As the ‘Charlotte Jane’, the Canterbury’s Association first ship sailed into Lyttelton Harbour on the morning of the 16th December 1850, another ship – named the ‘Fly’ – sat at anchor at the head of the harbour belonging to the New Zealand Governor, Sir George Grey. He, like John Robert Godley – the Founder of …
The Beckenham Loop is a part of the Heathcote River that sits south of Fisher Ave and east of Colombo Street. It once was known as the intersection between three ancient Maori areas – Otautahi, Ihutai and Opawawaho. Otautahi is now known as Governor’s Bay and means ‘The place of one daughter’. Over 300 years …
Among the other immigrants aboard the ‘Charlotte Jane’ were cousins, Thomas and Charles Cholmondeley. Unlike many of the other settlers on board, these cousins had no obvious reason to seek out a chance for a better life. They came from a very rich noble family…maybe this was the reason the pair broke away – that …
I have walked around St Cuthbert’s Cemetery in Governor’s Bay many, many times, always intrigued by the headstones of the families that are buried there. The marriages between them ignited my imagination delightfully! As a teenager, I recorded down the info on these headstones and worked out the who’s who by the clues left to …
This name-less reserve sits above the Cashmere Hills Presbyterian Church on Dyers Pass Road. It was once used as a resting place – first for the Ngati Mamoe and then the Ngai Tahu. Above this reserve is Sherwood Lane which is the location of Matuku-takotako – a cave that was used for shelter. From leaving …
