Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island and the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand, after Auckland. Christchurch lies in the Canterbury Region, near the centre of the east coast of the South Island, east of the Canterbury Plains. It is located near the southern end of Pegasus Bay, and is bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean and to the south by Banks Peninsula. The Avon River / Ōtākaro flows through the centre of the city, with a large urban park along its banks. Christchurch has a reputation for being an 'English' city, with its architectural identity and common nickname the "Garden City" due to similarities with garden cities in England.
William Sefton Moorhouse was a British-born New Zealand politician. He was the second Superintendent of Canterbury Province.
Riccarton is a suburb of Christchurch. It is due west of the city centre, separated from it by Hagley Park. Upper Riccarton is to the west of Riccarton.
Wigram is a suburb in the southwest of Christchurch, New Zealand. The suburb lies close to the industrial estates of Sockburn and the satellite retail and residential zone of Hornby, and has undergone significant growth in recent years due to housing developments. It is seven kilometres to the west of the city centre.
Isaac Luck was a New Zealand architect. A professional builder, he arrived in Lyttelton on the Steadfast in 1851. He was the third chairman of the Christchurch Town Council. He was the brother-in-law of and in partnership with Benjamin Mountfort, and was the less well-known architectural partner for the design of the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings.
The Christchurch Botanic Gardens, located in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand, were founded in 1863 when an English oak was planted to commemorate the solemnisation of the marriage of Prince Albert and Princess Alexandra of Denmark. The gardens sprawl over an area of 21 hectares and lie adjacent to the loop of the Avon River next to Hagley Park. The Christchurch Botanic Gardens have a variety of collections of exotic and local plants of New Zealand, several conservatories, a nursery, playground and Climatological Station.
Christchurch railway station is in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is on the Main North Line at Addington junction, and is the only remaining passenger railway station in the city: suburban passenger trains were cancelled due to lack of demand in the 1970s. It is the terminus of the South Island's two remaining long-distance passenger trains, the Coastal Pacific to Picton and the TranzAlpine to Greymouth.
The Avon River / Ōtākaro flows through the centre of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, and out to an estuary, which it shares with the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River, the Avon Heathcote Estuary / Ihutai.
Hagley Oval is a cricket ground in Hagley Park in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1867, when Canterbury cricket team hosted Otago cricket team. Canterbury used the ground infrequently from then through until the 1920s, but hardly stopped during World War I.
Christchurch Central City or Christchurch City Centre is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the Four Avenues and thus includes the densely built up central city, some less dense surrounding areas of residential, educational and industrial usage, and green space including Hagley Park, the Christchurch Botanic Gardens and the Barbadoes Street Cemetery.
Albert Ronald Guthrey was a New Zealand local politician. He served as a Christchurch City Councillor for 22 years before being elected Mayor of Christchurch. He was a World War II veteran and he and his family were well-known business operators in Christchurch.
John Thomas Peacock MLC JP was a New Zealand businessman, philanthropist and politician. He came to Canterbury in 1844, several years before organised settlement started.
Christchurch Hospital is the largest tertiary hospital in the South Island of New Zealand. The public hospital is in the centre of Christchurch city, on the edge of Hagley Park, and serves the wider Canterbury region. The Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) operates the hospital with funding from the government.
Alfred Richard Creyke JP was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in Canterbury, New Zealand. He was a significant landholder in Canterbury. Of English descent, he spent just over ten years in the colony before returning home.
Christchurch tramway routes have developed from lines that were first established by a troika of private tramway companies in the latter part of the 19th century, through to a significantly expanded system under the municipal Christchurch Tramway Board, to the City Council-built heritage circuit. These routes have been worked by all three main forms of tramway motive power and have significantly contributed to the development of Christchurch City in New Zealand's South Island.
Mona Vale, with its homestead formerly known as Karewa, is a public park of 4 ha in the Christchurch suburb of Fendalton. The homestead and gate house are both listed as heritage buildings with Heritage New Zealand (NZHPT). The fernery and the rose garden, and pavilion with the setting of the park along the Avon River, add to the attractiveness of the property. It is one of the major tourist attractions of Christchurch.
Captain Joseph Thomas (1803–?) was a British explorer and the chief surveyor for Lyttelton, Sumner and Christchurch in New Zealand. He took up surveying after service in the British army, gaining the rank of lieutenant. In the 1840s, he explored many parts of New Zealand and worked for the New Zealand Company. This gained him employment with the Canterbury Association, which sent him to New Zealand in 1848. Thomas' role was to find a suitable site for their proposed settlement, and what became the Canterbury region with Christchurch as its capital was the result of his efforts. He was dismissed in early 1851 over quarrels with John Robert Godley, the agent of the Canterbury Association, just after the first settlers had arrived in the colony. Thomas' life after 1853 is unknown. Having allowed for Hagley Park as a generous central city green space is regarded as his major achievement, and it is his lasting legacy.
The Central City Red Zone, also known as the CBD Red Zone, was a public exclusion zone in the Christchurch Central City implemented after the 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. After February 2013, it was officially renamed the CBD Rebuild Zone by government agencies, but remained known as the Red Zone. It gradually shrank in size and the last cordons were removed on 30 June 2013, 859 days after the earthquake.
The Four Avenues are a group of four major arterial boulevards — Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue, and either Rolleston Ave or Deans Avenue — that surround the city centre of Christchurch, New Zealand. Serving as an inner ring road, they popularly form the limits of the city centre, separating it from the city's suburbs. Almost all of the city's commercial heart lies within the approximately rectangular 9.8-square-kilometre (3.8 sq mi) area formed by the four avenues. The term "within the Four Avenues" is widely used in Christchurch to refer to the central city. By extension, Christchurch as a whole is sometimes referred to as "The Four Avenues".
