Pioneer plaques ceremony in Square

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34026, 15 December 1975, Page 2

Pioneer plaques ceremony in Square

The unveiling of the! plaques on the First] Four Ships Court, in! Cathedral Square, did not take place yesterday. The wind was so strong] that they were never veiled. While words were being snatched from his mouth by the wind, the Mayor of Christchurch (Mr H. G. Hay) said that any “unveiling” was out of the question. “You’ll have to take it as read," he said. About 500 people attended the 125th anniversary service in the Christchurch cathedral, commemorating the arrival of the pilgrims at LytItelton in the First Four i Ships. After the service, at which; the Christchurch City Council. local borough and county; councils, other local bodies,, ;and churches were repreIsented. the congregation ; moved to First Four Ships. 1 Court, where the plaques [were laid last week. 1 Typical citizens Mr Hay said that the pioneers who founded Christchurch, were not an elite English class, but were typical of an average crosssection of present-day Christchurch citizens. A city was not just buildings and parks, if was the people who lived there. ; I The early settlers set a [citizenship, and he was certain that, despite frequent [criticism, a significant section of Christchurch’s population was proud of the city, prepared to work for it, and wanted it to develop, said Mr Hay. Focus on names I The president of the: Christchurch branch of the [Historic Places Trust (Mr J.' ]a. Hendry) said that the; ifocus of attention tended to; [be on the passengers of the First Four Ships, whose; names were inscribed on the; plaques. However, the complete; fleet comprised 25 ships.; Many other settlers who ar-1 rived at the same time and> later, did not come as part of the fleet chartered by the Canterbury Association, Mr Hendry said. At the commemorative service in the Cathedral, the farewell speech of John Robert Godley, when he left Christchurch for England in 1852, was read. Mrs Doreen Corrick read an extract from “Canterbury Sketches,” by C. L. Innes. It described the : first church service, on December 17, 1850.