I’m sure as William Horner (1832 – 1905) walked down Papanui Road to work, he would glance over towards St Paul’s Anglican Church and dream – his destiny was very much laid out before him in Papanui. William and his wife Mary Proctor arrived in Lyttelton in 1859. They first settled there – where William …
Known as The Junction, here’s the intersection of Papanui Road, Salisbury, Montreal and Victoria Streets in 1899. If you are still feeling a little lost, if that old fella was standing there (Victoria Street) today, he would have the Victoria Clock Tower behind him. What’s amazing is that the Victoria Clock Tower had another home …
Thomas Smith Duncan was a bit of a rascal who fled his homeland with a young charge of the family. Together they fled Perth, Scotland and headed south to the village of Gretna Green and got married. In what could be regarded as Scotland’s “Las Vegas”, the township is still known for its runaway/quickie weddings! …
The Maori word ‘Papanui’ has two different meanings, no one knows for certain which one is correct as both seem to relate to the history of this area of Christchurch. Along with Riccarton Bush, there was also the Papanui Bush, both areas could be viewed easily from the Bridle Path in the sea of tussock …
Around 1500 years ago, a Maori village stretched from Victoria Square (pictured) to Bealey Ave and was known as Puari. Around the Waitaka Pa, 800 Maori had made Puari their home.Puari’s burial grounds – the sites of the old Library Chambers (demolished due to earthquake damage) and the Central Police Station (future unknown) each on …
References to our past are everywhere, you just have to look. The Randolph Motel Apartments on Papanui Road complete with a image of the ‘Randolph’, one of the first four ships to arrive in Lyttelton in 1850. *Photo taken by Annette Bulovic*
The history of Merivale or should I say Merevale, isn’t a clear one. There are 3 tales that compete to be fact, all quite different but I was glad to find out that 2 of these stories had a place where they met and this is how maybe the confusion happened. Charlotte Jackson arrived in …
