EARLY LYTTELTON—ITS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18889, 12 October 1929, Page 21 (Supplement)

EARLY LYTTELTON—ITS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

RESIDENCE 70 YEARS OLD STILL OCCUPIED. (By A. SELWYN BRUCE.) Apropos of my remarks last week on early Lyttelton, the photograph published in this issue is of considerable interest, having been taken in the early ’sixties. The locality is the west end of Winchester Street, - and the large two-storey house with the three dormer windows was originally the residence of Wm. Armitage, the butcher. In later years it was occupied by Captain Ifwersen, master of the Velocidade, who lost his life by the wreck of his ship on the voyage between Lyttelton and Newcastle.

Capain Ifwersen’s three daughters were married to Mr Afexander, Mr Fred Fuller and Mr. James Shand, and Mr Shand’s daughter, Gwitha, annexed the New Zealand ladies’ championship as a swimmer and represented the Dominion at the Olympic Games several years ago.

Upon the death of Captain Ifwersen, his family removed to Christchurch, and Mr J. G. Garforth, of Garforth and Lee, the butchers of Norwich Quay, occupied the building for some time, he being succeeded by Dr Lewis, one of Lyttelton’s early medicos, who married a daughter of Aaron Ayers, the Christ-

church hairdresser and auctioneer and one of the city’s Mayors of later years. Captain Hendry, master of the Lyttelton tug, was the next tenant, and it finally became the home of Mr Robert Carson, in whose possession it has been for the past ten years. Although some seventy years old, this house is in capital preservation—a monument to the integrity of the builders of those days.

The two-storey house on the extreme left was in its original form the home of Mr Bradley, who was for some sixteen years Lyttelton’s stationmaster. One of his daughters married Mr Lewis Graham (a son of one of the pioneers) nearly half a century ago. Mr Graham has lived in the port all his life. Mr Graham’s youngest brother, Mr John Graham, is well known in the city as one of the principals in the drapery firm of Graham, Wilson and Smellie. It is from folks such as Mr Graham and Mr Toomey (both pakeha natives of Lyttelton) that one receives reliable ancient history of the port, and nothing delights them more than reminiscing over a cup of afternoon tea and an old album. Although Mr Bradley’s house is not recognisable to-day, it is still standing, having been pulled down and reconstructed in later years.

The building adjoining Captain Ifwersen’s residence was the original Presbyterian Church, which was erected in 1860 on the site as shown. Mr J. D. Ferguson, who had arrived at that time, acted as catechist, preacher and school teacher, his salary being some £216 per annum, made up of a grant of £SO from the Provincial Government, £SO subscribed by the Presbyterian residents and the school fees charged by arrangement. This building was moved in 1864 to a section on the vacant land shown opposite the original location, and then became known as the High School of the Presbyterian Church in Lyttelton, its master being Mr Ross, who had as lady assistant, Miss Stout. In later years the Government Education Department opened the public school, and Mr Ross and Miss Stout resigned and accepted positions under the Provincial Government.

As proof of the early date of my photograph one may note that the Cambridge Hotel, which stood opposite Captain Ifwersen’s house, was not yet built, and to-day this ancient structure still serves the public as a general store. The Oddfellows’ Hall, also a very old structure, close to the Cambridge Hotel, had not then been built. The handsome stone church which since 1865 has occupied the site of the original place of worship, was erected at a cost of £2ooo—the Provincial Government granting £IOOO towards its cost, and the local Presbyterians subscribing the balance. Lyttelton was originally laid out by Mr Edward Jollie, one of Captain Thomas’s staff of very efficient surveyors, and it was completed in September, 1849, and many works authorised by the Canterbury Association in London or commenced by Captain Thomas off his own bat, were carried to completion. The old original landing jetty built by the Allan Bros, and John Grubb was a source of great gratification to the pioneers, being the first indispensable harbour contract of the infant port in Erskine Bay at the foot of Oxford Street. This jetty was entire!v obliterated in later years owing to reclamation works and necessary harbour frontage, its seaward extremity being at about the line of rails along which the Lyttelton-Christchurch train now runs. Although Lyttelton was originally intended to be the capital of the Canterbury Settlement, the pioneers soon discovered the utter impracticability of the proposal, in view of the apparently insuperable difficulty which the range of hills behind the town presented, and it is to-day that we recognise the wisdom and foresight of our ancestors, who committed themselves to the huge expenditure necessary to provide access between the port and the plains, and thus lay the foundation of the development which so quickly followed, resultirlS ln the Garden City with its magnificent grain-producing back country, and its incomparable pastoral Peninsula hills and snow and forest-clad Alpine range—an inheritance of which we are so justifiably proud.