A sketch of the Randolph done by James Edward Fitzgerald from the deck of the Charlotte Jane as they left England for Canterbury on the 6th September 1850. Boy, James could draw!!! During its journey, it had the company of 2 ships, one being the Sir George Seymour where Cyrus Davie was transferred over as …
The Sir George Seymour was the third ship to dock at Lyttelton, arriving 24 hours (to the hour) after the Charlotte Jane dropped her anchor. She was though, the last of the four to leave England, carrying 227 souls to a new life. Before her journey to Lyttelton in 1850, she had a history as …
The deck of the Charlotte Jane drawn by one of Canterbury’s future Superintendants, James Edward Fitzgerald. What an amazing window this man has given us of the first ship that arrived at Lyttelton at 10am on the 16th December 1850. James also was the first off the Charlotte Jane, scrambling almost over the side to …
The ‘Castle Eden’ has to be one of the most unrecognised ships that ever docked at Lyttelton. The 5th ship of the Canterbury Association arrived at Lyttelton on the 14th February 1851. She was a ship that didn’t have a smooth run from the beginning. She was forced back to Plymouth by bad weather after …
As a Management Committee member for the Canterbury Association, I’m sure Henry Le Cren felt a sense of achievement as he made his way down the jetty from the ‘Barbara Gordon” with all his worldly belongings. His cousin John Longden was with him – what an adventure to be in Canterbury, especially with the first …
Also known as Lord Lieutenant of Worcesteshire, George was born into a VERY noble English family. Educated at Eton and Trinity College, George grew up to be a British aristocrat and a Conservative politician. On his 21st birthday, he took his seat in the House of Lords. A great fan of colonialism, he became the …
It never seemed to occur to Charlotte Godley that staying behind in England was an understandable option. After all, her husband, John Robert Godley was not to be away in New Zealand for more than 3 years. Charlotte Griffith Wynne was born in North Wales in 1821. One of eight children in a well-to-do family, …
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 …
I can’t begin to fathom how surreal the afternoon/evening of the 16th December 1850 would have been for the Deans brothers. Especially as they may have stood in the doorway of the Deans Cottage while the shrieks and shouts of two stripped down male settlers splashed about in the Avon River – their echoes adding …
William Deans, Samuel Manson and Jimmy Robinson Clough had quite a journey to complete from the Sumner bar, down the Otakaro (the Avon River) and then on on to Putaringamotu (Riccarton) in 1841. When the party reached what is now the Barbadoes Street Bridge, by Oxford Terrace, they continued in a canoe as the Port …
