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Shaves & Shampoos on the North West Corner of Cathedral Square
Articles, Lost Christchurch
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…
The Triangle – Noxious Exhalations and a Special Earthquake
Articles, Lost Christchurch
“William Wilson was formerly a cabbage dealer in Canterbury; but fourteen years ago he was poor, whereas now he is rich, a circumstance attributable to a lucky speculation in a piece of land …
Site Founder
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…
The Wanderings of a Spiritualist – Sherlock Holmes Creator Visits Christc…
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Conan Doyle’s fascination with the supernatural brought him to New Zealand in 1920, where he met a special terrier named ‘Darkie’ who he believed had mystical powers. In the podca…
The Oldest Building in Canterbury
Articles, Lost Christchurch
“To settle what seems to be a somewhat vexed question, a representative of the Lyttelton Times yesterday made inquiries among a number of the Pilgrims with regard to the authenticity, or otherwise,…
The Glenmark – Tragedy and a Fortune in Colonial Gold
Articles, Lost Christchurch
“The tale of a shipwreck has for most readers a fascination unequalled by any other of the many forms of tragedy which from time to time sweep some unlucky band or section of humanity into et…
“The Publican and the Sinner.”
Articles, Lost Christchurch
The story of a rugby mad church cleric, his neglected wife and a widowed publican. Read time approximately 26 minutes. He was a widower and father of two children. She was a cleric’s wife, te…
Notes on a Journey: Ōtautahi
Articles, Lost Christchurch
“In the bay in which we landed, we found two or three miserable primitive Maori cabins, inhabited by half-a-dozen helpless old creatures and a few diseased children — forming a pa named Rapaki.”…
‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’ – The Turkish Bath Culture in Christchu…
Articles, Lost Christchurch
The health benefits, cleanliness and exoticism of the Turkish Bath so appealed to Canterbury settlers that it became the height of fashion in the 1880s. Today we enjoy city operated spa facilities …
The Triangle – Noxious Exhalations, a Precocious Wastrel and a Special Ear…
Articles, Lost Christchurch
“William Wilson was formerly a cabbage dealer in Canterbury; but fourteen years ago he was poor, whereas now he is rich, a circumstance attributable to a lucky speculation in a piece of land …
The Cabman’s Last Stand and the Triumph of the Taxi
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Cobb & Co, Corner of Cashel and High Streets c. 1880. Source: Christchurch City Libraries Photo Collection 22, Img 00803, Private Collection For as far back as 1856, when the first hansom cab p…
Flipping Fried Eggs
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Retired Aircraft Engineer, Corporal Colin Creighton, No. 41 Squadron, RNZAF recounts his experiences serving during the American Vietnam war.
Zealandia’s Turpin
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Charismatic, athletic and intelligent, Jonathan Roberts came from a respectable family. A native of Cornwall, he immigrated to New Zealand with his family as a small child in 1862. After leaving sc…
“Strange Freak of a New Zealand Girl”
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Dressed in a black cutaway coat, dark trousers and a white silk neckcloth, and sporting a Billy-Cock hat over short hair, Henry Jame Muir stood before a London magistrate in 1889 dressed in the clo…
The Misleading Lady
Articles, Lost Christchurch
From 1919 until 1963, New Zealand audiences were guaranteed ‘snappy scenes, bright singing, excellent dancing and sparkling comedy’ when attending a Stan Lawson Production.
All Manner of Exotic Delicacies
Articles, Lost Christchurch
Sandwiched between the iconic White Hart Hotel and the Universal Boot Depot at 223-225 High Street, was the business founded by Mr James Freeman, a pastry cook and caterer. Opened in 1891, the buil…
‘Children of Civilisation Ride in Perambulators’
Articles, Lost Christchurch
“Perambulators are one of the necessities of the nineteenth century. The children of savages may roll in the dust or be carried in a shawl, or strapped to a piece of board, but the children of civi…
A Precocious Wastrel and his Valuable Allotment
Articles, Lost Christchurch
John Jauncey Buchanan and his Valuable Allotment Before arrival in Christchurch, the family of Scotsman John Jauncey Buchanan purchased land on what would become the centre of Christchurch. It was …
Little River – A More Complete System of Policing
Articles, Lost Christchurch
The Commissioner of the Christchurch Constabulary Department, Robert Clarke Shearman, was undeterred. He saw Little River, a pivotal stop between Akaroa and the plains, as a prime location for figh…
Lost and Found – from Australia to New Zealand and back again
Articles, Lost Christchurch
In the Tasmanian News “Miscellaneous Wanted” section of the 18 March 1892 issue, a small classified, nestled among advertisements for pears, clean rags, and 250 pigeons, read, “Wanted a…
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…
Mark Twain ‘At Home’ in Christchurch in 1895
Articles, Lost Christchurch
One of the most famous literary figures of the nineteenth century to visit Christchurch, was author, raconteur, journalist and social critic, Mark Twain. Tired and elderly, yet a force to be recko…
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…
In Defense of the Christchurch Girl
Articles, Lost Christchurch
According to the Press, feeble out of doors, useless in domestic duties, the Christchurch girl’s most deplorable feature is her absolute lack of brains and mental culture…
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…
A Victorian ‘Gent’ of Christchurch
Articles, Lost Christchurch
By Helen Solomons Mortimer Cashman Corliss was a true Victorian patriarch, gentleman and government servant who lived in Christchurch for most of his adult life, contributing to the city’s de…
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…