It is a well-known truth, in this office at least, that archaeology and whisky go well together. Or, perhaps more accurately, that archaeologists and whisky go well together. With a few exceptions (you know who you are, gin drinkers), it is … Continue reading →
One of Christchurch’s most well known and successful chemist and druggist shops was on Colombo street and owned by George Bonnington.
A PDF copy of pages 250-251 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Cardencity'. Photos: Trent Hiles
‘Ice Cream Charlie’ operated a well-known ice cream cart in Cathedral Square for much of the first half of the twentieth century. He was reknowned for his friendly nature and delicious …
An open field along the west side of Manchester street, bounded by a row of well-grown English Poplars and known as the Circus Paddock, was regularly used for touring circuses which came to town.
It’s just before 3pm on a late summer day in 1914. Prolific Christchurch photographer, Steffano Webb is setting up his camera equipment inside the gents’ hairdressing saloon of well kno…
“Bridges are as much a distinctive part of the Christchurch landscape as its well-planted appearance and its old Gothic style provincial buildings. The chance which placed the city by the river Avo…
A photograph captioned, "After the September earthquake, it was more a simple case of something gets broken and it gets repaired. Then came February, and June as well, and suddenly it's just not so straightforward anymore".
Christchurch is rightly or wrongly traditionally thought of as an English city, but at every turn we can see a glimpse of England’s arch enemy…the Scots. While they may now technically be at peace, they do still meet annually on … Continue reading →
Gender matters. And it’s complicated, which is why writing this blog post has been particularly difficult. Why is it so complicated, from an archaeological standpoint? Well, let me try and explain. Historical archaeology developed as a discipline in the mid-20th … Continue reading →
So, that message in a bottle? Well, it turns out it wasn’t the only interesting thing about the site it came from. A fellmongery, German Danes, shoes… read on! First up, the bottle came from under a house built in … Continue reading →
Mountains cannot be surmounted except by winding paths. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The Port Hills may not be mountains as such, but they formed a formidable barrier for the first European Settlers. Of course, Māori had a number of well-established … Continue reading →
Have you always wanted to travel the world? See the famous cathedrals of Europe? Smell the streets of China? Taste the spices of India? But travelling is expensive and everything’s just so damn far away, right? Well have we got … Continue reading →
Bones, of the animal variety, are a common find on historic archaeological sites in Christchurch. The vast majority of the bones we come across are sheep and cattle, with the occasional pig and chicken showing up as well. From these … Continue reading →
Some of the most common archaeological finds related to the European settlement of New Zealand during 19th century are usually from residential occupation. Features like rubbish pits, underfloor deposits, wells (brick and artesian), cesspits, soak pits, post holes and drainage … Continue reading →
During recent earthquake repairs at a residential property on well-known Sumner Road in Lyttelton, our archaeologists uncovered a small assemblage of artefacts that represented everyday Victorian household items. At first glance these appeared a somewhat ordinary – but when Lydia … Continue readi...
After a couple of weeks off from the blog, we thought it’d be a good idea to give you a run-down of what we learnt at French Farm. These are preliminary observations only, and could well change as we do … Continue reading →
Most of the work I do as a buildings archaeologist focuses on the humble 19th century cottage. These types of buildings, their construction methods and materials have become well trod territory in post-earthquake Christchurch, meaning we now have a fair … Continue reading →
Today on the blog we are going to be looking into steam laundries, both their use in the 19th century as well as how they relate to us today. Now, I know what you’re thinking, what is a steam laundry … Continue reading →
Hello everyone! Belated happy new year and welcome back. We’ve decided to begin the year by talking about problems (just to start on a positive note). Well, sort of. We’re participating in an international round-up of blog posts this month … Continue reading →
Archaeologists and whisky go well together. I agree with that universal truth. However, I fit in the gin lovers team at the office. So, as Jessie did one year ago, I’m writing a post combining two of my favourite things: … Continue reading →
What would we do without glue? Well, it’s estimated that each person in U.S.A and the U.K. uses 18.2kgs of glue annually. I’m probably more of a Sellotape/Blu-Tack person myself, but those statistics sound impressive! The development of commercial synthetic … Continue reading →
Ceramic artefacts are some of the most common finds recovered from 19th century Christchurch archaeological sites. Teacups, saucers, plates, dishes, bottles, jars, jugs, chamber pots, wash basins…heaps of objects related to food and drink preparation, consumption and storage as well … Conti...
A research report by Ju-Ting (Tania) Lee written in 2013 during her studies towards a Bachelor of Applied Science at Unitec Institute of Technology. The report explores the effects of the Christchurch earthquakes on the behaviour and well-being of cats and dogs, according to their owners.
A pdf copy of the second introductory panel of Guy Frederick's 'The Space Between Words' exhibition. The panel includes a collection of Guy Frederick's memories of the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, as well as discussion on how people experience change.
A pdf copy of the first introductory panel of Guy Frederick's 'The Space Between Words' exhibition. The panel includes a collection of Guy Frederick's memories of the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, as well as discussion on how people experience change.
Photograph captioned, "Dallington used to be the most popular suburb in New Zealand to live in. And that makes sense, because it's halfway between the beach and the city. It's close enough to town but far enough away, as well. There were good schools in the area. The mall was close. It's got the river and the tree lined sections, everything. It was special all right".
This report was the first report in the district series, and has a different format to later reports. It includes all natural hazards, not only earthquake hazards. It describes earthquake, flooding, meteorological, landslide and coastal hazards within Hurunui district and gives details of historic events. It includes district-scale (1:250,000) active fault and flood hazard maps. The report describes an earthquake scenario for a magnitude 6.9 earthquake near Cheviot, as well as flooding, meteorological, landslide, coastal erosion, storm surge, and tsunami scenarios.
This report was the first report in the district series, and has a different format to later reports. It includes all natural hazards, not only earthquake hazards. It describes earthquake, flooding, meteorological, landslide and coastal hazards within Hurunui district and gives details of historic events. It includes district-scale (1:250,000) active fault and flood hazard maps. The report describes an earthquake scenario for a magnitude 6.9 earthquake near Cheviot, as well as flooding, meteorological, landslide, coastal erosion, storm surge, and tsunami scenarios. See Object Overview for background and usage information.