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Boneshaker Hits Christchurch Streets – 28th June 1869
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 …
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Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh Visited Christchurch – 22nd April 1869
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 …
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Helpful Farmer Honoured In Road Naming – 1869
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 …
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Cathedral Square’s clocks ‘…an institution of daily life…’ – 1869
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 …
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