Few New Zealanders have achieved such prominence or popularity, received such high honours, or been more sincerely admired and respected in their own lifetime than Heaton Rhodes. Blessed with intelligence, talent, good looks and wealth, he made the most of his advantages. He excelled at many things, and is remembered in Canterbury as the province’s …
William Flower Blatchford (pictured on the right)arrived in Canterbury on the 1st March 1851 aboard the ‘Isabella Hercus’, the Canterbury Association’s 6th emigrant ship. From all accounts and from where he put down his roots, he seemed very fond of Lyttelton Harbour. The bay of Te Rapu – named after a stream that flows through …
Henry Dent Gardiner was the son of an farmer. Born in Essex in England, he arrived in Australia in 1850 chasing gold. He stepped off a ship at Lyttelton in 1855, purchasing a block of land at Harewood where he farmed. Gardiners Road in Harewood is named after him. He also farmed in Irwell and …
For the young William Birdling, experiencing the first robbery in Canterbury I’m sure was a life changing experience. He couldn’t quite believe that the man who now pointed a gun at him had just a few days earlier worked along beside him as they shared their stories of their past adventures as young men of …
The view of Waitaha (Canterbury Plains) from the top of the Te Poho o Tamatea (Port Hills) in the late 1830’s wouldn’t be hard to imagine – swamp, grass, cabbage trees, flax and Toi Toi. Was it a place where a future could begin for someone not afraid of hard work? William Barnard Rhodes (pictured) …
I’m sure when new born John Aurora Prebble (spelt Prible on some documents) was placed in the arms of his mother Ann, the discomfort and pain of the delivery faded away when she looked for the first time into his wrinkled little face. Maybe the fact that she had given birth aboard the ‘Aurora’ – …
Over the years of 1848 to 1851, the poor old Canterbury Plains and the Harbour of Lyttelton seemed to hop from one foot to the other as the Chief Surveyor Captain Joseph Thomas amongst others scratched their heads over a few name options. When Captain Thomas arrived on our shores, Lyttelton was known as Port …
“I ventured into the great speculation of buying four cows from Crawford for £60, but not till after great deliberation and timorousness. Calculating on selling the milk as we did not want ourselves…concluded the bargain with Crawford for the four cows, which being milked this evening produced seven quarts, which sold in the yard for …
*image of Te Koraha courtesy of http://www.isnz.org.nz * *image of Purau courtesy of http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/ * *image of Elmwood and Oakford courtesy of http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/* *image of Otahuna courtesy of http://www.otahuna.co.nz *
William Barnard Rhodes (1807 – 1878) was the eldest of his 13 siblings and the first to arrive in New Zealand out of his 5 brothers! As Captain and co-owner of the ship ‘Harriet’, William saw a lot of the world. In 1836, while employed by the firm of Cooper and Levy, William sailed into …
