Canterbury Province

This spot was once the capital of the Canterbury Province, which existed in New Zealand from 1853 until 1876.

The Canterbury Province was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association, a group of influential Englishmen connected to the Church of England. They initially tried to limit residency to church members, but that idea was abandoned. The first two of the "First Four Ships," the *Charlotte Jane* and the *Randolph*, arrived here on December 16, 1850. That date was later celebrated as the province's Anniversary Day.

In 1852, the New Zealand Constitution Act established provincial councils, and it had specific rules for the Canterbury Association. One rule was that the new General Assembly couldn't change the legislation that created the Association, and another allowed the Association to transfer its powers to the new Canterbury Province.

Elections for a Superintendent were held in 1853, followed by elections for a 12-member council later that same year. Men over 21 who owned property in the province could vote. The Canterbury Association's affairs were wound up in 1855, and its remaining lands were given to the Canterbury Province.

The first meeting place for the council was the former office of the *Guardian and Advertiser*, a newspaper on Chester Street near the Avon River. In 1866, the council moved to Guise Brittan's house, which later became part of the Clarendon Hotel. One session in 1858 was held in the town hall on what is now High Street. The council first met in the Timber Chamber of the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings on September 28, 1859, and then in the Stone Chamber from November 1865.

The portion of the province west of the Southern Alps was separated in 1867 to form Westland, after the gold rush there.

The province's eastern boundaries were the Hurunui River to the north and the Waitaki River to the south. The western boundary was mostly undefined before Westland became its own province. In 1868, the West Coast was formally separated with the crest of the Southern Alps as the boundary, and in 1873, the County of Westland became the short-lived Westland Province.

In the 1860s, South Canterbury tried twice to become a separate province but was rejected. Instead, the Timaru and Gladstone Board of Works was created in 1867, receiving some of Canterbury's land revenues and authorized to build and maintain the Timaru harbour, roads, and bridges.

The Ferrymead Railway, which opened in 1863, was New Zealand's first railway to also close, in 1868. It was replaced by a new line through a tunnel, connecting Christchurch to the port of Lyttelton. The main lines of the Canterbury Provincial Railways used an Irish gauge of 5 feet 3 inches, while some branch lines used a Colonial gauge of 3 feet 6 inches. These lines were all absorbed into the New Zealand Railways Department in 1876.

Canterbury had four Superintendents during its existence. The archives of the Canterbury Province are held at Archives New Zealand's Christchurch office and are considered some of the most complete provincial government archives in New Zealand. In 2023, these archives were added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Aotearoa New Zealand register.