Founded as a well-ordered Church of England enterprise, the settlement at Christchurch was intended to recreate a slice of England in the South Pacific. During the early years, the Canterbury Association brought 3500 carefully selected settlers to Christchurch with the first 'pilgrims' arriving in four ships in 1850. Among these immigrants, the gentry were well represented as well as tradesmen and agricultural workers. The best Canterbury land was acquired by those with social standing and money and in a short time huge sheep runs were producing even more wealth for their owners. Much of this capital went into Christchurch's civic buildings which were designed to be not only imposing, but 'thoroughly English'. The city's English heritage is still evident today, especially in the Gothic-style buildings, while the Avon River with its overhanging willows and small punts out on the water, evokes images of a traditional English university town. You can take a stroll around the inner parts of the city or take a ride on one of the restored historic trams and take in the highlights.
There is also plenty to do outside the city which is set on the coast adjacent to New Zealand’s largest area of flat land, the Canterbury Plains, which cover over 12,000 square kilometers. The early European settlers ploughed and irrigated the land, establishing the vast wheatfields that were to make the area the granary of New Zealand. Today the long, constantly changing, braided rivers that are a feature of the area, are well stocked with salmon and trout, drawing anglers from all over the country. The Canterbury Plains are the gateway to the scenic highway through Arthurs Pass National Park to the West Coast as well as the ski fields at Mount Hutt.
You can also take a drive through the tunnel to historic Lyttleton and drive around the harbour and out onto the Akaroa Peninsula. The first Europeans to set foot on the peninsula were flax traders, timber cutters, boat builders and whalers who sought shelter in the numerous bays and inlets. A French whaling captain, Jean Langlois, bought a tract of land here in 1838 before returning to France to establish the Nanto-Bordelaise Company. He assembled a shipload of immigrants and headed back to Akaroa to colonise the peninsula, but while they were on the high seas, the Treaty of Waitangi had been signed. They arrived at Akaroa to find that the British were already there and had hastily set up a magistrate's court, hoisting the Union Jack, just five days before their arrival. Nevertheless, the French colonists settled at Akaroa and stayed on to farm the land and build homes which give the beautiful little downship its distinctive character today.
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