# The Story of Christchurch, New Zealand/Chapter 4

Chapter IV.
1850–1851.
Arrival of Canterbury Pilgrims.
Arrival of “First Four Ships”—Welcomed by Governor Grey and by Mr. Godley—Meeting of Society of Land Purchasers—Choice of site for capital—Bishop Selwyn—The “Lyttelton Times”—Dr. Jackson, the Bishop-Designate—Allotment of lands and choice of sections—St. Michael’s Church—Squatting Regulations.
News had been brought by the “Phoebe Dunbar” in November of the intended date of sailing of the first four ships, and on Monday, December 16, 1850, His Excellency the Governor and Lady Grey, who had arrived in H.M.S. “Fly,” were waiting to welcome the Pilgrims. On that day Mr. Godley, standing on the shores of Lyttelton, witnessed the realisation of his dream. The “Charlotte Jane” was the first ship to arrive, casting anchor about 10 o'clock in the morning, after a voyage of one hundred days. The “Randolph” followed about 4 o’clock in the evening of the same day, and next morning, the “Sir George Seymour” arrived.
​The “Cressy” was later, and did not reach Lyttelton till December 27.
During the long voyage only two of the four vessels had spoken each other, the “Randolph” and the “Sir George Seymour, and their meeting in mid-ocean was marked by a curious incident. One of the “Randolph’s” passengers, Mr. Cyrus Davy, who had missed his passage and had been taken on by the “Sir George Seymour,” was transferred to the former ship and enabled to rejoin his luggage.
When the first boat from the “Charlotte Jane” came alongside the jetty, Mr. FitzGerald was in the bows ready to spring ashore, and succeeded in securing the honour of being the first Pilgrim to set foot in Canterbury. He was closely followed by Dr. Barker. Mr. S. C. Farr, who had come over from Akaroa to greet the new arrivals, witnessed the incident, and sixty years later was still able to recall the green velvet coat, breeches, and gaiters with mother of pearl buttons, which constituted the landing suit of the first Superintendent.
The colonists were welcomed by His Excellency, who modified the Customs regulations to enable them to land their personal belongings free of duty, and made some necessary appointments. Mr. Godley, in addition to his other responsibilities, became Resident Magistrate and Commissioner of Crown Lands. Mr. FitzGerald was appointed Emigration Agent, and Mr. W. G. Brittan was selected to take charge of the Land Office.
The colonists were fortunate in experiencing a spell of glorious weather for their disembarkation. But for this, the almost simultaneous arrival of three ships would have put a severe strain on the accommodation and transport facilities provided. All heavy luggage had to he transported to Christchurch by water, via Sumner and up the river to “The Bricks.” The Pilgrims crossed the bridle track on foot, carrying with them their lighter personal belongings, and then had to flounder through ​the swamps between the foot of the hills and Christchurch.
Many accounts of that pilgrimage have come down to us, and of the varied impression created by the first view of the “promised land” as seen from the summit. The Riccarton and Papanui bushes were the most noticeable features, with the Rangiora bush visible in the distance. To the east and north of Christchurch were great stretches of raupo swamp and of sandhills. The late Mr. George Robert Hart, for many years chief reporter for the “Press,” has left in “Stray Leaves from the Early History of Canterbury,” a description of the Christchurch of 1851. Mr. Hart came out as a boy with his parents in the “Cressy.” His father pitched his tent (a ship’s sail) on the site of the present White Hart Hotel.
Christchurch was then a waste of high fern and tutu, through which the surveyors had cut rough tracks. Indeed, a year later it is said that a new arrival lost his way amongst the scrub in Cathedral Square and was found plaintively asking to be shown the way to Christchurch. Behind the White Hart, in Lichfield Street, was a raupo swamp, another to the east extended nearly to the present Lancaster Park. These areas were the haunts of swarms of ducks and pukaki. Running diagonally across the site of the city was a deep gully, carrying water in winter time too deep to be forded. This gully left the river near St. Michael’s Church—it can still been seen in the vicarage gardens—crossed Cashel Street, passed near the Bank of New Zealand Corner, through Dr. Prins’ garden, where the Canterbury Hall now stands, and flowed back into the river near the Manchester Street bridge.
We shall come later to the first selection of sections by the settlers. In the first instance, each man pitched his camp where he pleased, cutting down the fern and tutu to make a clearing, and it happened that the first group of buildings grew up near “The Bricks” wharf ​which was the landing place for goods transhipped from Lyttelton.
Another centre was formed by the Land Office on the site of the present Municipal Buildings, also on the river, and nearby in Worcester Street, Dr. Barker, to whom we are indebted for a fine collection of early photographs, pitched his tent. The accidental grouping of settlement round these two centres was typical of the time. The city had certainly been planned—on paper—and there were tracks cut to indicate the lines of some of the streets; apart from this, the land was a waste of sand, fern and scrub, crossed by a waterlogged gully. He would have been a prophet indeed who could have foretold where the main channels of commerce would be established.
There was at that time some confusion between the names of Christchurch and Lyttelton. The Association had chosen the name of Christchurch for its capital city, but the Colonists’ Society in London had carried a resolution asking that the capital should be called Lyttelton, to which the Association had somewhat reluctantly consented. Mr. Godley had never acquiesced in the change, and the names remained on the maps as we know them to-day. The confusion of names was only temporary, and as the old names were ultimately retained, it need not be further referred to.
But the far more important question had to be decided whether the capital city should be at the port or on the plains. The Committee of the Canterbury Association in London favoured the port as the seat of the capital, but left the decision to the settlers. The following is an extract from the despatch to Mr. Godley dated London, September 7, 1850 (Canterbury Papers, p. 200):—
“By the terms of purchase the first body of colonists are entitled to half-acre allotments in the capital, or to quarter-acre allotments in other towns, You will, therefore, be under the necessity of determining the site ​of the capital at once. Some difference of opinion has been expressed among the intending colonists on this subject. Of course, such opinions, formed in ignorance of local circumstances, cannot be regarded as at present entitled to much consideration. But I call your attention especially to the circumstance, that the question of the site of the capital has been considered, at all times, as one upon which the opinion of the Land Purchasers in the Colony themselves (to be ascertained by you in the best form which may be practicable) ought to exercise an important influence. Apart from a positive engagement with them to that effect, reasons of policy would lead to the same conclusion, it being in the highest degree important that in the first infancy of the settlement, no discontent or disappointment should be felt by them on such a point.”
“So far as any opinion has been formed here upon the question, it appears generally favourable to the adoption of Port Lyttelton as the capital. As a principle, the Committee think that it would be improper to fix the site elsewhere than at the natural point of conflux of the population, which must at first, as they imagine, concentrate itself round Port Lyttelton.”
Mr. Godley referred the matter to “the Society of Land Purchasers” (as the Society of “Canterbury Colonists” was now called), and a general meeting was held on December 20, at Lyttelton, and presided over by Mr. W. G. Brittan, and the following resolution was carried unanimously:—
“That this meeting is of opinion that of the two sites offered to their selection by the Association for the capital, that marked on the map by the name of Christchurch is the more eligible, and that Mr. Godley be accordingly requested to declare immediately that the capital of the settlement will be fixed at that site.” The resolution was forwarded to Mr. Godley, and he, on ​December 24, gave his written consent.
While on the subject of the Land Purchasers’ Society, it may be convenient to refer to a letter dated January 27, 1851, addressed to the Hon. J. Stuart Wortley, Honorary Secretary of the Council of the Society, in which Mr. Godley expressed his general intention to be largely guided by the wishes of that Society: “So long,” to quote his own words, “as I shall be satisfied that your body does really and adequately represent the land purchasers of the settlement.” To meet this proviso, the Council decided to resign the trust confided to them into the “hands of the general body of colonists,” and another election was held, at which the following Council was elected:—
Messrs. W. G. Brittan, Burke, T. Cholmondeley, Dampier, W. Deans, J. E. FitzGerald, Longden, H. Phillips, J. Watts Russell, H. Tancred, J. Townsend, E. R. Ward.
This Council was not altogether a happy family, and went through at least one “crisis,” but fortunately it included in its membership several men of sterling character, who carried it through its difficulties with credit and discretion.
With the opening of the New Year came Bishop Selwyn, almost a “first footer,” according to a pleasant Scottish phrase, to pay his first pastoral visit to Canterbury. The Bishop arrived on January 6, from Wellington in his own schooner, the “Undine” of 40 tons burden. He sailed the little craft himself, navigating the rough water from the North Cape to the Auckland Islands, which were both included in his immense diocese. George Augustus Selwyn was a very notable figure in early New Zealand history: the last and one of the greatest of the missionaries. He was born in 1809, and educated at Eton and Cambridge. He took a good degree in classics, and rowed in the first Oxford and ​Cambridge boat race. He possessed the “mens sana in corpore sano,” and, as Mr. Gisborne said of him, he almost delighted in danger and privation. His thorough knowledge of their language enabled him to gain a great influence over the Maoris.
The Bishop officiated on the following Sunday. Dean Jacobs was present at the service, which was held in the loft above one of the Canterbury Association’s goods stores. The loft was reached by a ladder, and the seating accommodation was provided by planks resting on sugar barrels. The Bishop only remained four days in Lyttelton, and on January 7, after addressing a meeting of colonists, he set sail in his schooner for the Chatham Islands, Otago and the Auckland Islands, but arranged to return in February to meet Dr. Jackson, the Bishop-designate.
On Saturday, January 11, 1851, appeared the first (weekly) number of the “Lyttelton Times,” a journal which has shared the fortunes and fought the battles of the Canterbury Settlement up to the present date. Mr. FitzGerald very ably filled the position of editor, and Mr. Shrimpton, an Oxford printer, took charge of the mechanical department.
The “Lyttelton Times” became at once an important part of the young settlement’s institutions. “As long as there is but one public journal in a colony,” said the introductory leading article, “we hold it to be the duty of the editor to avoid, above all things, making it exclusively the organ of any particular party. He ought so far to consult the public good as to make his journal a means for enabling parties or individuals to lay their views before their fellow-countrymen, and his columns ought to be equally and liberally open to all. Indeed, a far deeper responsibility lies upon us to give this means of expression to our fellow-colonists, so that our journal may fairly and faithfully represent the mind of the whole community, from the consideration ​that we are living at present under a government which affords the colonists no legitimate and constitutional mode of stating their opinions upon questions of public interest such as they would possess under a representative government, and such as they themselves enjoyed up to the moment they left their native shores.”
The article went on to state that the “Lyttelton Times” was “wholly independent of the Canterbury Association,” and recognised “no allegiance to the Council of Colonists. Still less can we be accused of submitting to any influence from the Government of New Zealand. Our anxious wish is that the ‘Lyttelton Times’ should be the organ of the settlement and of the settlers, in the most extended sense, and that it may be conducted in such a manner as to be so regarded by our fellow-colonists.”
Only two lines of general policy were laid down—the first being a general support of the principles on which the colony had been founded, and the second to insist upon the introduction of a constitution ‘in which the great principle of British law shall be recognised to the full, that no Englishman shall be taxed without his consent, signified by his representatives.’
The new journal was welcomed by the London “Times” of July 5, 1851, in a kindly and appreciative article:—
“A slice of England cut from top to bottom was despatched in September last to the Antipodes.”
It was “a deliberate, long considered, solemn and devoted pilgrimage to a temple, erected by nature for the good of all-comers, blessed with strong limbs and courageous hearts.
“Between deck and keel were the elements of a college, the contents of a public library, the machinery for a bank, and the constituent parts of a constitutional government. It is superfluous to say that the enterprising voyagers took on board with them type, a press, ​and editor, a reporter, pens, ink and paper, and a determined resolution to start a journal for the enlightened public of New Zealand, at the very earliest opportunity.
“It is certainly not a matter of astonishment that the Canterbury settlers should settle upon an organ half an hour after they were fortunate enough to reach a distant home; but it is really worthy of remark and admiration that all the conditions of a highly influential journal should present itself in an instant to an antipodean contemporary on a desert coast, quite as readily as to the journalist in the centre of this ever busy city. It is difficult to glance at the first number of the ‘Lyttelton Times,’ now before us, and associate its existence with a community not a month old. So far from being ashamed at our namesake, we are positively proud of his acquaintance, and envious of his power. If the editor can create so much cut of nothing, what would he make of such a breeding heap as this of London?”
This article was reproduced in the “Lyttelton Times” of November 22, 1851. The delay gives some idea of the time occupied in the conveyance of mails in those early days.
The next event of importance was the arrival on February 7, of Dr. Thomas Jackson, the Bishop-designate of the Canterbury Settlement, with his wife and family. Dr Jackson arrived in the “Castle Eden” with 200 more colonists. He had been selected by the Canterbury Association as its first Bishop, and had assisted the cause of the Association in England. It had been intended that he should have been consecrated before sailing, but as explained by Lord Lyttelton (at the farewell banquet on beard the “Randolph”), an unforeseen obstacle had been encountered. (Canterbury Papers, p. 177):—
“The existing diocese of New Zealand was consecrated some years ago, and was founded on terms so unusually large, and giving most complete possession ​of the colony to the Bishop, that it was the opinion of the law office of the Crown that it was impossible to make a new diocese without the Bishop's consent. This was a mere matter of form, as the Bishop was not only willing, but anxious that the new diocese should be formed.”
Bishop Selwyn returned from the Auckland Islands to welcome the Bishop-designate, and wished the latter to go to Sydney to be consecrated, but Dr. Jackson preferred to return to England, and after a stay of only a few weeks, left Lyttelton on March 15, it being then anticipated that he would be consecrated in London and return to the diocese. This expectation was not fulfilled; Dr. Jackson resigned his appointment and accepted a living in England.
Dean Jacobs, who bad been chosen by Dr. Jackson in England to take charge of Christ’s College, and may, therefore, be considered a friendly critic, said of him:—
“A talented and amiable man, unquestionably, but one whom his best friends would probably not consider by nature qualified for the work of a colonial Bishop.”
We now come to an important act of colonisation—the allotment of land to the settlers. This event took place on Monday and Tuesday, February 17 and 18, at the Land Office, which was then only partially completed. The building stood on the site of the present City Council Chambers. “Outside the scene looked busy enough,” said the “Lyttelton Times,” of February 22. “Groups of land purchasers, lounging under the verandah, or lying under the luxuriant fern and grass with which the streets of Christchurch are still green, discussed the merits of their selections or their hopes of obtaining favourite spots. Around, horses were tethered and dogs quarrelled; bullocks, dragging timber from the bush, raised dust on the recent track; and the carpenters continued to work on the outside of the building, within which the exciting business of the day was going on.
​“Dr. Barker’s tent, which stands immediately opposite the Land Office, and is constructed of an immense studding sail; formerly belonging to the “Charlotte Jane,” was remarkable for its seasonable hospitality; while on the next section an eating-house appeared in the most primitive phase, which such an establishment can assume. A white cloth spread on boards supported joints of mutton and beef, which, together with bread, butter, tea and coffee, formed an excellent repast to those who were unable to obtain the hospitality of friends, or were desirous of patronising the earliest attempt at a place of public entertainment in Christchurch; whilst around the merry party who sat within, some Maori workmen still continued to erect the raupo walls of the house—the building laving been begun only that morning.” Amongst those present, were Mr. Godley, Mr. W. G. Brittan (in charge of the Land Department), Mr. T. Cass, who bad succeeded Captain Thomas as Chief Surveyor, and Messrs. Edward Jollie, Torlesse and Boys, surveyors, the latter officers to assist the purchasers in the identification of the sections they desired to select. There were 106 land orders to be dealt with, and the names of purchasers were called in order of priority as previously determined by ballot, each colonist pointing out on the map the section he desired to obtain. Fifty sections were allotted the first day, and the remainder on the following one. The rural sections were in most cases 50 or 100 acres in area.
The first rural selection, numbered 1, was made by Maria Somes, 50 acres in the Lyttelton district, commencing at Jackson Street; Number 2 fell to Felix Wakefield, 100 acres in “Sumner Bay,” and Number 3 to Ann Bowen, a sister of Mr. Charles Bowen, 50 acres in Papanui Wood. The land orders for rural land carried in each case the right to a town section, the same order of priority being observed. All the first selections were made in Lyttelton, mostly along Norwich ​Quay, which then fronted on the sea. Of the three above-named, for instance, Maria Somes with first choice, selected a section at the corner of Norwich Quay and Oxford Street. Mrs. Somes was the widow of Mr. Joseph Somes, formerly Chairman of the New Zealand Company. This lady had purchased a land order for 50 acres with the object of founding a scholarship, and the revenue received from this section was afterwards of considerable value to Christ’s College. Felix Wakefield and Ann Bowen selected opposite corner sections on Norwich Quay and Canterbury Street. The situation of the first Christchurch selections has been already explained. The traffic to Christchurch was at that time by water—up the Avon. The wharf known as “The Bricks” was near the intersection of Barbadoes Street and Oxford Terrace. The first selections taken up were therefore all along Oxford Terrace, facing the river and near “The Bricks.” Mr. G. Durey, who came No. 22 on the list, was the first to make a Christchurch selection, the site being on the corner of Oxford Terrace and Kilmore Street. E.R. Ward, E. H. Kittoe, H. Savage, Rev. B. W. Dudley and F. L. Crompton all followed with selections in Oxford Terrace, between Colombo and Barbadoes Streets, a locality which did not afterwards prosper greatly. More fortunate choices were made by holders of some of the later numbers. Mr Felix Wakefield, whose second choice was No. 56 on the list, took the present site of the United Service Hotel, Mr A. M. Buchanan (No. 66) got the Triangle, and Mr H. Phillips with two choices (Nos. 69 and 73), selected the sites of the Bank of New Zealand, Warner’s Hotel and Hobbs’ Buildings. In passing judgment on the choices made by the pioneers, allowance must be made for the condition of the site of Christchurch in 1851, which has earlier been described.
It was not till two months later that the first sale of town sections in Christchurch and Lyttelton took
Worcester Street Bridge and Provincial Council Buildings
About 1860 (Looking North).
Plate 4.
View from Worcester Street Bridge, 1916, looking east.
Plate 5.
​place. The sale was by auction, Mr. Alport being the auctioneer, and was held on Wednesday, April 16, on the upper floor of the Association’s store at Lyttelton, the upset price being £24 per section. The highest price realised for a Christchurch section was £40, but the bidding for Lyttelton sections was more spirited, many of the lots fetching double, some three times the upset price.
During the first year of colonisation, the Canterbury settlers were naturally engaged in making their homes. For the first six months after their arrival, they enjoyed a typical New Zealand summer, during which they made a sort of encampment at Lyttelton and another at Christchurch, After the selection of their land, in February there followed a strenuous period occupied in building, fencing and planting.
The framework of some houses had been imported in sections, and were on sale at Lyttelton and Christchurch, and the enterprising contractor was already advertising his willingness to build houses on reasonable terms. The Canterbury Association had imported a large quantity of building material (Tasmanian and New Zealand timber, Tasmanian palings, shingles and laths), which were on sale at “The Bricks” in March, also nails, bricks, slates, pumps, etc. Sawn timber, including kauri, cost in Lyttelton 18/- to 20/- per hundred feet. Timber could be obtained from the Riccarton Bush, the Peninsula or the Papanui Bush, but the cost of haulage was enormous, and one of the first works undertaken was the construction of a road to the Riccarton Bush. The first bridge over the Avon was a temporary footbridge near the Land Office, nearly on the site of the present Worcester Street bridge. This bridge was completed in February, and soon became very shaky, and later in the year, a cart bridge (also temporary) was built in Market Square.
The most prominent buildings then were Mr. Brittan’s ​house, on the site of the present Clarendon Hotel; Dr. Barker’s, nearly opposite (where the Gas Company’s Office now stands), and the Land Office.
The first Church service in Christchurch was held in the surveyor’s map room, a little wooden building at the northern end of the Land Office. This room was used afterwards as a meeting place for the Municipal Council. During his visit in February, Bishop Selwyn had conferred with the Bishop-designate, Dr. Jackson, regarding the need of a church in the town, and it was decided to erect a building to serve as a church and schoolroom. The Rev. Henry Jacobs preached the first sermon in the completed building (St. Michael’s Church) on July 20, 1851.
The Land Purchasers’ Council afforded the settlers an official means of communication with the Canterbury Association, and enabled them to voice their complaints; and there were a good many. All through this trying period, the tact displayed by Mr. Godley was the salient feature of the life of the young settlement. He met every complaint fairly; sometimes he was able to remove the difficulty, sometimes he appealed to reason and patience, particularly in regard to those first difficulties of transport and accommodation, arising from the simultaneous arrival of the first three ships. With all his genius for conciliation, he could be firm and even despotic, and never shirked taking the fullest responsibility, particularly in “interpreting” the instructions he received from London. Still without one saving clause his control must have failed, and it did not fail—he possessed the confidence of the settlers.
Mr. Godley’s handling of the squatting regulations forms a good illustration of his methods. By these regulations, only land purchasers were permitted to take up runs, and as land purchasers had to be members of the Church of England, the plank was an important one in the Association’s platform. Mr. Godley’s
Dr Barker's House, Worcester Street West.
From Cathedral Square in 1862.
(Compare with next two plates, taken in later years.)
Plate 6.
Worcester Street West, from Cathedral Tower, 1882.
Plate 7.
Worcester Street West, from cathedral tower, 1916.
Plate 8.
correspondence with the Association clearly points out the difficulty in which he found himself. The majority of the land purchasers, the Canterbury Pilgrims, had no experience of sheep-farming, nor did they possess the capital or enterprise to embark in it. They were content with small holdings of agricultural land near the towns. But on the other hand, there was a class of emigrant with money and experience, anxious to undertake this important branch of settlement, Australian stock-holders, nicknamed the “Shagroons.” These men, barred out of the Canterbury Association’s block, were rapidly establishing themselves beyond its boundaries. “Mr. Rhodes has just driven 5,000 of his sheep to a run just outside our block,” wrote Mr. Godley, in one of his letters, “and several of the Canterbury settlers who are going to invest in stock meditate following his example.” Something had to be done, or the Canterbury block would remain waste land, while the country around would be settled. Mr. Godley solved the difficulty by preparing fresh regulations admitting the “Shagroons” to the settlement on terms acceptable to them, and submitting the proposed regulations to the Council of Land Purchasers, who, recognising the urgent necessity of the case, agreed to them.
Mr. FitzGerald, in his “Memoir of J. R. Godley,” said:—
“He took upon himself at once to reverse the regulations of the Association, and to establish new ones applicable to the circumstances of the colony. But even then he would not violate the most cherished political principle of his life—the responsibility of those in power to the people for whose benefit power is held in trust. There had been established a Society consisting of all the land purchasers, which formed at starting something like a representative body of the resident colonists. Mr. Godley submitted to the Land Purchasers’ Society a set of regulations for squatting: undertaking to put ​them in force, and guaranteeing the assent of the Association at Home to their provisions. But he required as a condition that ‘The Land Purchasers’ Society’ should agree to the course he proposed. The resolutions were moved by Mr. FitzGerald and carried. The terms upon which runs were to he held for pastoral purposes were fixed to the satisfaction of the Australian squatters, who had recently arrived; capital and stock continued to flow in, and the ruin which was inevitable had the agent rigidly adhered to his instructions, was averted. Mr. Deans, of Riccarton, a very shrewd and far-seeing man, used frequently to remark that Mr. Godley had saved the colony.”