Hagley Park

“…the land commonly known as Hagley Park, shall be reserved for ever as a public park, and shall be open for the recreation and enjoyment of the public…”   and boy, have we Cantabs expected this law passed by our Founding Fathers in 1855 to be upheld and respected today or WATCH OUT! From the beginning …

St George’s Chapel, Barbadoes Street Cemetery

Today, all that marks where the St George’s Chapel (pictured) stood in the Barbadoes (should have been spelt Barbados – a 1849 typo that wasn’t corrected) Street Cemetery is a large plaque with a grave map and an acknowledgement to all that were buried there without ceremony or marker. Barbadoes is considered to be Christchurch’s …

Kate Sheppard’s Walk

What started as one hundred White Camellia’s being donated to Christchurch’s Botanical Gardens became the Kate Sheppard Memorial Walk in 1990. The White Camellia was the symbol of Woman’s Suffrage movement. To celebrate the 100 year anniversary of her successful campaign in 1993, a new White Camellia was created and named the ‘Kate Sheppard’. All …

The Albert Edward Oak

The Albert Edward Oak, the oldest tree in the Botanical Gardens. This tree was planted on the 9th 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. Prior to 1863, the gardens were …

Good Pioneer Friends

The names of Rhodes and Barker, for Canterbury historians and alike, represent a delicious smorgasbord of old photos, journals, homesteads, memorials and real-life colourful characters who made the swamps and Toi Toi of Canterbury their home. The Rhodes Brothers – William, George and Robert – had settled on Banks Peninsula – from Akaroa in the …

Pilgrim’s Well

On the 16th December 1930, this stone memorial was built around a natural spring that the first settlers used for water – just a few metres from Settler’s Corner in Hagley Park. You can find it along the Kate Sheppard Memorial Walk in the Botanic Gardens. It acknowledges the 80th anniversary of the arrival of …