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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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