“I hope you have not changed your mind about coming here; as I have a suggestion to make…relating to yourself and a pleasant colonising object…if you come do not let us be cut short on time…”
And just like that, the idea of Canterbury is born in a simple conversation between two minds 😉
Edward Gibbon Wakefield in a letter to John Robert Godley in England ~ 27th July 1847
*Wakefield was the owner of The New Zealand Company, responsible for the settlements of New Plymouth, Wellington, Nelson and of course, Canterbury. With Godley, he founded the Canterbury Association who held their first meeting in London on the 27th March 1848. It was at this meeting that Godley suggested the name of Christchurch – for the capital city of Canterbury – after his school, Christ Church College in Oxford. This name was accepted.
*Photo is of the Godley Statue in Cathedral Square – courtesy of Edwin.11 and the image has been cropped*
