Date and Place of Birth: 1828, Caistor. Lincolnshire, England Date and Place of Death: 15th November 1895, Eyreton, Canterbury Roles in Early Canterbury: * introduced Canterbury farming to the three furrow plough. * introduced Canterbury farming to the straw elevator. * introduced Canterbury farming to the slip gate. * first export of wheat to Britain …
Upon seeing this wonderful painting of the road between Canterbury and Westland reminded me of a very interesting – and mostly unknown additional adventure concerning Arthur Dudley Dobson and his now much beloved passage through our Southern Alps. Arthur was barely 23 years old when the Canterbury Provincial Council sent him off to find the …
When the Canterbury Association Management Committee were pulling together all the details of the upcoming immigration of roughly 700 settlers to Christchurch and Canterbury in 1850, every little detail had to be thought of and ironed out. This included diet while on board. It was agreed that every ship should have at least one sheep, …
It can be funny how a stretch of land seems destined to know only one purpose. I have come across this from time to time and it is amazing how many different sets of feet can walk that land and yet they all entwine into a wonderful themed history. This is the case of Middleton …
I will always be grateful to my ex-workmates of Bryco-ProPrint (now out of business) who introduced me to the old ‘Occi’ around 1999/2000. I was invited along to watch the All Blacks on the big screen and have a sampling of the backpacker’s famous roast dinner. I know I looked up at the façade as …
Throughout my studies of Christchurch’s history, the surname of Worsley has popped up now and again. As there was no additional information offered with these brief references, Henry Francis Worsley had remained a question mark in my mind, that is, until this morning. Now I know why previous historians haven’t written about him as there …
At the time of 22nd February 2011 earthquake, Chris and I were literally in our 2nd week of living on Lowes Road in Rolleston. We both were in Christchurch at 12.51pm that day (and after being told by him to stay put at my parents’ house in Bishopdale) Chris headed home from work, envisioning our …
Amongst the men who attended the first meeting of the Canterbury Association – on 27th March 1848 – there was man who held the title of Lord Elcho, the 9th Earl of Wemyss and March. But to his fellow Christ Church College classmates, he was just simply the Honorable Francis Charteris (1818 – 1914). Being …
If one wished to split hairs, you could say that Canterbury’s first lawyers were William and John Deans. It seems that in the Deans household in the parish of Riccarton back in good old Scotland, it was straight out of school and into Dad’s law firm to establish in oneself a good work ethic. But …
Upon searching the claim that the Allen family had the first European birth – following the arrival of the Canterbury Association ships – which even the family were unsure about, I came across another birth that instantly took my interest. In the 3rd edition of the Lyttelton Times, the birth of Edward Greig Watts Polhill …
