My dear old school friend Anthony hadn’t been working at the Christchurch Town Hall very long when he first heard about the haunted dressing rooms of the James Hay Theatre. I can’t recall whether he had been uneasy within himself when his duties called him to that part of the Town Hall or whether he …
As a man of God, I’m sure the loss of your own child could be even harder to understand. To be in the service of the Most High and still, your children don’t escape the harsh reality of being in the world, must be even more crushing. Falling back on what had comforted him in …
“…unusual fatigue, to which, in his praiseworthy endeavors to find a suitable spot on which to locate his family, the deceased had exposed himself…” The Lyttelton Times January 1851 John Williams was painfully aware that he, his wife Isabella and their 7 children only had a few days of grace at their first Canterbury lodgings …
Cyrus Davie (1821 – 1871) Died of old age Place of Death: Christchurch * Missed the sailing of the ‘Randolph’ so sailed on the ‘Sir George Seymour’ and swapped ships mid journey. Buried at the Barbadoes Street Cemetery, Christchurch. The story of Cyrus Davie: http://www.peelingbackhistory.co.nz/cyrus-davie-1821-1871/ Photo taken by Annette Bulovic
Christchurch Cemeteries: Filling You In On Our Buried Past – Bishop Henry James Chitty Harper Date and Place of Birth: 9th January 1804 at Hampshire, England Date and Place of Death: 28th December 1893 at Bishopscourt, Christchurch. Roles in Early Canterbury and New Zealand: * 1st Anglican Bishop of Canterbury – 1856 to 1890 * …
“On the east side of Market Place stood Mr. Gould’s General Store with a great barrier in the middle of the floor filled with fascinating coils of rope-like tobacco – fascinating because we thought it was good to having (having I suppose watched sailors and Maoris chewing lumps) till an experimentalising younger brother nearly put …
Irene Leaver – the daughter of the Mayor of the New Brighton’s Borough – couldn’t help but let her eyes stray up to the surrounding crowd. I’m sure with a small lump in her throat; she forced a smile to her lips and returned to her duty of laying the foundation stone for the New …
Thomas Cass (1817 – 1895) Died of old age Place of Death: Christchurch Chief Surveyor of Canterbury 1851 – 1867 Buried at Barbadoes Street Cemetery. The story of Thomas Cass: http://www.peelingbackhistory.co.nz/thomas-cass-1817-1895/ Photo taken by Annette Bulovic
Tommy Cass knew life’s ups and downs. By the time he was surveying the 33,000 acres that would become the Deans’ future rural station of ‘Homebush’ in 1851, Tommy had earned the respect and admiration of all those around him. You get the feeling that he walked along with a great confidence and self knowledge …
Henry John Tancred had a career that would make anyone’s head spin!!! Born in the Isle of Wight in 1814, Henry became an officer in the Austrian Army. In 1848, he had a nasty fall from his horse which left him mildly handicapped. He took his sick leave in England and it was there that …
