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New Zealand’s Oldest Educational Building First Used – 15th December 1863
From the moment the names of Christchurch and Canterbury were adopted at the very first Canterbury Association meeting on 27th March 1848, these founding fathers wanted this new Anglican settlement to be built around religion and education. A cathedral and a college would be built in the town’s main square. With this in mind, the …
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New Zealand’s First Railway Opened – 1st December 1863
“The Archdeacon called to the recollection of the company the boldness with which Mr [William Sefton] Moorhouse had first announced what was then the new idea of a railway: that idea Mr Moorhouse had turned into a fact; with an untiring disregard of ceaseless opposition Mr Moorhouse had held to his plan and had at …
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Canterbury’s First Murder Trial – 7th September 1863
On the 7th September 1863, George Lumley was found guilty of the manslaughter of Cornelius O’Connor at the Christchurch Supreme Court. He was sentenced to 3 years hard labour. As his charge had been dropped from murder to manslaughter, he escaped a death sentence. On the evening of the 10th July 1862, Lumley and O’Connor …
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First Tree Planted in Christchurch’s Botanical Gardens – 9th July 1863
The Albert Edward Oak is the oldest tree in the Botanical Gardens. This tree was planted on 9 July 1863 in celebration of the marriage of Prince Albert to Princess Alexandra of Denmark. This tree is now regarded to be the beginning of the gardens that we know today. On the same day, another Oak …
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