# The Story of Christchurch, New Zealand/Chapter 9

Chapter IX.
Election of new Provincial Council—The Canterbury Association ordinance—Sale of Town Reserves—Arrival of Governor Gore Browne—Bishop Harper: his appointment, arrival and installation.
The election of a new Provincial Council took place in March, 1855; it was rendered necessary by Mr. Hall’s Provincial Council Extension Act, which besides increasing the membership of the Council from twelve to twenty-four, altered the boundaries of the electorates.
With the exception of Mr. Cass, who retired, all the sitting members were returned.
Captain Simeon, Speaker and Provincial Treasurer, retired from both offices, and was succeeded in the chair by Mr. Charles Bowen, while Mr. C. C. Bowen, son of the newly-elected Speaker, became Provincial Treasurer. The latter appointment came in for some criticism on account of Mr. Bowen’s youth, particularly from Mr. Brittan, who held that the office should be conferred as a “reward of a long period of public service.” Mr. Brittan went on to say that, in all probability, there was not one member of that House who would live to see the office vacant again, a forecast of Sir Charles Bowen’s longevity which has been amply fulfilled. Another rather amusing point was made. It will be remembered that Mr. Godley was an Irishman. Mr. FitzGerald also came from the Emerald Isle, as did Mr. Charles Bowen, the Speaker of the Council, and Mr. Gresson, a member ​of the Executive. Mr. Brittan raised some laughter by saying that there was an impression abroad that patronage was flowing too much in one channel—and that certainly was not the English Channel. However, the appointment was not seriously challenged, and Mr. C. C. Bowen became Provincial Treasurer, giving up his position as Inspector of Police. One of his last acts in the latter capacity was to assist in the prosecution of that famous sheep-stealer, James Mackenzie, after whom the Mackenzie Plains were named.
It was now more than two years since Mr. Henry Sewell’s arrival to wind up the affairs of the Canterbury Association. In face of strong opposition he had steadily endeavoured to induce the Provincial Council to take over the assets and liabilities of the Association as its natural successor; and at last his patience and ability were rewarded, and the Provincial Council passed the Canterbury Association Ordinance. This Act (July 10, 1855) constituted an agreement between Mr. Henry Sewell, as agent of the Canterbury Association, and the Provincial Government, for the latter to take over the assets and assume responsibility for the liabilities of the Association—paving interest on advances which had been made by private individuals. The assets were enumerated in the several schedules of the Act, and included the Town Reserves, 897 acres; Botanical Gardens, 23 acres; Cattle Market, 7 acres; Abattoirs, 2 acres: Government Domain, 64 acres: also the sites of the Gaol, the Mechanics’ Institution, Association offices and Stores, Custom House wharves, Agents’ house, Past Office, Town Hall and Police Court. There were also special Reserves for Canals:—Between Heathcote and Halswell rivers, 29 acres; between Avon and Purarekanui rivers, 45 acres: between Avon and sea, 28 acres. ​The liabilities taken over amounted to £28,939 10s. 7d., and the motion for the adoption of the agreement was moved by Mr. J. Brittan, and supported by other speakers who paid tribute to the unselfish work done by the Association. The Provincial Council declined to cavil at certain items of expenditure to which it might easily have taken exception, and cheerfully assumed what seemed then a heavy liability.
Thus ended the corporate existence of the Canterbury Association, a conclusion honourable to the Provincial Council and greatly appreciated by the members of the Association. A letter addressed to the Superintendent contained this paragraph:—“There is not one of us who will not retain for the whole of his life the most lively interest in the fortunes of the colony of Canterbury, and the most affectionate regard for its inhabitants.” The letter was signed by twenty-seven members of the Association in London, the first signature being that of Lord Lyttelton, and the last that of Mr. J. R. Godley.
It was found necessary at a second session of the Provincial Council in October, to pass the Canterbury Association Reserves Ordinance, to enable the Provincial Council to administer property acquired through the Canterbury Association. It was by this ordinance that authority was given to sell the town reserves (about 400 acres) which surrounded Christchurch on three sides, and a minimum price fixed at £50 per acre, the money to be used to pay off the Canterbury Association liabilities (£28,939 10s. 7d.), for which 6 per cent. debentures had been issued. Besides authorising the sale of the reserves, the Ordinance provided for the necessary roading to open up the land for residential purposes, viz., the formation of belts, two chains wide, round the city, and the continuation of streets to meet these belts.
It may be mentioned here that the first sale of Town Reserves under this Ordinance took place on February 7, ​1856, at which 107 acres were sold at an average price of £60 per acre, or £10 above the upset price. The regulations provided that applicants could apply for blocks not exceeding five acres, and that all blocks so applied for should be put up to auction at the upset price of £50 per acre. Subsequent sales were held at intervals as applications were received, and prices were more than maintained. Eventually the whole of the Canterbury Association liabilities were liquidated from this source, and it became necessary in January, 1866, to pass the Canterbury Debenture Fund Ordinance to dispose of the surplus from the fund as ordinary revenue.
The new Governor, His Excellency Colonel Gore Browne, who had landed in Auckland the previous September, arrived in Lyttelton on December 31, 1855, with Mrs. Gore Browne, and met with a cordial reception. He was the first constitutional Governor of New Zealand with responsible ministers.
The Provincial Council presented a loyal address, but respectfully pointed out that Auckland was a most inconvenient site for the seat of His Excellency’s Government. If His Excellency read the papers, as no doubt he did, he must have seen that, however unanimous the Council might have been against Auckland as the seat of Government, there was some divergence of opinion about the propriety of raising such an issue in an address of welcome.
One of His Excellency’s first acts was to order the release of James Mackenzie, whose capture has already been recorded. We are not told the grounds on which Mackenzie was liberated, but probably the Government was not sorry to be relieved of the custody of a prisoner who had been somewhat elusive in his ways. One of the conditions of his release was that Mackenzie should ​seek “fresh woods and pastures new,” but he will live in Canterbury history as the godfather of the Mackenzie Plains, which he discovered, and to which he took his stolen sheep.
The election for the House of Representatives of the second Parliament of New Zealand took place in December, 1855, and January, 1856. There were 37 members to he elected, and the Superintendents of the six provinces all gained seats—Mr. FitzGerald as Member for Lyttelton. Christchurch was represented by Mr. H. Sewell, and there were three other members for Canterbury. Mr. Henry Tancred was appointed to the Legislative Council; the first Canterbury nomination to that body.
A short session of the Provincial Council opened on February 28. Mr. FitzGerald, owing to ill-health, was unable to attend the opening. Mr. Godley had resigned the position of Canterbury Agent in London (July 2, 1855), and Mr. H. Selfe Selfe was appointed to succeed him. The appointments in each case were honorary, and the services of both gentlemen were subsequently recognised by the thanks of the Provincial Council, and a grant of £100 to each to “purchase a memorial.”
The Seal of Canterbury Provincial Council.
Now in Canterbury Museum.
Plate 14.
* ↑ By Provincial Council Canal Reserve Ordinance, September 19, 1871, the Superintendent was authorised to sell this reserve.
* ↑ Among the Provincial Council receipts on March 31, 1866, appears an amount, £4,430 0s. 3d., from Canterbury Association Debenture Fund Account.
​declared that he believed Mr. Brittan carried the Seal to bed with him at night for safer custody. The matter was finally adjusted on a protest made to the General Government by Mr. FitzGerald (August 29, 1854), and the Seal restored. It now rests in the Canterbury Museum, the central design being the Association’s Seal with the added inscription “Sigillum Provincæ Cantuariensis” around the shield.
At last the settlement was to welcome its own Bishop. The selection of the Rev. Henry John Chitty Harper was due to Bishop Selwyn. Their friendship was formed at Eton, where Mr. Harper was then (1833) engaged in preparing boys for the College, of which he was also Chaplain, and Mr. Selwyn joined the teaching staff fresh from his career at Cambridge. It was through the influence of Mr. Harper that his friend was led to take Holy Orders. Their paths separated, when, in 1840, Mr. Harper was presented to the living of Stratford Mortimer, and a year later Mr. Selwyn became Bishop of New Zealand, though only thirty-two years of age.
The legal difficulties in the way of sub-dividing the diocese of New Zealand were removed by an Act passed through the British Parliament in 1853, which provided on certain conditions for the appointment of a Bishop of Christchurch. When, therefore, Bishop Selwyn was in England in 1854, one of his objects was to select a suitable man for the position. His thoughts naturally turned to his old Eton friend, and he visited Mr. Harper at Mortimer. The visit led to no definite engagement, and it was understood that before accepting appointment, Mr. Harper would require an express invitation from the members of the Church of England in Canterbury.
On his return to New Zealand, Bishop Selwyn took with him two of Mr. Harper’s sons, Leonard and Charles, and soon after his arrival he called a meeting of members of the Church of England in Canterbury.
The meeting was held on November 8, 1855, in St. ​Michael's Church, which had not then been consecrated; it was presided over by Mr. FitzGerald, and Bishop Selwyn suggested the name of the Rev. H. J. C. Harper as the first Bishop of Christchurch. The Bishop of New Zealand spoke so warmly of the sterling character of his friend that the meeting carried resolutions praying Her Majesty the Queen to nominate a Bishop of Christchurch, and affirming that it would preserve the interests of the Church in the Province if the Rev. H. J. C. Harper (then the vicar of Mortimer, in Berkshire) were appointed to the post. At the time these resolutions reached England, the Rev. Edmund Hobhouse, a Fellow of Merton College, was in communication with Lord Lyttelton, who wished to recommend him for appointment as Bishop of Christchurch, but Mr. Hobhouse immediately gave way on the declared wishes of the members of the Church of England residents in the Province of Canterbury becoming known, and Mr. Harper was appointed. He was consecrated Bishop at the Lambeth Palace Chapel, August 10, 1856, and sailed for Lyttelton in the “Egmont” on September 11.
The first person to greet Bishop Harper on his arrival (December 23) was Bishop Selwyn, who had come to meet him in his yacht, the “Southern Cross,” and came on board the “Egmont,” bringing with him Mr. Leonard Harper. The meeting of the two Bishops has been commemorated in a fine piece of sculpture, which forms the central panel of the Cathedral pulpit.
Canon Purchas, in his “Bishop Harper and the Canterbury Settlement,” has supplied a graphic account of the difficulties of transport in conveying the Bishop with his numerous family and luggage over the Bridle Track to Mr. Cookson’s house in Heathcote Valley. From thence to Christchurch, the Bishop and some members of his family were conveyed by Mr. J. E. FitzGerald in ​a dog-cart of his own make, which he called the “circulating medium.” It was original in its design, and possessed a pair of enormous wheels, and was drawn by two horses harnessed tandem. This was the famous chariot which was afterwards celebrated as the pioneer of wheel traffic over the Sumner Road. On his arrival in Christchurch, the Bishop was welcomed by Dean Jacobs, then Headmaster of Christ’s College, with the epigrammatic greeting “Tandem venisti, my lord.”
On the following day, Christmas Day, the Bishop was installed at St. Michael’s Church, which thenceforward became the pro-Cathedral. Bishop Selwyn was present, but could take no part in the proceedings, because it was found that the Letters Patent had been made out in a form placing the new Bishop under the authority of the Bishop of Sydney. The necessary documents were read by Mr. (afterwards Judge) Gresson.
With the installation of its Bishop, Christchurch became an episcopal See under English letters patent, and therefore entitled to rank as a city, a distinction which it afterwards shared with Nelson, the only other New Zealand See so constituted. Bishop Selwyn, who had ceased to be the Bishop of the Diocese preached affectionate farewell sermons to paheka and Maori congregations, and early in January sailed for the Chatham Islands. An address of welcome from the members of the Church of England was presented to Bishop Harper by the Superintendent (December 30}, and the opportunity was taken to pass resolutions praying Her Majesty the Queen, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, that New Zealand should be constituted a separate ecclesiastical province, and that the Primacy should be “migratory”—not stationary. The desires of the meeting were fulfilled—New Zealand was constituted a separate ecclesiastical province, and by the constitution of the Church of England in New Zealand as finally agreed upon, it was left to the General Synod to frame regulations for the election of the Primate. It ​only remains to add that when Bishop Selwyn was translated to Lichfield, the Synod, in October, 1868, elected Bishop Harper as his successor to the Primacy. Bishop Selwyn himself presided over that Synod, but sailed immediately afterwards to take up his duties in England.
The Primate-elect did not enter in his office till July, 1869, when he received notice from the late Bishop of New Zealand that his resignation of office as Metropolitan had been registered in the office of Faculties of the Arch-bishop of Canterbury.
At the time of his installation Bishop Harper’s diocese as Bishop of Christchurch included not only Canterbury, but Otago and Southland. The division of the diocese occurred in 1869, and was followed by a painful incident in the Church history of New Zealand. It is not necessary to tell the story here, it will be found fully related in Dean Jacobs’ “Diocese of New Zealand.” Suffice it to say that Dr Jenner claimed, unsuccessfully as it proved, to have been appointed Bishop of Dunedin. The claim was resisted, and in the meantime Bishop Harper continued to administer the affairs of both dioceses. It was not till 1871 that the question was finally disposed of, and on June 4 of that year, the Right Rev. Samuel Tarratt Nevill was consecrated at St. Paul’s, Dunedin, and on the same day, the Bishop of Christchurch formally resigned charge of the Bishopric of Dunedin, and, as Primate of New Zealand, inducted the Right Rev. S. T. Nevill into the Bishopric of the See.