The Earthquake Wave at Lyttelton, 1868
Articles, Lost Christchurch
The town of Lyttelton on Saturday morning (15 August) was thrown into a state of great excitement owing to a most extraordinary rise and fall of the water in the harbour…
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Mrs Merritt’s Boarding House
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Drunkeness was a serious problem in Christchurch by the late 1870s. It didn’t help that for a city of its size, there were 47 hotels and breweries as opposed to just 10 dentists and chemist …
Telephone Girls, The Telegraph and Post Office, Cathedral Square
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Written by Helen Solomons In 1879, my great grandfather, Mortimer Cashman Corliss, was promoted to head telegraphist in Christchurch’s newly built Post and Telegraph Office in Cathedral Squar…
Are Historic Buildings Important?
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Up until February 22nd, 2011, the city of Christchurch was a unique, historic and cultural living and breathing entity. Inherited from a long list of valuable contributors dating back to its incep…
Lichfield Street, between Colombo and High Streets, 1883
Articles, Lost Christchurch
The growing permanence and sophistication of Christchurch, is evident in this photograph of Lichfield Street. Taken by the Burton Brother’s, the photograph shows us that the little frontier …
Sumner Tram Excursion
Articles, Lost Christchurch
On this summer’s day in 1906, the ten o’clock morning tram to Sumner is about to depart from outside the Royal Exchange in Cathedral Square. An excursion to Sumner was a popular outing …
Down Town from High Street
Articles, Lost Christchurch
The pace of town appears leisurely as pedestrians meander across High Street, while several trams slowly move past them c. 1929. There are a large number of men on they bicycles – perhaps th…
Captain Lorraine’s Final Fatal Balloon Ascent
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Captain Lorriane Loses his Life The Balloon Carried out to Sea A Terrible Fall. The Aeronaut Drowned, Fruitless Search for his Body. Star, Issue 6633, 3 November 1899, Page 4 Not one of the thousan…
The Mystery of the Severed Hand
Articles, Lost Christchurch
“When the Clerk of the Court, in his quiet, matter-of-fact way, called Arthur Robert Howard, there was a hush of the murmured conversation among the crowd, and everyone looked towards the doo…
“Letter From New Zealand” …or Provincial Propoganda?
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Dear Father and Mother, l arrived here all safe on the 23rd of September, after a splendid voyage of 94 days without a single storm. I enjoyed the voyage very much and was kindly treated by everybo…
A Penny Stamp for All Places – Cathedral Square c.1908
Articles, Lost Christchurch
“There are two classes of Christchurch postcards – those with the Cathedral and those without.” [1] The elegance of a lost age is captured in this exquisite photochrom post…
D.I.C. 1909 – ‘An up-to-date Emporium’
Articles, Lost Christchurch
The New Premises of the D.I.C. Cashel and Lichfield Streets, Christchurch From the ashes of the conflagration which ravaged the business heart of the city a year ago, there has arisen a wonderfully…
Rudyard Kipling’s Flying Visit to Christchurch
Articles, Lost Christchurch
By Our Special Reporter Yesterday morning I was at the Christchurch railway station with the intention of going to Port by the five minutes to eight train, in order to meet Mr Rudyard Kipling, who …
Mrs General Mite – ‘one of the most interesting personalities that has eve…
Articles, Lost Christchurch
It was a warm fair day on the 16th December 1919, a light nor’easterly breeze was blowing through the city. Much the same weather was being experienced throughout the whole of the Dominion. T…
The Spanish Beauty and the Beast – The Manchester St Murder
Articles, Lost Christchurch
For £55, reports The Press in 1909, an Antipodean may travel to London and back via the Cape, and secure a very pleasant holiday. For boarders and employees at Alfred and May Burn’s ‘Silver Grid’ b…
Handsome and substantial – Warner’s Hotel, Cathedral Square
Articles, Lost Christchurch
On the north east corner of Cathedral Square, the Commercial Hotel, owned by John Etherden Coker (1832 – 1894) was opened in 1863. The name Warner’s was not used until the hotel’s…
D.I.C. Opens for Business in Cashel Street, 1884
Articles, Lost Christchurch
“…the advent of a new Company that will sell goods at reasonable profits for cash…” To the Editor of the Press. Dear Sir, All undertakings of a public beneficial nature, whi…
“The Sick, Faint Feeling of Violent Shakes,” Jane Deans
Articles, Lost Christchurch
For one of our city’s most famous early women settlers, poor health had marred not only her voyage to New Zealand but also her arrival to her new home at Riccarton. From the moment Jane Deans…
Shaves & Shampoos on the North West Corner of Cathedral Square
Articles, Lost Christchurch
It’s just before 3pm on a late summer day in 1914. Prolific Christchurch photographer, Steffano Webb is setting up his camera equipment inside the gents’ hairdressing saloon of well kno…
Early Days in Sydenham, how the Pioneers Fared
Articles, Lost Christchurch
An interesting contribution to the history of the early days of Christchurch, and especially of the district now known as Sydenham, was made by Mr Henry Ffitch, of Glandovey road, Fendalton, in a s…
Going Under Canvas at Sumner – 1890s
Articles, Lost Christchurch
During the past year or two it has been customary for a number of parties of young men to go into camp at Sumner for the summer months, and to come up to Christchurch during business hours. Special…
The Triangle – Noxious Exhalations and a Special Earthquake
Articles, Lost Christchurch
“William Wilson was formerly a cabbage dealer in Canterbury; but fourteen years ago he was poor, whereas now he is rich, a circumstance attributable to a lucky speculation in a piece of land …
Electric Trams – “Horses No Longer Required”
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Christchurch was the last of the four cities to introduce electric trams. They had tried to introduce the system in 1902, but it was prior to the amalgamation of the boroughs, so with the advent of…
The First Car Comes to Christchurch
Articles, Lost Christchurch
A Packing Case on Wheels Local and General. Star, Issue 6789, 8 May 1900, Page 3 A weird-looking vehicle has recently been seen travelling through the streets of the city much to the amusement and …
A Visit to the Suburbs and a Parting Nor’ Wester
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Notes on a Christchurch Trip By Fabian Bell Part V: A Visit to Some of the Suburbs and a Parting Nor’ Wester The room in which Bishop Julius was entertained at luncheon the other day is a par…
Remembering Lost Christchurch
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Our city is a repository for the social and historical narrative of our past Each street, wall, facade, interior is an integral part of the people who walked passed them, shopped in them, worked in…
Sharing Memories
Articles, Lost Christchurch
In response to the loss of our inner city of Christchurch, we were inspired to create this website, Lost Christchurch, as a freely accessible archive of photographs, social history and memories of …
Port Lyttelton – ‘a mean, insignificant little place’
Articles, Lost Christchurch
This land-locked port of Lyttelton – called occasionally Port Cooper and sometimes Port Victoria – is the main, or rather the only, entrance to the Province of Canterbury. The surroundi…
Why Our Historic Buildings Are Important
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Up until February 22nd, 2011, the city of Christchurch was a unique, historic and cultural living and breathing entity. Inherited from a long list of valuable contributors dating back to its incept…
Site Founder
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Wendy Riley A relative newcomer to Christchurch, Wendy has deep-rooted connections to the city. Her ancestors, like many colonial New Zealanders, traced their origins to Scotland and England. After…