You couldn’t have had two closer friends than J.C. (pictured) and Alfred. The grew up together as their fathers were friends, owned land together, married the same women, travelled together and are even buried in the same cemetery in Upper Riccarton, Christchurch. It’s the land these men owned that puts them on the map…the suburb …
This name-less reserve sits above the Cashmere Hills Presbyterian Church on Dyers Pass Road. It was once used as a resting place – first for the Ngati Mamoe and then the Ngai Tahu. Above this reserve is Sherwood Lane which is the location of Matuku-takotako – a cave that was used for shelter. From leaving …
John Robert Godley was a man who everyone seemed to have an opinion about. One man would say “he was a King amongst men’ where another called him ‘a whale in a duck pond’. Both descriptions paint an image of the man who founded Christchurch. Born in Dublin in 1814, he grew up in the …
Captain Joseph Thomas is easily the most forgotten man in Christchurch’s history. Born in 1803, Joseph was educated at the Royal Military College – so naturally he spent the beginning of his working life in the Army. He served in India and the West Indies, retiring in 1830. He travelled to South America where he …
On the right hand-side as you drive into the Riccarton Ave carpark of Hagley Park (by the tennis courts) sits this historical gem. The memorial tablet acknowledges the departure of John Robert Godley from New Zealand, the founder of Canterbury in 1852. This breakfast event was set up in a spacious marquee, catered by the …
On the 25th December 1848, Christchurch had its first Christmas Day. On the newly named Canterbury Plains, 9 people (maybe the only people on the plains that day) crowded into the Deans Cottage to make the most of the day. Some of those who attended were Captain Joseph Thomas (Chief surveyor for the Canterbury Association …
“We have this year more than a dozen apple trees loaded with fruit, a good many plum, cherry and peach trees, all with more or less fruit, and a great many young ones coming on. We have also some gooseberry, currant and pear trees not yet bearing, and a few roots of rhubarb”. – John …
