EARLY CANTERBURY.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 365, 5 March 1932, Page 21 (Supplement)

EARLY CANTERBURY.

The History of the Portrait of Edward Gibbon Wakefield. (Bv A. SELWYN BRUCE.) (X.) THE FOLLOWING is the second of a further series of five articles on Early Canterbury, and it follows chronologically the eighth, by Mr A. Selwyn Bruce, published in the “ Star ” some months ago.

I do not think that many people ai conversant with the history of the po trait of Edward Gibbon Wakefieh which hangs on the wall of the ei trance hall of our Museum. It w; presented to Mr Wakefield bv th shareholders in the New Zealand Con pany as a token of esteem, and i recognition of the services rendered b him y to the company and to , th colony. The figure was painted by Edge!l Collins, R.A., at a fee of thre hundred guineas, and the dogs wei painted by Richard Ansdell, R.A., a animal painter whose reputation wa second only to that of Landseer. On the death of E. J. Wakefield th picture passed to Mr E. Jerninghar Wakefield, who handed it over to Messr C. Torlesse and Samuel Bealev a trustees for the public, on conditio: that it should remain in their posse: sion until a stone building belonging t the general Government wai erected i: < 'hristchurch. Though the picture wa a gift to the colony, it was stipulate! that it should remain in Christchurch as a memorial of the connection o Edward Gibbon Wakefield with th settlement of Canterbury, and it wa ultimately placed in our Museum. The First Exhibition. The first industrial exhibition helc in the colony was opened in April, 1865 at Dunedin, and although communica tion was much more difficult than now there was a splendid response of ex hibitors from Canterbury. In th« absence of Sir George Grey the pro ceedings were opened by the Superin tendent of Otago, and Canterbury wa: represented by Dr Haast, with ’a fine collection, of geological specimens anc alpine flora, and Malvern coal. Build ing stone was shown by Mr F. Thomp son. Mr Holmes sent excellent sample; of Pigeon Bay timber, and Mr W. R Cameron, of Windmill Road, specimen; of prepared flax. The Public Works Department sent plans of the Lvttel ton tunnel and Mr Doyle, the civil en gineer, sent working drawings of the Rakaia bridge. Mr John Anderson was represented by iron castings, and plans and drawings of the future cathedral of Christchurch as designed by Sir Gilbert Scott were shown. Lithography was represented by Messrs Ward and Reeves, and Dovle and Co., Trent Bros and W. A. Knapman exhibited coffee, and Thomas Raine aerated waters. Mr Hall, of Kaiapoi, and Ford Bros, of Christchurch, showed churns, and Mr Keetley had specimens of his prize plough on view. Ward and Co. were the sole Canterbury exhibitors of beer, and John King showed samples of soap. The boot industry was represented by only two exhibitors, Messrs M'Nicol and Suckling, while Mr W. H. Baines was the sole exhibitor in ranges. In photography Messrs Mundy and La Mert and Mr Elsbee sent some magnificent examples. The gross returns from this first industrial exhibition were £2195. The Doctors Organise. The medical practitioners of Christchurch and district had no professional organisation, but on November 30, 4865, a meeting was held at Dr Cowards house, close tc the Royal Hotel, Oxford Terrace (the building still stands there) at which it was resolved to form a Medical and Chirurgical Society, Dr L. Powell being elected secretary pro tern. The West Coast coach, which arrived in Christchurch on February 8, 1866, carried the first lady passenger to cross the Southern Alps. This was Mrs J. M. Cookson, who accompanied her husband across Arthur’s Pass down to the Teremakau, a somewhat stupendous journey in those rough early days. On May 24, 1866, a Provincial Steeplechase was held on Mr John Stace's Berwick farm (the present site of Linwood). The country was rich in sandhills, which proved splendid vantage

re points from which to see the race •r- This meeting was of considerable in d, portance. They had horses in thos n- days—not squibs—and the chief even as the Provincial Handicap, was over ie course, for a stake of £251 n- being won by Mr W. Bowler’s Jessii n Mr Joe Page’s Musician being secom The Princess Theatre. I The old Princess Theatre in Glouce: ; e ter Street, which had been leased to M ' T. L. Hall, changed hands on June n 1566, and was let to Messrs R. B. Dal 1S (an actor of some repute) and J. i Willis, the then well known sceni ie artist, who is, I believe still with u after . all these years. Miss Hatti „ s Shepparde was the star actress of th ls company. n A disastrous fire broke out on Gu s Fawke’s Day, 1866, in the premises c 0 J. 11. Roach, Colombo Street, near th n Golden Fleece Hotel. The flame lS spread in all directions, and great darr age resulted to Cookham House am Gould's Store, on the site occupied i; ,£ later years by Radcliffe and Gilchrisl e and F. A. Cook. Across the street th s shops of Leake, Mummery and Coo] and Ross caught fire, and A. J. Alport’ auction rooms on the corner now oc cupied by Armstrong’s was also ablaze 1 The damage was assessed at no les >, than £35,000 —a serious loss to the in ■- dustrial area of the infant town. St Mary’s, Merivale. e St Mary’s Anglican Church, Merivale which was erected upon a site present _ ed by the Hon J. T. Peacock, was con s secrated by Bishop Harper on Decern ber 20, 1866. 1 The first show, held under the aus . pices of the Northern A. and P. Associ . ation, was held at Rangiora on Decern s ber 28, when there was a satisfactory . attendance, the takings amounting tc s £46 13s 6d. Christchurch first boastec s of a roller skating rink as early as New - Year’s Day, 1867, Mr Kohler opening - one in Coker’s Hall, Worcester Street i the hall used in later years by Mr T = M. Gee as a grammar and commercial > school. The floor was coated with a 1 preparation of fuller’s earth, etc., and the skates were procured from Sydney. On January 3, 1867, the valuable ser--5 vices rendered to the province by Mr ’ Thomas Cass, the Chief Surveyor, were - recognised by a gift of £250 being : voted to him by the Provincial Council. ■ Christchurch’s first Corn Exchange was started in the Town Hall on Janu- ’ ary 5, 1867, with a membership of ele- ’ At the Horticultural Society’s, show ’ held in the Town Hall on March 2, 1867, Mr Andrew Duncan exhibited a plant of Lilium Auratum—the first one grown in Canterbury. The exhibits of Messrs Nairn, Stewart and Ilislop were all highly spoken of, and the West Coast ferns and greenhouse plants exhibited by Mr Gould attracted much attention. The Cathedral Fund. At a meeting of subscribers to the Anglican Cathedral Building Fund held on May 6, 1867, it was reported that, although £15,000 had been promised, cash was coming in very slowly. It was decided to authorise the Cathedral Commission to spend £IOOO for preparation of materials to be used in the new building. A report from Mr Speechley, the resident architect, estimated the cost of erecting the eastern and western ends, with some temporary interior fittings, would be £6BOO and £4850 respectively. That there was some despondency among the subscribers at this meeting may be gathered from the fact that the Rev W. W. Willock mentioned that a prominent business man had suggested the sale of the site for Government offices. The Rev J. Wilson also stated that the council was very anxious to obtain the site for city offices. It was further suggested that

a site be obtained in Cranmer Square in exchange for the Cathedral Square site, and that the new building be erected there. It was finally resolved to refer the question to the Cathedral Commission to report. On this subject I shall have more to record in a future article. The question of planting trees had been under consideration by the City Council, and at a meeting held on May 13, 1867, a report was submitted stating that some progress had been made in this directio’n on the East Town Belt, and recommending that portion of the North Town Belt be formed and similarly planted. An Inauspicious Start. As the Great South Railway line had only been completed to Selwyn at this . early period, the Provincial Govern--2 ment, in order to provide means of carting grain between the outlying i farming districts and the railhead, im- , ported a Thomson road steamer and , had commissioned Mr John Anderson to build waggons for it. The first trial took place on April 27, when the Mayor and Messrs Marshman (Manager of ’ Railways), Thornton (Provincial Engineer), Beverley (Locomotive Superinl tendent) and others were passengers in the trucks. Their experience was unenviable, as cinders flew out of the engine funnel and burned their clothes. , The engine reached Prebbleton (four ; and a half miles) in fifty minutes, and on the return journey sprang a leak in her boiler, which brought the party to a standstill three miles from home, ; and they were compelled to walk the ; rest of the way. The steam engine . proved a complete failure for the purpose for which it had-been imported, i Colonel Brett, who had had some cx- , perience of the value of irrigation in India, was the instigator of the water race system, which has proved -of such ; value to Canterbury Plains. In Aug- - ust, 1871, he moved a motion, which . was carried, in the Provincial Council, that a sum be placed on the Estimates for making a survey as to the practicability of diverting a portion of the Waimakariri River from the lower gorge along the Plains to Rolleston—a step which resulted in the existing water race system upon which so many of our farmers depend for irrigation of their broad acres of light land. (To be continued.) The History of Sugar. No on really knows where sugar came from except that it came from the East. We hear of its use in China long before our era, though ancient writers speak of it as “ the sugar of India.” The name, however, is said to be derived from the Persian “ Sakhar,” which is curiously like the modern Spanish. In the eighth century the Moors introduced sugar canes into Spain, and five centuries later sugar was introduced to Cyprus and Sicily. Then it was that Venice centred all her energies upon becoiViing the chief market for that wonderful product. So sugar became a trade link between nations that had previously been unaware of each other’s existence. The Crusaders returning from the Holy Land spoke of the wonderful sweetening element of the East, and England sought to obtain large supplies to meet her own needs. Early in, the fifteenth century a Venetian invented a better method of refining sugar. Gradually other countries resented the charges exacted by Venice, and began to look around for other sources of supplies. The King of Portugal had cuttings of the canes sent from Sicily to Madeira, where the industry grew and prospered for two centuries, becoming in time the chief source of European supply, while London superseded Venice as the chief market centre. Then followed the discovery of the West Indies by Columbus and the founding of the great sugar industry of those islands. During the eighteenth century Elngland, France, Holland and Spain all competed for the control of the world’s sugar supplies. .Then came the abolition of the slave trade in 1833, a crushing blow to the planters, but a triumph of humanity.