CHCH development timeline

By samward192
  • 1450

    Moa killed off in Canterbury area

    Following first South Island inhabitants' arrival, the moa were killed off by 1450.
  • Period: 1500 to

    North Island Maori arrive in Canterbury

    The remaining moa hunters were killed or taken into the tribes.

  • First European sighting

    Captain James Cook in his ship the Endeavour first sighted the Canterbury peninsula.

  • First European house in Canterbury

    William and John Deans arrived and established a farm at Pūtaringamotu. Together they built the first European house on the Canterbury Plains. They named the area Riccarton after the parish they came from in Scotland, and the nearby river the Avon, after a stream on their grandfather’s farm

  • Planning of Canterbury settlement

    John Robert Godley and Edward Gibbon Wakefield met to plan the Canterbury settlement.

  • Christchurch named as capital city of Canterbury

    Early in 1848 the Canterbury Association was formed, and it was decided to name the capital city Christchurch after the college John Godley had gone to at Oxford University.

  • Canterbury towns planned

    Christchurch, Sumner and Lyttelton planned, with a road to Sumner being built.

  • Canterbury's first superintendent

    Canterbury’s first superintendent was James Edward Fitzgerald.

  • Christchurch Sewer System Finished

    The new Christchurch Drainage Board decided to install a system of sewers in the central city. Building began in 1879, and the system started pumping in 1882. Christchurch became the first city in NZ to have a sewer system.

  • Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee

    Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrated in Christchurch