# The Story of Christchurch, New Zealand/Preface

Preface.
The story of the foundation and early growth of Canterbury was first told to me, bit by bit, more than thirty years ago, some of it by men and women who had actually taken part in the founding of the settlement, and shaping its destiny, and some by late-comers, who had followed closely on the heels of the pioneers.
There were many people then living who delighted in talking of their strenuous life in the pioneering days, “when all the world was young,” and in telling of events which are now passing into silent history.
Many of the stories I heard then are still vivid in my memory, little episodes illustrating the daily life of a community which had to do everything for itself—survey, settle, stock and till the land, build its own roads, bridges and railways, form its own religious, educational, political and social institutions, and construct its own local government.
It is no wonder that coming from the valley of the Thames, where the results of centuries of civilisation had come to be accepted as the natural condition of nineteenth century existence, I found the contrast interesting and inspiring.
My wife and I were received with the kindly hospitality so typical of the time and country. Amongst our immediate neighbours at Upper Riccarton were many old settlers. Mr. C. C. (now Sir Charles) Bowen, his brother, the Rev. Croasdaile Bowen, Mr. Leonard Harper, Mr. T. W. Maude, Mr. H. P. Lance, and others. Amongst them, Sir Charles Bowen and his family were our nearest neighbours and kindest friends. Sir Charles had come to Canterbury in the “Charlotte Jane,” in 1850. He had been private secretary to Mr. Godley—​had sat in the Provincial Council, been Provincial Treasurer, a member of the House of Representatives and a Cabinet Minister. Probably there was no man then living better qualified to tell the story of Canterbury. He told it to me, not in connected narrative, but in fragments spread over many a fireside chat, and I was able to supplement it with other fragments obtained at other hospitable hearths.
I have endeavoured, in the chapters which follow, to weave the fragments into a connected story; to do so I have had to make a careful examination of existing records, and have been led much further afield than I originally contemplated. I found, for instance, that the story of the foundation of the city was too intimately associated with that of the province to be kept separate. Similarly I found that the story of the Church of England, its Bishop, its College and its Cathedral, was interwoven with those of the city, especially in the early days. I have been tempted, here and there, to stray out of bounds and write of the West Coast Gold Fields, the find of Moa bones at Glenmark and at Waimate, the work of the Acclimatisation Society and other topics, but on the other hand I have found it unfortunately necessary to omit much good material, which does not touch on the main thread of the story. I would like to have referred to some of the philanthropic and helpful social organisations that have been established in Christchurch, to the work accomplished by the Presbyterian and Nonconformist Churches, and to some of the men who took an active part in social improvement, but I have found it impossible, in a single volume, to afford space for the purpose.
It is difficult to adequately acknowledge the general and cordial assistance I have received, not only from old settlers, but also from many persons connected with the various institutions referred to in the narrative. I wish especially to tender my thanks to Mr. Johannes C. ​Andersen, formerly of the Christchurch Land Office, and now of the General Assembly Library, in Wellington, for most valuable information regarding many of the old records.
I have only to add that what I have written is addressed mainly to the old settlers and their families; I hope, too, that the story may incite others to take pride and interest in the history of their city, but my chief hope is that these pages may meet with the kindly approval of those who have helped to make Canterbury what it is.
Henry F. Wigram.