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Articles, Lost Christchurch
Wendy Riley A relative newcomer to Christchurch, Wendy has deep-rooted connections to the city. Her ancestors, like many colonial New Zealanders, traced their origins to Scotland and England. After…
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Book Barons – the Whitcombe & Tomb’s Story
Articles, Lost Christchurch
New Zealand’s largest and most iconic booksellers, publishers and printing company was Whitcombe & Tombs of Christchurch. It was established in 1882 by Mr. George Hawkes Whitcombe, a seem…
The Tepid Bath, Manchester Street, 1908
Articles, Lost Christchurch
For nearly forty years, the Municipal Tepid Baths provided the Christchurch public with heated swimming facilities from 1908 – 1947. The site on Manchester Street was formerly occupied by Jam…
The Government Provincial Buildings
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Christchurch has a frontier appearance about it in this photograph taken by Dr. Barker in 1860 from the tower of the Canterbury Provincial Buildings. With little beyond the immediate streets, it c…
The Savoy Theatre, Cathedral Square
Articles, Lost Christchurch
After World War One, there was a growing appetite for the glitzy glamour of the ‘Jazz Age’ and Hollywood. Christchurch residents were hungry to embrace American culture and its new comm…
The Chief Post Office
Articles, Lost Christchurch
The moving of the Post Office from Market Square to its new site in Cathedral Square, was a significant development in Cathedral Square’s importance in Christchurch business and city life. Th…
The Square and the Disappearing Old World of Christchurch
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Dominating a once simpler Cathedral Square, are the formidable buildings – Government Life Insurance Building, the Grand Theatre, the Crystal Palace Theatre, the Reuters Telegram Company Buil…
Lichfield Street, between Colombo and High Streets, 1883
Articles, Lost Christchurch
The growing permanence and sophistication of Christchurch, is evident in this photograph of Lichfield Street. Taken by the Burton Brother’s, the photograph shows us that the little frontier …
Cakes & Confectionery on High Street
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Sandwiched between the White Hart Hotel and the Universal Boot Depot at 223 and 225 High Street, was the business founded by Mr James Freeman, pastry cook and caterer. After browsing through Messrs…
Hay’s – the friendly store where everything is different
Articles, Lost Christchurch
The first part of the twentieth century was the heyday for the department store in New Zealand. The iconic department store, Hays, was a ‘household name’ in Christchurch from its incept…
Before and after the “Sign of the Kiwi”
Articles, Lost Christchurch
“Jog on, jog on, the footpath way. And cheerily hent the stile, A merry heart goes all the way, Your sad tires in a mile.” — “A Winter’s Tale,” Sheakespeare. Such is t…
Rosa Harris’ Corner Shop, Beckenham 1919
Articles, Lost Christchurch
It is the start of the second week of June 1919 and New Zealand’s Prime Minister, William Massey and the Minister of Finance, Sir Joseph Ward, are in Paris awaiting the signing of the Peace Treaty …
Julius von Haast and his Milkcan Seismometer
Articles, Lost Christchurch
German born colonist, Sir Julius von Haast, was an explorer specialising in geology. Amongst his many achievements was the founding of the Canterbury Museum. Born Johann Franz von Haast in 1822, in…
Edwardian and Elegant Working Class Sydenham c.1912
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Marking Time in Sydenham In 1912, the impressive Sydenham Post Office stood as a sentinel on the busy corner of Colombo and Brougham Streets. It was a huge post office which served a large communit…
Von Sierakowski & Co, Corner of Colombo and Tuam Streets 1906
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Oscar von Sierakowski’s factory and shop was built on the corner of Colombo and Tuam Streets in 1906. It boasted that it was the largest wire work factory in the colonies, producing decorati…
Dalgety’s Building, Cathedral Square 1928
Articles, Lost Christchurch
The streets are quiet – a parked car sits outside Dalgety’s, a lone tram rumbles towards the tram sheds and a tired delivery horse stands with his head bowed, eating chaff from his feed…
The Car Makes its Presence Felt, Cashel Street c. 1920
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Cashel Street has been taken over by the new phenomenon – motor cars. This photograph documents the quickly changing dynamics of a street which once enjoyed a more sedentary pace of life. Ch…
Botany, Physics Department and Observatory, Canterbury College 1919
Articles, Lost Christchurch
The most beautiful quadrangles lead to the Botany and Physics Department and Observatory of the Canterbury College, University of New Zealand in 1919. In 1873 the Provincial Council passed the Cant…
A Whale of a Time at Sumner
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Whale at Sumner Provides Amusement for Trippers “Considerable excitement was caused at Sumner at about 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon, when it was reported that something like a large upturned boat …
Christchurch’s Countess – Léontine, Countess de la Pasture
Articles, Lost Christchurch
To the inhabitants of colonial Nelson, Léontine, Countess de la Pasture was the epitome of Victorian refinement and manners. To her husband – Gerard Gustavus Ducarel, the fourth Marquis de la…
From Thames to a New Life in Christchurch
Articles, Lost Christchurch
In early October 1889, my 2 x great aunt, Clara Wright leaves her family home in Thames and travels on the steamer, ‘Tarawera’ to start a new life with her estranged father in Christchu…
Cinnamon Cures and Cosmetic Concoctions
Articles, Lost Christchurch
William Potter Townend owned Townend’s Chemist and Druggist Store in the Crystal Palace Building on Colombo Street, at the corner with what was Chester Street and across the road from the Oxf…
Whaling, Forty Mile Beach, A Gruesome Discovery – A Pioneer’s Story
Articles, Lost Christchurch
By a Pioneer of the Fifties Many years previous to, and some few years after the arrival of the first four ships, the coast of New Zealand was frequented by whalers, notably those of England, Ameri…
Canterbury College students out for sport on Capping Day
Articles, Lost Christchurch
The Canterbury College Students’ procession as part of the capping festival took place on the morning of 13 June 1915, and despite the enormous crowd of spectators that crammed every inch of …
Deutsche Kirche, corner of Worcester and Montreal Streets, 1880
Articles, Lost Christchurch
It is the year 1880 and Wilhelmina Arnst and John Christian Aschen have just married in the Deutsche Kirche, on the corner of Worcester and Montreal Streets. They stand outside on the street with t…
Cobb & Co. Corner of Cashel and High Streets, 1872
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Cobb & Co.’s booking office on the corner of Cashel and High Streets was a hub of activity. Here the proprietor, W. R. Mitchell took charge of the bookings and service on this site since…
Cambridge Terrace, Worcester Street and the Avon River 1910
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Here we look upon one of Christchurch’s beautiful public gardens which spans Durham Street and the River Avon. This photograph shows how carefully the city authorities went about landscaping …
Domestic Maids and the Curse of the Bloody Handprint
Articles, Lost Christchurch
This charming advertisement designed in 1913, was printed onto postcards and distributed at the New Zealand High Commission Office in London to attract young, single women to the colony. Irregardle…
Loners, Vagrants and Deserters – The Port Hills Cave Dwellers
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Since early European settlement, the caves that honeycombed the Port Hills, from Sumner to Lyttelton, have been used by all manner of loners, vagrants and deserters as places of escape or retreat O…
The Clock Tower – neglected by the Government, admired by the People
Articles, Lost Christchurch
As Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee drew near in 1897, plans were being put in place throughout the Dominion for suitable memorials. In Christchurch, a number of funds were set up and subscri…