# The Story of Christchurch, New Zealand/Chapter 18

Colombo Street North, from tower of Cathedral.
The building marked x was the Post Office until 1879.
Plate 25.
Part II.
Chapter XVIII.
After the abolition of provinces—Retrospect—The freezing process, and its effect on Canterbury—The West Coast Railway.
The Abolition of Provinces Act came into operation on November 1, 1876, and, with the disappearance of the Provincial Council of Canterbury, went the last definite link of the connection of the city of Christchurch with its founders, for the Provincial Council was itself the lineal successor of the Canterbury Association. Henceforward the control of all the provinces of New Zealand was to be vested in one General Government.
The occasion seems fitting for making a short retrospect of the progress already accomplished. The foundation of Canterbury is generally dated from December 16, 1850, and nearly twenty-six years had elapsed since the arrival on that day of the first of the pilgrims. In the interval, representative Government had been established; the city of Christchurch had been laid out and placed under its own municipal control. The settlement had its own Bishop, and had laid the foundations of its Cathedral Church. It had established Christ’s College, and had, in Canterbury College, the Public Library and Museum, made provision for the higher education.
Outside the boundaries of the city the settlement had made similar progress—rivers had been bridged, roads and railways constructed. Communication with the port had been established, first by the old Bridle Track, ​then by the Sumner Road, and finally by railway through the Moorhouse Tunnel. Thus had the lands been opened up, and opportunity afforded to the country settlers to perform their important part in the work of colonisation.
In one respect, the original plan of the Canterbury Association had not been realised. The settlement was no longer exclusively Church of England. Even before his departure, Mr. Godley had recognised this, and had found it necessary to abandon any religious qualifications, and to open the flood-gates to the general human tide which swept into the channel opened by the Canterbury Association, but, as he said in his farewell speech, he was not sure that the reality was not better than the dream.
Perhaps a comparison may fairly be made between the settlement of Canterbury and that of New England. It was also from Plymouth Sound that the “Mayflower” sailed in September, 1620—a tiny vessel of 180 tons, taking nine weeks to cross the Atlantic. The pilgrims she carried were inspired by strong religious belief. They were staunch Puritans, but unlike the Canterbury Pilgrims, they were seeking a new home free from the persecutions they had undergone in the Home Country. Apart from this feature, there was a strong resemblance between the two expeditions—each was to found a religious settlement in a new country, only roughly explored. In each case, the character of the pilgrims had a lasting effect on the community which followed them, and in each case those who came later did honour to the pioneers. “Forefathers’ Day,” December 11, is still observed at Plymouth, Massachusetts, just as is in Canterbury our Anniversary Day, on December 16. And in the years to come, it may be that the descendants of the Canterbury Pilgrims will secure the brevet distinction which in America has attached itself to “Mayflower” descent.
With the abolition of provinces, then, the story of the ​Foundation of Christchurch may be said to have closed. From now onwards the story is like that of any other colonial city, sharing in the progress and prosperity of the agricultural and pastoral community settled in the country behind if, a story of ups and downs, as the lean years of depression are followed by seasons of prosperity, but in the main, a record of great advancement.
Hitherto the stream of Christchurch story has flowed between fairly well-defined banks, from the time when it rose bright and sparkling from the springs at its source. Like other rivers, it gathered strength and volume as it flowed onwards towards the sea, but, to continue the analogy, after the abolition of provinces, the river had reached the plains, and, like many Canterbury rivers, it broke into numerous channels, full of eddies and cross currents, sometimes separate, hut often mingling, dividing and sub-dividing. These channels were continually changing, and spread like a tangled skein across the plains. In other words, the pioneering days were over, and the city, in its fuller life, had broken up into separate communities, religious, educational, political, scientific, social, pastoral, agricultural, industrial, journalistic and others. This story, like the river, must therefore now enter on a new phase, and instead of attempting to follow each separate channel, will merely describe some of the landmarks on the banks of the wider river. An apology is perhaps required for the use of so hackneyed a metaphor; its introduction is intended to prepare the reader for the different methods of treatment which will be adopted in succeeding chapters; the story as a consecutive narrative has ended, and in the pages that follow an attempt will be made to present the main features of some of the more important events of later years, and to discuss some of the wider ​questions in which the people of Christchurch have been interested.
With the abolition of provinces, Canterbury and the rest of New Zealand embarked on a new phase of political life. The outlook of its statesmen and politicians was changed, and became focussed on the promotion of the interests of the colony—or of the party—rather than on those of the separate provinces. Whether the change was beneficial or otherwise need not be discussed; in any case it was a complete subversion of the political history of the country.
It may fairly be claimed that the introduction of the freezing process caused an equally important alteration in the commercial, agricultural and pastoral development of the colony, and in no province more markedly so than in Canterbury. The effect was gradual; it took time on the Canterbury runs to replace the merino flocks with cross-bred sheep. The dairy industry required years to develop; the fruit industry cannot yet be considered to be fully established. It cannot be doubted that the advance in the exports of New Zealand, from about six million sterling in 1881, to about thirty million sterling at the present time, is very largely due to the freezing process. Side by side with the increasing productivity of the colony, there naturally followed a corresponding increase in land values, in shipping tonnage, in freezing and dairy factories, and in fact, in all branches of commerce and industry.
The late seventies and early eighties were years of commercial depression in Canterbury, but a new era dawned, when, on February 18, 1881, Messrs. Patrick Henderson and Co.’s ship “Dunedin” sailed from Port Chalmers, chartered by the New “Zealand and Australian Land Co., Ltd. She carried the first shipment of frozen meat to leave New Zealand, 5,000 sheep, of an average weight of 85lbs. She arrived in London on May 24, ​after a passage of ninety-six days, and the meat realised 6d. to 7½d. per lb.
The difficulty of dealing with surplus stock had long been a problem for the sheep-farmer. Some of the comparatively early files of the Canterbury newspapers contain numerous suggestions of various forms of meat preserving. The possibility of the freezing process was recognised in very early times. Mr. FitzGerald, it may be remembered, writing from London in 1899, had suggested sending out salmon ova frozen, and ten years later, in 1869, a certain Mr. Pestle, of Victoria, had written to the Melbourne papers, suggesting the shipment of frozen meat to London. At that time, the ammonia freezing process had recently been discovered.
Although the honour of having pioneered the New Zealand frozen meat trade must be accredited to Otago, Canterbury has since outstripped the southern province in the quantity and quality of the stock shipped, and the name of the province has acquired a world wide significance as denoting the best quality, and commanding the highest price.
The pioneer company in this province—the Canterbury Frozen Meat Co., Ltd.—was incorporated in 1882. The conveners of the first meeting were Messrs. John Grigg, John Tinline and J. Macfarlane, and it was due primarily to the energy of Mr. Grigg that the necessary capital was obtained, and the “Belfast” works were opened in 1883. Mr. Grigg, besides being chairman of the Company for the first eighteen years of its existence, threw himself into the enterprise with his accustomed vigour, and chartered several vessels at his own risk. He was not deterred by a loss of about £10,000 owing to the breakdown of the refrigerating machinery on the “Mataura.” His son, Mr. J. C. N. Grigg, was then in residence at Cambridge, and entertained the University Eight at dinner. The piece de resistance was a fine saddle of mutton, to which his guests ​—all in hard training—did full justice. At the conclusion of the feast, the host occasioned a good deal of astonishment by announcing that the saddle had come from his father’s farm in Canterbury, New Zealand.
The writer recollects visiting the Belfast works in 1884, and being told that the Company could deal with as many as three hundred sheep a day, and it was then considered doubtful if the flocks of the province could continue to stand so heavy a strain. Times have changed since then, and not only has the Canterbury Frozen Meat Co. established two other works, at Fairfield (near Ashburton), and at Pareora, but another company, the Christchurch Meat Co., Ltd., founded in 1889, owns works at Islington and at Smithfield, near Timaru, besides other freezing factories outside Canterbury, and in addition to these, two more freezing works are now in course of erection.
The industry gives employment within the province to approximately 2,500 hands, and, in addition to the value of the meat exported, a very large return is now gained by the scientific treatment of the various by-products.
It is not to be supposed that the inception of the industry was free from difficulty. The first shipments realised extraordinary high prices, such as those already quoted. The result was that many farmers gave up grain growing and went in almost exclusively for raising mutton and lamb. Two things happened, there was a glut of sheep in Canterbury, with which the freezing works were unable to cope, and, owing to prejudice or some other cause, there was a slump in the London markets. Mr. John Bradshaw, in his “New Zealand of To-day,” published in 1888, says that hoggets off the shears, which in 1882 were readily saleable at 12/-, realised in 1887 barely 6/-, and that the wholesale price of mutton had fallen by fifty per cent, accordingly. From the same source is taken the following table, which ​indicates the important part taken by New Zealand in the start of the frozen meat trade.
Frozen Meat Carcases.
| | | New Zealand | Australia | River Plate. | Falkland Islands. |
| 1883 | . . . | 120,893 | 63,677 | 17,165 | — |
| 1884 | . . . | 412,349 | 111,745 | 108,823 | — |
| 1885 | . . . | 492,269 | 95,091 | 190,591 | — |
| 1886 | . . . | 661,253 | 66,899 | 332,927 | 30,000 |
This industry, more than any other, has contributed to the present prosperity of Canterbury, and the follow ing figures will give some idea of tts tmportance:
| Canterbury Works | Canterbury Works | Capacity per day. | Capacity per day. | Output for year 1913–1914 |
| Belfast | . . . | . . . | 5,500 | 414,104 |
| Fairfield | . . . | . . . | 4,000 | 373,622 |
| Pareora | . . . | . . . | 4,500 | 285,203 |
| Islington | . . . | . . . | 7,500 | 592,515 |
| Smithfield (Timaru) | Smithfield (Timaru) | . . . | 5,500 | 454,602 |
The total value of lamb and mutton exported from Canterbury for the year ending October 31, 1914, was approximately £2,000,000.
It was on April 15, 1886, that a syndicate was formed in London for the construction of the West Coast Railway, to be called the Midland Railway of New Zealand. Perhaps the story of the West Coast Railway may not be considered to come within the scope of the present volume, but a few notes showing how intimately Christchurch has been associated with the undertaking may be of interest.
The project dates back to the old West Coast digging days, when Westland was a part of Canterbury, and Mr. Bealey, in his opening address to the Provincial Council. November 21, 1865, announced that he had set aside certain lands for a West Coast Railway. Again on January 12, 1867, Superintendent Moorhouse, in proroguing the Provincial Council, concurred in a resolution which had been passed by that body recommending the construction ​of a railway to the West Coast, and promised to take measures to carry it out.
A time of depression followed in Canterbury. Mr. Moorhouse resigned, and the Provincial Government was abolished without any definite steps having been taken.
It was in 1884 that a fresh agitation was started, and the West Coast Railway League was formed in Christchurch, under the presidency of Mr. C.C. Bowen. Mr. Alan Scott was sent Home, and succeeded in interesting certain London financiers, and eventually the Midland Railway Company was formed, and a contract made with the New Zealand Government. The later history of the undertaking is well known. The Midland Railway Company failed in its undertaking, and the New Zealand Government stepped in and undertook to complete the line. A contract was let to Messrs. McLean for the construction of the Otira Tunnel, and, on the failure of that firm to carry it out, the Government had to intervene again, and decided to take the construction into its own hands. The work is still proceeding, and it will be for another generation to pronounce a final verdict on the undertaking. Suffice it to say, that by the light of later knowledge, it was perhaps fortunate for Mr. Moorhouse’s reputation that he was not in a position to attempt to fulfil that promise made nearly fifty years ago.