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Debate Arises Over Deans’ Claim To Have Christchurch’s Oldest Building – 1900
One can easily imagine the hard decision it was for Jane Deans to approve the demolition of the old Deans/Manson/Gebbie’s barn at Riccarton in 1897. It was after all the city’s oldest building – erected by Samuel Manson in 1843 – seven years before the Canterbury Association’s First Four Ships! The historic barn was now …
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McLean Got His Mansion – 1900
Legend has it that the front doors of the England Brothers Architectural Office blew open dramatically and there entered the eccentric rich land owner Allan McLean, demanding the startled staff inside to see some house designs. Upon showing him a plan for a four bedroom house that was proving popular in Christchurch at that time, …
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New Zealand’s First Built Motor Car – 1900
On 12th July 1900, the ‘Otago Witness’ newspaper printed an interesting photo to acknowledge the arrival in Oamaru of New Zealand’s first built motor car (pictured). Always heard before being seen, the three wheeled, gasoline powered motor tricycle had been causing quite a stir during its historic journey from Christchurch to Oamaru. Built by Christchurch …
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Ballooning Tragedy Viewed From All Over Christchurch – 2nd November 1899
It was sheer luck and determination of this young stranger that made the aeronaut agree to the completely unthinkable. After a quick tutorial, the young stranger, the following day, lifted off in a gas filled balloon for the first time – like an expert – and his life was never the same again! This young …
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