“To tell you is a great task, for I can assure you it is a most awful country,” wrote James Boot from Christchurch, New Zealand in letter to his parents in Nottingham, England in June, …
The tide at New Brighton could go out a long way and the sand was hard, making motor and bicycle racing on New Brighton beach a popular past time that would draw the crowds. Many cycling and motor …
A Tale of Convicts, Ship Wrecks, Strange Family Relations, and a £500 Bequest. Before the Canterbury Settlement was inaugurated, a young Australian lad landed at Port Cooper in the company of his f…
The Anglican church of St. Michael and All the Angels, at 84 Oxford Terrace, stands on the site of the first church the Canterbury Association’s settlers built in 1851. Perhaps there a…
New Zealand’s largest and most iconic booksellers, publishers and printing company was Whitcombe & Tombs of Christchurch. It was established in 1882 by Mr. George Hawkes Whitcombe, a seem…
“The most historic bridge in Christchurch” The iconic stone arch which spans over Cashel Street bridge – linking Cambridge with Oxford Terrace is “a visible symbol” wh…
By Fabian Bell The Avon is a lovely river. Of course I know that many people will say that it is no better than a ditch, &c. I pity their want of taste. Of course the stream is narrow and does …
It is midday on the busy intersection of Manchester, High and Lichfield Streets when this photograph was taken from the corner of Bedford Row c. 1904. The street is full of activity as shoppers mak…
Earthquakes in Christchurch are not unusual events, we’ve been beset with them since European settlement began – and no doubt long before. What is most disturbing of all is that our Eur…
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…
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…
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…
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0911 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Tuesday 27 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-27-IMG_0669 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Tuesday 27 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-27-IMG_0749 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0897 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0814 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Tuesday 27 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-27-IMG_0736 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0905 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Tuesday 27 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-27-IMG_0748 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0819 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Tuesday 27 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-27-IMG_0751 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0895 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesda y28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0906 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0898 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0824 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0930 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0925 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0812 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
Wednesday 28 March 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-03-28-IMG_0817 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.