Lyttelton historic walk

Press, 26 December 1987, Page 10

Lyttelton historic walk

Lyttelton has kept its pioneer character —. if you know where to look.

An historic walk around Lyttelton starts from the museum in Gladstone Quay. Although guided tours are available, walkers armed with a leaflet can follow a trail past 23 historic sites and buildings connected with the first Canterbury settlement.

At Pilgrims Rock, the first jetty was built. The Mitre Hotel was a welcome resting place and watering hole for early settlers before crossing the Bridle Path.

Immigration barracks were built to house the first settlers in 1850. The barracks also served as a first school, church and ball venue. Nearby is the site of the Canterbury Association’s chief surveyor’s office, where most of the decisions connected with the layout of Canterbury were made. New Zealand’s first

telegraph office was built in Lyttelton, so was Canterbury’s first printing press, and the oldest stone church in the province.

The Lyttelton jail was an infamous prison, built in 1860. Several hangings took place there and the Hard Labour Gang built most of the roads and stone walls around the town. They also built Fort Jervois on Ripapa Island and the Quarantine Station on Quail Island. The jail accepted the worst criminals, debtors and lunatics from all over the South Island. Guided tours can visit some of the remaining cells.

The Lyttelton Museum houses an Antarctic display as well as exhibits of early colonial life. It is open on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons in the summer months, from 2 to 4 p.m.