John Deans I, Pioneer Settler, Buried at Barbadoes Street Cemetery

This Barbadoes Street Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Christchurch. It was established in 1851. Back in 1850, when the original survey of Christchurch was done, this area was included. It was set up with three distinct areas for different denominations.

Reserve 20, which is east of Barbadoes Street, was for the Church of England. Then, west of Barbadoes Street, there were two other reserves. Reserve 42 was for Roman Catholics, and south of that, Reserve 43 was for Dissenters.

In 1870, the Canterbury Provincial Council passed the Cemetery Reserves Management Ordinance. The next year, in August 1871, a Dissenters Cemetery Board was appointed. That board included George Booth, George Gould, James Jameson, Francis James Garrick, and Thomas Abbott. James Jameson was actually the Mayor of Christchurch at the time he was appointed to the board. Francis James Garrick had been a member of the Provincial Council, and Thomas Abbott was a nurseryman.

There are quite a few notable people buried here. William Armson, an architect, was buried here after his death in 1883. Alfred Barker, who was a doctor and photographer, died in 1873 and is buried here. Lieutenant Colonel James Campbell, who was a Commissioner of Crown Lands and Registrar of Deeds, was buried here in 1858. Thomas Cass, a surveyor, was buried here in 1895. And Joseph Colborne-Veel, who was the editor of The Press and a Canterbury educator, was buried here in 1895. Also here are Jane Deans, who died in 1911, and John Deans.