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First Meeting Of The Christchurch Drainage Board – 4th January 1876
On 4 January 1876, the first meeting of the Christchurch Drainage Board took place. Two years earlier, Christchurch had achieved the unflattering title of being the unhealthiest city in New Zealand. We also had the highest death rate as diseases such as Typhoid were rife. The population of Christchurch at that time was 12,000 people. …
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Lyttelton Immigration Barracks Demolished – 1876
Charlotte Godley (John Robert Godley’s wife – Founder of Canterbury) wrote proudly to her mother back in England about how her garden was coming along. She wasn’t as pleased about a gate that existed between her home and the Lyttelton Immigration Barracks. The gate was in constant use as the newly arrived settlers would seek …
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‘Slice Of Britain’ Blackheath Is Built – 1876
There is always something very special about those abodes and buildings in Christchurch that just don’t quite fit in…not only in a historic way but also in style and materials. Such a place exists on the corner Durham and Wordsworth Streets – Blackheath – as it states so proudly on its Durham Street frontage for …
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Canterbury’s 3rd Hanging Took Place – 7th May 1875
Shipwright John Blair Thompson watched his 11 year old daughter Isabella skip away from him, her happy laughter filled the air. She had every reason to be joyful and excited, the school picnic was a few days away and the whole township of Lyttelton always looked forward to such an event. It was to take …
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