THE FOUNDING OF CANTERBURY.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20731, 16 December 1932, Page 23

THE FOUNDING OF CANTERBURY.

82 Years Ago To-Day. iHOSEMENTS OF THE PIONEERS. fv. Canterbury colonists, whose arrival at Lyttelton Aw years ago (on December 16th, 1850) is commemoljtr&y> bade farewell to Old England by dancing at a ball. iv airit of that occasion—an entertainment presided over by \d Jlttetton, and at which the band of the Coldstream Guards the music—was not lost when the rigours of pioneering yfrtefaced. Early Canterbury records contain many referte the way in which the people of Christchurch and .Kjjjjßi (which until 1857 had a larger population than succeeded, in spite of great difficulties, in relievjfUMWWtcny of a life of hard work in a new land.

( Ufßgrins who came out on the ,far Ships found that much had ; >*» at Lyttelton to prepare the] «»£*« arrival. Throughout the j a war Captain Thomas, with 70 j Maoris, had been road-making, putting | gSxa. and with other essential , rite Oaurlotte Jane and the ■a eaiae into harbour on Decern- j A the Sir George Seymour on J jfe 17th, and the Cressy on Derfftfc The full number of inimitb* the Jrix efcips forming the ajfeagcat was 1200. ifte Site of the Puture City. [ neither greeted their arrival, &ms fortunate. All heavy lugi«i to be transported to the site ratekereh by water, by way of ! tent «p the ..ma to "The plgrimfc'trowed the tpsfltott foot, ' Arryiaip'with their lighter personallwlnngiugs, its. had to ficuodertMrcgh the tos between tie £mt-& the bills P&ntttkwtk •-'"-'.-~ | Uftettrel ww £if* > -waste of [for* «sf tsr4 Sarcigh which the '

surveyors had cut rough tracks. Behind the White Hart Hotel site there was a r; -ipo swamp, and another extended nearly to the present site of Lancaster Park." In both of these swamps there was an abundance of wild ducks and of pukaki. Sunning diagonally across the site of the City was a deep gully—part of it can still be seen in the garden of St. Michael's vicarage—which carried water in winter and was then too deep to be forded. At first, before the settlers selected their sections, each man pitched his camp where he pleased, cutting down the fern and tutu to make a clearing. The flr3t group of buildings grew up near "The Bricks" wharf, which was the landing place for goods transhipped from Lyttelton. Another centre was formed "near the land office on the site of the present Chamber of Commerce building. The allotment of land to the settlers did not take place until February 17th, 1851, when 50 sections, from 50 to 100 acres in area, were allotted. The order of choice of sections was determined by a ballot previously held. The land ord"ers for rural land carried in each case the right to a town section, all the first of these being made in

I Lyttelton, mostly along Norwich quay, i which then fronted the sea. J House Building and Hardships. After the selection of their land the | settlers were busy with the erection of 1 more permanent buildings than their ! iirst shacks, and with fencing and | planting. The framework of some houses had been imported in sections, I and the contractor advertised his wilI lingness to build houses on reasonable j terms. A large quantity of building I material (Tasmanian and New Zealand i timber, Tasmanian palings and laths) i had been imported by the Canterbury \ Association, and this was on sale at. i '"The Bricks," as also were nails, bricks, I slates, pumps, and so on. Sawn timber, ! including kauri, cost ISs to 20s per 100 j feet in Lyttelton, but though timber j could also be obtained from the Papa- | nui Bush, the Biccarton Bush, or from j the Peninsula, the cost of haulage was considerable. One of the first works undertaken was the construction of a road to the Biccarton Bush. What these first arrivals had to face { is well described in a contemporary I account. "One evening about a month | after the arrival of the First Four I Ships I was returning to port and had i iust waded through the swamp that lay

in the line of march and could not be ! avoided, when I met a middle-aged man carrying a towering bundle, probably a bed/ A few chains in the rear was his wife, also carrying a bundlo nearly as large as the one carried by her husband. Shortly after appeared the eldest son, staggering under a heavy load, and closely following was his sister, also loaded. Several more of the family were met, all more or less loaded with absolutely necessary articles, having walked over the hills from port with their loads. It was their intention to camp near the site of the house inTended to be built. This is only one instanco of what was at that time a daily occurrence." Celebrations in 1851. The first anniversary of the arrival of the pilgrims was an occasion for great rejoicing in Canterbury. Hagley Park, in the region of Deans avenue, was chosen "as the scene of the amusements," the first of which was a cricket match between a working men's eleven, which made 165 runs in two innings, and a Christchurch Cricket Club eleven, which made 131 runs in one innings. In addition there were races "both horse and foot." The racecourse was very rough, and the horses were untrained, but this in

no way impeded the enjoyment of the crowd. Two races and matches formed the card for the day. The result of "a sweepstakes of £5, with £2 added by the club, was:— Mr Jordan's Brandy .. .. 1 Air Torlesse's Bob * .. ..2 Mr Holland's Jack .. .. 3 Mr Gartner's John Heki .. dist. A match between Mr J. E. Godley's Lady Nugent and Mr Watts-Eussell's The Stationer was won by Lady Nugent, or, as an eye-witness put it: "The mare proved the better horse." Other events included some wrestling matches and a hunt for a pig with a greasy tail. This was the first real holiday the settlers had had since their arrival. After this both cricket and racing proved to be main attractions among Canterbury sports. Early Race Meetings. Easter Monday, 1852, was a carnival day in the matter of racing in Christchurch. 'She principal events were the Canterbury St. Loger, a Tradesmen's Plate, and a cart-horse race, owners up. About 200 people attended. Another race meeting was held on the occasion of the second anniversary of the province, on December 16th, 1852. For this

the course had been slightly improved, some of the larger tussocks having been dug out. "A goodly assemblage of drays and carts, and even two four-wheeled open chaises, were drawn up near the Judge's Stand," states the report of the meeting. Following this a movement was set on foot for the establishment of a Jockey Club, and race meetings became a yearly event, Hagley Park being the scene in the early years, but in 1856 a move was made to Biccarton. At this time a settler wrote: "Early in January our annual race meeting was held, and it was a great success. The racecourse, which is well chosen, and is a pleasant distance from town, was used for the first time. The road passed by comfortable farms, houses, and cultivated fields, and wound by Biccarton Bush, whose trees and birds were a delight to our eyes and ears. Spectators on Horseback. "There was not much sign of civilisation beyond Biccarton, and we soon came to a vast grassy plain, with nothing to break the monotony but an occasional ti (or cabbage) tree. Here in the midst of vast space bustled a dwarfed race of excited mortals; there jockeys and their accoutrements; here a showy costume, there a splendid cJothcd horse; here a habit and plume

and bright eye. Nearly everyone rode, | and the great excitement was riding to see the start, and then dashing at full gallop to the winning post to see the finish.'' Good health was one of the chief blessings enjoyed by the first settlers in Christchurch. Out of 4000 people in Canterbury in 1854 only 21 were returned as being sick or infirm. This state of things was not confined to Canterbury. In Taranaki, where there were about 3000 people in 1858, there was not a single funeral for sixteen months. Cricket was kept up right from the first year, but in 1857, according to one observer, did not appear to be flourishing. The regatta also became an annual Christmas event, but in spite of this interest in sport on the water there is no reference at all to swimming, except when someone was unfortunate enough to be drowned. Other Amusements of the Pioneers. Other forms of entertainment were not neglected, and were not confined to such special occasions as the Christmas season. "It would be a mistake to suppose that in those early days of persistent hard work and dogged endurance there were no softening influences to take off and tone down the rugged asperities of colonial life," writes Mr F. W. Pratt, who opened the first general store in Lyttelton in December, 1849, a year before the arrival of the First Four Ships, in his "Colonial Experiences in New Zealand." "Balls, glee-parties, and other social amenities were not wanting as a means of relaxation. The impromptu devices and artistic management of incongruous combinations, and amusing makeshifts to achieve a certain result, were not the least pleasing feature of these social reunions, and seemed to give their partakers a keener sense of amusement." The love of dancing continued, though the ladies had sometimes to be driven in a bullock dray to the door of the ballroom, and "stories are told of young gentlemen, enthusiastic waltzers, riding on horseback to the happy scene, clad in evening dress and with coattails carefully pinned up." Here is an example of the social reporting of the time: "On Tuesday night Mr and Mrs Watts-Eussell gave a ball to a numerous party of friends. The cottagers along Eiccarton road must have been surprised at the number of drays, spring carts, horsemen, and foot passengers proceeding to the scene of festivity." Dancing in a Gaol. It is not often that a gaol is used as a ballroom, but when the first lock-up in Christchurch was opened—it was a small building about the size of an ordinary room —the contractor issued invitations to attend a ball in it, and apparently the people of Christchurch were only too glad of an excuse for holding a dance, as they attended in good numbers. The newspaper account of the proceedings expressed the hope that none of the guests might have occasion in the future to occupy the room under less pleasant circumstances,.' The musical tastes of the people «f Christchurch and Lyttelton were ,jaotj

left imcatered for. In Lyttelfcoii ft choral class was established, and this, besides providing music for the ehuroh, occasionally gave concerts in public A singing class started in Christchurch by Mr Merton for the singing of glees and madrigals proved a considerable suocess. Of the early days of music im Canterbury also Mr Pratt is Informative. "The number of pianos Imported by the first settlers formed the subject of some deprecatory remarks by one of the Australians (who had taken up the back-country runs)." By 1857 also two billiards tables had been imported, and were placed at th« Eoyal Hotel. A circus brought to Canterbury in 1857 by Mr W. H. Foley was the only visiting amusement the settlers had for some time, and it created great excitement not only in Christchurch, but in Lytteltoa and in Kaiapoi. First Theatre at Lyttelton. The same year saw the opening of the first theatre in Lyttelton, and of the Town Hall in Christchurch. Mr Foley, who was apparently an enterprising man, and with ideas beyond his circus, turned the Lyttelton Town Hall into a theatre, and his entertainment drew an attendance of over 200 people. The advertised programme shows the manner of the times:— The programme will commence with (for the first time here) the Musical Burletta "THE LOAN OF A LOVEE* Gertrude, with songs Mrs Foley To be followed with "Villikins and hi 3 Dinah" W. H. Foley The whole to be concluded with th« screaming farce of "BETSY BAKEE" Admittance: Eeserved seats 6/-r Gallery 4/-: Children 2/6. Good order will be observed. No smoking allowed. . Babies in arms not admitted. Prices Paid for Early Opera. The Christchurch Town Hall, which was described as "a handsome room, good for sound, and making a splendid ballroom," was opened with a public concert conducted by Mr Merton. - As a further indication of the willingness of the Christchurch public to pay good prices to hear visiting musical artists there is the fact that when the Lyster Opera Company visited the City in 1864 the prices were 12s 6d for the circle, 10s for the stalls, and 5s for the pit, and there were full houses. • The way in which the anniversary was celebrated in the early days is shown by the report of the tenth anniversary celebrations, observed on Monday, December 17th, 1860. "All shops were shut and business abandoned for "the day, and the inhabitants as a body, male and female, old and young, betook themselves to such amusement or recreation as they could find to suit ; them within their reach. .. , There 5 was not much excitement in eiffieV" 'i town (Christchurch ■ a very quiet Lsence" of Industry. ■"