-
Feb 9, 1000
First people
The first people to live in the place now known as Christchurch were Moa hunters, who probably arrived there as early as AD 1000. The hunters cleared large areas of mataī and tōtara forest by fire and by about 1450 the moa had been killed off. -
Early settlers
On 16 February 1770 Captain James Cook in his ship the Endeavour first sighted the Canterbury peninsula -
First settlement
Captain William Rhodes first visited in 1836. He came back in 1839 and landed a herd of 50 cattle near Akaroa -
The Canterbury Settlement
On December 1847 John Robert Godley and Edward Gibbon Wakefield met to plan the Canterbury settlement. Wakefield believed that colonisation of countries like New Zealand could be organised in such a way that towns could be planned before settlers arrived. These towns would be like a community back in England, with landowners, small farmers and workers, and with churches, shops and schools. -
The first four ships
The first of the ships, the Charlotte Jane, arrived in Lyttelton on the morning of December 16, 1850, and was met by Godley and Sir George and Lady Grey. The first ashore of the travellers, known as the Pilgrims, was James Edward Fitzgerald, who leapfrogged over Dr Alfred Barker, sitting in the prow of the rowing boat. The second of the ships, the Randolph, arrived on the afternoon of 16 December, followed by the Sir George Seymour on 17 December, and the Cressy, on 27 December. -
First school
First school opened in Lyttelton by the Reverend Henry Jacobs. -
Population growth
Within a year eight chartered Canterbury Association ships and another seven privately backed ships had arrived, bringing the population of the settlement to three thousand. -
Towards independence
On 30 June 1852 the New Zealand Constitution Act was passed in England. New Zealand was divided into six provinces, each with their own administration, including an elected Superintendent. The Canterbury Association ceased to exist from 30 September. Godley was invited to become Superintendent, but refused as he had decided to return to England. -
First superintendent
Under the new provincial system, Canterbury’s first superintendent was James Edward Fitzgerald, elected on 20 July, 1853. -
Lyttelton tunnel
Because there were still big problems getting heavy luggage from Lyttelton to Christchurch. Moorhouse’s solution was to build a railway tunnel through the Port Hills to link Christchurch and Lyttelton. The Provincial Council finally agreed, and work began in 1860, coming to an early halt when harder than expected rock was struck during tunnelling.
