surveyors, Captain Joseph Thomas and Edward Jollie marked out the area that would be Christchurch’s market place, they showed the most amazing ability to look up over the sea of tussock and see what would be. Christchurch …

South Canterbury’s Oldest Building Was Built – 1853

In 1853, after eight years living at Purau, Bank Peninsula and two years at the future site of Timaru, George Rhodes moved his family to the ‘Levels’ and constructed South Canterbury’s oldest building. The Rhodes and Waitaha (Canterbury) were first introduced in 1836 when the whaling Captain from the ‘Australian’ climbed the Port Hills and …

Hotel An Early Salute To Christchurch’s Sawyers – 1853

I grew up just around the corner from Sawyers Arms Road, and, being a naturally curious child, one day I asked my father what a “sawyer” was. After learning what a sawyer does, and then seeing the word ‘arms’ in the road name, I instantly imagined large-armed lumberjacks hard at work – but the true …

Canterbury’s First Wind Mill – 1853

For a inventive fella who had spent most of his working life on the Thames, with London as the backdrop, his new life on Banks Peninsula couldn’t have been more foreign – but what a muse! Arthur Waghorn was born on 16th October 1814 at Dartford, Kent.  At the time he first heard about the …