HISTORY

Canterbury Region.

Canterbury Region

Christchurch

Located midway down the east coast, Christchurch, the main city, now has a population of over 370,000, over one-third of the South Island’s population.

Since 1876, archeological evidence found in a cave at Redcliffs has indicated that the Christchurch area was first settled by moa-hunting tribes about 1250. Maori oral history suggests that humans occupied the area around the year 1000. These first inhabitants were thought to have been followed by the Waitaha tribe who are said to have migrated from the East coast of the North Island in the 16th century. Subsequent to tribal warfare the Waitaha (made of three peoples) were dispossesed by the Ngati Mamoe tribe. They were in turn subjugated by the Ngai Tahu tribe, who remained in control until European settlement brought an end to inter-tribal warfare and cannibalism (a taste acquired after the Maori came to New Zealand - the last known incidence being in 1947).

Although there were European settlers from 1840, notably the Deans brothers at Riccarton, what are regarded as the First Four Ships were chartered by the Canterbury Association, and arrived on 16 December 1850, bringing the first 792 of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton Harbour. These sailing vessels were the Randolph, Charlotte-Jane, Sir George Seymour, and Cressy.

Captain Thomas, the Canterbury Association's Chief Surveyor, surveyed the surrounding area. By December 1849 he had commissioned the construction of a road from Port Cooper, later called Lyttelton, to Christchurch via Sumner. However this proved more difficult than expected and road construction was stopped while a steep foot and pack horse track was constructed over the hill between the port and the Heathcote valley, where access to the site of the proposed settlement could be gained. This track became known as the Bridle Path, because the path was so steep that pack horses needed to be led by the bridle.

Goods that were too heavy or bulky to be transported by pack horse over the Bridle Path were shipped by small sailing vessels some eight miles by water around the coast and up the estuary to Ferrymead. New Zealand's first public railway line was opened from Ferrymead to Christchurch in 1863. Due to the difficulties in travelling over the Port Hills and the dangers associated with shipping navigating the Sumner bar, a railway tunnel was bored through the Port Hills to Lyttelton, opening in 1867.

Christchurch became a city by Royal Charter on 31 July 1856, making it the oldest city in New Zealand. Many of the city's fine Gothic buildings by the architect Benjamin Mountfort date from this period.  Christchurch was the seat of provincial administration for the province of Canterbury.

A road tunnel was constructed between Lyttelton and Christchurch in the early 1960s. 

In 1974 Christchurch was host to the Commonwealth Games.

Christchurch has played a significant role in the history of Antarctic exploration, as the gateway to Antartica. Both Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton used the port of Lyttelton as a departure point for expeditions, and there is a statue of Scott (sculpted by his widow) in the central city.

Christchurch International Airport serves as the major base for the Italian and United States Antarctic Programs as well as the New Zealand Antarctic programme. The International Antarctic Centre provides both base facilities and a museum and visitor centre.

Famous for its tree-lined avenues and extensive leafy parks the garden city, it is often described as the most English city outside of England, its reputation revealing its origins. Church of England settlers with a mission tamed, drained and carved wild swampland on the wide Canterbury Plains to build a better version of home. Many of their neo-Gothic stone public buildings still stand, now mellowed by the passing of almost 150 years, set amongst the many parks and gardens that were included in the plans of the city's founders. Today, Christchurch is known as the Garden City of New Zealand, winning international acclaim against 620 other entries to take the "Best in the World" title at the 1997 International Garden City Awards held in Bangalore, India.  It's a vibrant, cosmopolitan place with exciting festivals, theatre, modern art galleries, great shopping and award-winning attractions.

Ashburton

The land on which the town of Ashburton stands was obtained from the Canterbury Association which held the land under the Wakefield Scheme. The aim of the scheme was to build a Church of England settlement like the Mother Country.

At this time the Ashburton District was a wide expanse of tussock covered land swept periodically by gales from the north-west. There were no trees in general except a few cabbage trees and matagouri. The wide snow-fed braided rivers meant fords constantly changed and crossings could be difficult.

Cobb and Company coaches began a service in 1864 and a Road Board was set up to control the area from the Rakaia to the Rangitata and from the Southern Alps to the sea.
John Grigg settled at Longbeach and began draining the swampy land, turning the estate into a model farm that attracted world-wide attention. Grigg's drive and energy extended around the district - he is remembered as a man of strength, physically and morally, and a key figure in the development of the Ashburton area.

He later founded the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company, which shipped frozen stock to Britain, chairman of the Farmers' Insurance Company, a member of the Ashburton County Council and a member of Parliament. After his death in 1901 a statue of Grigg was erected in Baring Square.

As the population increased, so did the facilities of the new town. Ashburton Borough School was built in 1871, the Canterbury Flour Mills opened and shortly after the Rakaia River was bridged, a branch of the Union Bank of Australia opened.  In 1876 the Ashburton County Council was formed and council offices  built, the ‘Ashburton Mail  began publication the following year and the Agricultural and Pastoral Association formed with John Grigg as first president.

In 1878 Ashburton was constituted a Borough and Thomas Bullock was elected first Mayor. The district was growing steadily and before the turn of the century its first hospital opened, Ashburton High School was founded and E. G. Wright became the first member of Parliament for the district.  Business grew too, a woollen mill opened in 1855, a freezing works was established at Fairfield in 1899 and gas lighting came to Ashburton streets. The town's high pressure water supply was established in 1911 and a water tower built.

This district has a vast backcountry in which visitors can lose themselves for a day, a week or longer. Ashburton is the agricultural centre of the district and today the district is one of the most productive and prosperous farming areas in New Zealand. It is an easy town in which to find your way around, with streets laid out in a neat, easy to follow pattern. The key to discovering the beauty of the district, however, is to venture into the scenic, rural heartland, rich in rivers, mountains and lakes. Ashburton has many activities from which visitors can choose - tramping, walking, fishing, hunting, skiing, heli-skiing, water sports, jet boating, rafting, hot air ballooning, horse riding, golf, biking, garden tours, farm tours, flying horse racing - to name just a few.

Timaru  

Timaru is a major port city in South Canterbury, New Zealand, located 160 kilometres south of Christchurch and about 200 kilometres north of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The territorial authority district of about 30,000 people in and around the former Timaru City includes a prosperous agricultural hinterland with links to smaller rural communities such as Pleasant Point, Temuka, and Geraldine. The town of Waimate is about 40 kilometres to the south on the road to Oamaru and Dunedin.

European settlement began with the construction of a whaling station in the late 1830s by the Weller brothers of Sydney at Patiti Point, close to the present town centre. A supply ship, The Caroline, provided the name for a local bay. Later a sheep station, known as The Levels, was created on land purchased by the Rhodes brothers. Few lived in Timaru until 1859 when the ship Strathallan arrived from England, carrying a party of 120 immigrants. Persistent land disputes arose between the brothers and local government officials with the result that two townships were established in the port area, Government Town and Rhodestown. These eventually merged into a single community in 1868. Given this division, until recently none of the main north-south streets lined up. Stafford Street, which became the main thoroughfare, was formed along the early bullock wagon trail.

Following the loss of a number of vessels of the coast, work started on the redevelopment of the artificial port in 1877, which eventually caused sand, washed south down the Pacific shoreline, to build up against the northern mole. This was the beginning of the extensive land reclamation around the Caroline Bay district, an area which is still growing today.

Caroline Bay beach is a popular recreational area located close to Timaru's city centre, just to the north of the substantial port facilities. Beyond Caroline Bay, the industrial suburb of Washdyke is at a major junction with State Highway 8, the main route into the Mackenzie Country. This provides a road link to Fairlie, Lake Tekapo, Mount Cook and Queenstown.

Timaru has been constructed on rolling hills created from the lava flows of the extinct Mt Horrible volcano, which last erupted many thousands of years ago. The result is that most of the main streets are undulating, a clear contrast with the flat landscape of the Canterbury Plain to the north. This volcanic rock is used for the construction of local "bluestone" buildings.