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Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the second largest city in the country. It is a coastal city, situated in the middle of the South Island's east coast just north of Banks Peninsula. Named after Christ Church, a ... more »
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Airports Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the second largest city in the country. It is a coastal city, situated in the middle of the South Island's east coast just north of Banks Peninsula.
Named after Christ Church, a college at the University of Oxford, it was originally known as Christ Church, the name being abbreviated through common usage by the 1880s.
The usual Maori name Otautahi is a shortened form of Te Whenua o Te Potiki-Tautahi - named for the seasonal dwelling of Ngai Tahu chief Tautahi of Port Levy on a bank of the Avon River near to where the Barbadoes Street bridge now stands.
Christchurch is the provincial capital of Canterbury, New Zealand. The city is situated at the southern end of Pegasus Bay, near the centre of the east coast of the South Island, between Banks Peninsula and the Canterbury Plains. The city is bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean coast and the estuary of the Avon and Heathcote rivers. To the south and south-east the city is limited by the volcanic slopes of the Port Hills, and to the north by the braided Waimakariri River.
The large number of public parks and well-developed residential gardens with many trees has given Christchurch the name of The Garden City. Hagley Park and the 30-hectare (75-acre) Christchurch Botanic Gardens, founded in 1863, are located in the central city, with Hagley Park being a site for sports such as golf, cricket, netball, and rugby, and for open air concerts by local bands and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.
The early local economy was based on the agricultural produce of the Canterbury plains. Early manufacturers processed agricultural produce, especially sheep and dairy products, into finished products. The early presence of the University of Canterbury and the heritage of the city's academic institutions working in association with local businesses have fostered a number of technology-based industries. The region now has a range of "new economy" sectors.
Tourism is also a significant factor of the local economy. The closeness of the ski-fields and other attractions of the Southern Alps, and hotels and an airport that meet international standards make Christchurch a stopover destination for many tourists.
Things to do
* Garden and Parks; Mona Vale, The Botanical Gardens, Hagley Park, and Riccarton House and Bush. * Canterbury Museum. * Ferrymead Heritage Park. * Orana Wildlife Park. * Willowbank Wildlife Reserve. * Air Force Museum. * Southern Encounter Aquarium and Kiwi House. * International Antarctic Centre. * Christ Church (the Anglican cathedral), the centre of the Church of England settlement was built between 1864 and 1910. * The Roman Catholic Cathedral, consecrated in 1905, is widely considered to be the finest renaissance style building in Australasia. * Christchurch Art Gallery (A new gallery opened 2003 to replace the 1930 Robert McDougall Art Gallery situated in the Botanic Gardens). * Historic electric trams, introduced in 1905, ceased operating in 1954, but returned to the inner city in 1995. * The Christchurch Arts Centre, formerly Canterbury College and the site of "Ernest Rutherford's Den". * The Provincial Council Chambers, 1857 - 1865. * The Timeball Station in Lyttelton. * The New Brighton Pier. * Heathcote (Christchurch) Gondola. * The Summit Road along the top of the Port Hills and Godley Head Road provides numerous spectacular views of the area and features the buildings created as wayside rests, the Sign of the Takahe (now a function centre) and Sign of the Kiwi. The Mt Pleasant Trig offers 360degree views from lyttleton harbour back over the hills to the southern alps and the city, and out over pegasus bay. * Walkways including Victoria Park, the Bridle Path and Whitewash Head, a bird sanctuary. * Mountain Biking on the Port Hills and Bottle Lake Forest. Christchurch Mountainbiking. * There is a particularly large nesting colony of Spotted Shags immediately south of the city of Christchurch.
Archeological evidence found in a cave at Redcliffs in 1876 has indicated that the Christchurch area was first settled by moa-hunting tribes about 1250. Maori oral history relates that humans occupied the area around the year 1000. These first inhabitants were thought to have been followed by the Waitaha tribe, who are said to have migrated from the East coast of the North Island in the 16th century. Following tribal warfare, the Waitaha (made of three peoples) were dispossesed by the Ngati Mamoe tribe. They were in turn subjugated by the Ngai Tahu tribe, who remained in control until the arrival of European settlers.
Following the purchase of land at Putaringamotu (modern Riccarton) by the Weller brothers whalers of Otago and Sydney a party of European settlers led by Herriott and McGillivray established themselves in what is now the Christchurch area, early in 1840. Their abandoned holdings were taken over by the Deans brothers in 1843 who stayed. What are regarded as the First Four Ships were chartered by the Canterbury Association and arrived on 16 December 1850, bringing the first 792 of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton Harbour. These sailing vessels were the Randolph, Charlotte-Jane, Sir George Seymour, and Cressy. The city's name was decided prior to the ships' arrival, at the Association's first meeting, on 27 March 1848.
Captain Thomas, the Canterbury Association's Chief Surveyor, surveyed the surrounding area. By December 1849 he had commissioned the construction of a road from Port Cooper, later Lyttelton, to Christchurch via Sumner. However this proved more difficult than expected and road construction was stopped while a steep foot and pack horse track was constructed over the hill between the port and the Heathcote valley, where access to the site of the proposed settlement could be gained. This track became known as the Bridle Path, because the path was so steep that pack horses needed to be led by the bridle.
Goods that were too heavy or bulky to be transported by pack horse over the Bridle Path were shipped by small sailing vessels some eight miles by water around the coast and up the estuary to Ferrymead. New Zealand's first public railway line, the Ferrymead railway, was opened from Ferrymead to Christchurch in 1863. Due to the difficulties in travelling over the Port Hills and the dangers associated with shipping navigating the Sumner bar, a railway tunnel was bored through the Port Hills to Lyttelton, opening in 1867.
Christchurch became a city by Royal Charter on 31 July 1856, making it the oldest city in New Zealand. Many of the city's fine Gothic buildings by the architect Benjamin Mountfort date from this period.
Christchurch was the seat of provincial administration for the Province of Canterbury.
In 1947, New Zealand's worst fire disaster occurred at Ballantyne's Department Store in the inner city, with 41 people killed in a blaze which razed the rambling collection of buildings.
A road tunnel was constructed between Lyttelton and Christchurch in the early 1960s.
In 1974 Christchurch was host to the Commonwealth Games.
Christchurch is served by Christchurch International Airport and by buses (local and long-distance) and trains. The local bus service, known as Metro, is provided by Environment Canterbury, the Canterbury Regional Council.
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The South Island Main Trunk Railway, which runs the length of the South Island's east coast, splits in two in Christchurch, the Main North Line and the Main South Line. The former travels northwards via Kaikoura to Picton and is served by the famous TranzCoastal passenger train, while the latter heads to Invercargill via Dunedin and was used by the Southerner until its cancellation in 2002. The most famous train to depart Christchurch is the TranzAlpine, which travels along the Main South Line to Rolleston and then turns onto the Midland Line, passes through the Southern Alps via the Otira Tunnel and terminates in Greymouth in Westland. This trip is often regarded to be one of the ten great train journeys in the world for the amazing scenery through which it passes.
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* Christchurch has a temperate climate, with maximum temperatures in January ranging from 15°C to 25°C (often reaching 30°C or higher), and maximum temperatures in July ranging from 5°C to 15°C. The summer climate is often moderated by a sea breeze from the northeast, but a record temperature of 41.6 degrees Celsius was reached in February 1973.
Temperature - Yearly Average
A notable feature of the weather is the nor'wester, a hot föhn wind which occasionally reaches storm force and causes widespread damage to property. In winter it is common for the temperature to fall below 0°C at night. Snow falls occur rarely, on average once or twice a year in the hill suburbs and about once or twice every two years on the plain.
On cold winter nights, the surrounding hills, clear skies, and frosty calm conditions often combine to form a stable inversion layer above the city that traps vehicle exhausts and smoke from domestic fires to cause smog. While not as bad as smog in Los Angeles, California, Christchurch smog has often exceeded World Health Organisation recommendations for air pollution. The city has strict requirements for domestic home heating in order to limit air pollution.
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Distances are calculated as the crow flies, and are provided as an aid in planning only.
* This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Source wikipedia.
